Don Miguel Ruiz is a Toltec master, a nagual or person of knowledge. He shares his knowledge and experience about living a life of integrity, spiritual development and striving for personal freedom in his book 'The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom book'. The Toltec, Ruiz explains, were a society of scientists and artists, who thousands of years ago in southern Mexico, came together "to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the ancient ones". This ancient knowledge is very applicable today and anyone can choose the path of the Toltec.

Being a Toltec is a way of life "where there are no leaders and no followers, where you have your own truth and live your truth". This is done by mastering the arts of Awareness; of Transformation and of Intent, which Ruiz discusses. Sounds like anarchy - well not really, but it is about spiritual development and breaking free of the bonds of domestication of the human spirit which are part of the socialization we undergo as we children becoming part of human societies. This book describes the steps to becoming truly empowered as human beings.

For those of us who are avid fans of Carlos Casteneda, Ruiz builds on that tradition and enhances our knowledge of the Toltec path to freedom. True freedom is an expression of the human spirit - the ability to be who we really are and to express our essence. In order to achieve true freedom we have to break the old agreements we have made on the path to domestication - agreements with ourselves, agreements with our parents and agreements with society. These agreements must be substituted with new agreements, specifically the Four Agreements from which the book gets it's name.

The four agreements we must make with ourselves are 1) Be Impeccable With Your Word - speak with integrity; say only what you mean and use the power of your word only in the direction of truth and love; 2) Don't Take Anything Personally - what others say and do is a projection of their own reality, it has nothing to do with you; 3) Don't Make Assumptions - find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want; communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid sadness, misunderstandings and drama; 4) Always Do Your Best - under any circumstance simply do your best and you will avoid self-judgement, self abuse and regret.

Ruiz suggests that it takes the discipline of a warrior to control our own behaviour and to break the old agreements we have with ourselves such as the belief that we are not good enough or smart enough. By following the way of the warrior, the way of self improvement and of discipline, which Ruiz differentiates from that of the soldier who follows the orders of others, it is possible to become aware of our old agreements and begin the journey to changing them. By adopting the Four Agreements and putting them into practice we break our addiction to being who we have become used to being, get rid of dysfunctional patterns and develop the courage to become who we really are.

In this book, Ruiz provides four seemingly simple suggestions designed to lead to spiritual growth and freedom. Those of us on such a path, know that it is at the same time exceedingly easy and supremely difficult. Many people believe they have already made these agreements, but most lack the self-discipline to follow through what they need to do and the honesty to truly analyze their behaviour and make changes where they are needed. Integrity and self-discipline are vital when following a path which moves us towards expressing our true spiritual nature and becoming empowered, spiritually mature human beings.