The Voice of Knowledge Part 4 of 4: Self-Love & Self-Respect
January 22, 2009 by dr. lam
Today we conclude our series on Don Miguel Ruiz’s masterful, The Voice of Knowledge, his sequel to his more popular The Four Agreements. I would like to begin by reminding my readership that I am not summarizing the entire book. That would be unfair to the author. Instead, I am taking the most relevant parts of his writing that have impacted me as a person. I am not you, and you might find other points in the narrative more applicable to your philosophy or life situation. Remember that I am really writing to myself. You are just peeking in at my world and hopefully reaping some of the benefits. The filter that I have imposed on another’s work is simply my own. If there are any perceived deficiencies in my interpretation of the source material, they are based on my own storytelling. Using Ruiz’s idea then, if you perceive deficiencies in my writing, that does not affect me or my story since these blogs really are my own personal story to myself.
With that in mind, let’s focus on the final element of this series: how do we start in our journey to avoid lying to ourselves and believing the lies that others tell of us? We start with self-love and self-respect. Many times, we hate ourselves so much or think of ourselves as so little, that we cannot love others and we cannot radiate that love to those around us. When our story begins authentically and truthfully, we emanate that love and truth to others. When we gossip and focus on negativity, we radiate that story that we have spun to those around us.
When we begin to be impeccable with our word, not take anything personally, stop making assumptions, and always do our best, we begin to be free of the false stories that we create of ourselves and that others have created of us. We are free from the emotional poison that targets us and we remain unaffected by those lies. Without reference and focus on ourselves, we cannot begin to hope to affect others. Why did I begin this blog with a long preamble about these blogs being about me? Because if I cannot have a sense of myself and my own journey and move toward an obligation that I will keep the four agreements with a daily renewal and when I fail I start again, then how can I begin to have my readership even want to read these words or believe in them? First I must love myself, respect myself, and honor the four agreements to the best of my ability, then I will radiate that positive energy, love, and generosity to those around me. Always begin with yourself.
I hope you got as much out of Ruiz’s writings as I have. I thank my loyal readers, and I thank those who take time to write comments on my blogs. By the way, you no longer have to register to write blog comments. Just put a name (screen name) or keep it anonymous and write a comment. Share your story! Share your passion!
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2 Responses to “The Voice of Knowledge Part 4 of 4: Self-Love & Self-Respect”
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Thank you for your candor, Dr. L. I wonder if folks sometimes might assume (uh oh) that a person like you is beyond further refinement. It’s instructive to read you are always seeking, too. It’s appreciated and maybe it wouldn’t surprise you to know, implemented. Somewhat. It’s a process.
yes, i am a work in progress, but i am very happy and contented with life and where i am. i am working on next week’s blogs. they are going to be great!