The Toltec Guru
DON MIGUEL RUIZ
I had the pleasure of interviewing Don Miguel Ruiz before the world was so dramatically touched by the Coronavirus outbreak. This explains how it occurred that the interview took place in person, and why the pandemic was never discussed in our exchange.
That being said, it doesn’t long to feel at home with Don Miguel. He has a way of making you feel like you’re the only person in the room. His presence is immediate and lasting. His genuine interest and tender wisdom put you at ease.
For this reason, and many more, it’s no surprise that don Miguel has become one of the world’s most favorite spiritual leaders and bestselling authors. His unique combination of Toltec wisdom with modern physics has captivated hearts worldwide and shifted their perspective of life for the better.
He’s widely known for the best-selling book, The Four Agreements, that suggests four “golden rules” to live by for strengthening personal freedom. His other books include, The Mastery of Love, The Voice of Knowledge, Prayers, The Fifth Agreement and The Three Questions.
In this interview, we discuss his book, The Three Questions, as well as some universal curiosities about life. Some responses have been edited for brevity.
Who is behind don Miguel Ruiz—What’s inside?
This is a very good question because it’s really hard to know. I can say it’s Life Itself because what I’m projecting is Miguel Ruiz, but Miguel Ruiz is just an image. It’s not real. I discovered this through much awareness. Being aware of what I used to think I was and finding out that’s not really who I am.
This concept rolls right into what you share in your book, The Three Questions. The three questions being: Who am I? What is love? and What is real?
Exactly. Then if we ask, who is behind Miguel Ruiz? The answer is Life Itself.
You talk about “The Human Dream” in the book—can you elaborate?
This life is just a dream. It is happening and we’re perceiving, but something else very interesting is happening. We have in our head what I call narrators.
A narrator is telling you with words what we are perceiving about what is happening, and we use logic in order to make it fit. Life is not an illusion, it is real. The illusion is what we perceive as a reflection of what is really happening. Which brings the last question, “What is real?” into play.
We usually ask this third question, “What is real?”, when there’s something happening in our life that doesn’t feel right. This happens because our world is always changing. How we perceive the world when we’re ten years old is completely different than how we perceive it at 14 years old. And completely different again, when we’re in our 20s, 30s, or 40s. When something happens in our life, then the world, “our” world, changes and always “looks” real, but we need to check in with ourselves all the time because the answer is constantly changing.
You mention in the book that a helpful way to
answer these three questions is by asking ourselves the opposite of them and looking at that answer. For example: Who am I — who am I not? What is love — what isn’t love?
Yes. In order for you to know what you are, first, you have to find out what … you are not. This is something that took me a long time to discover, but I find it of great value.
Looking at what is not offers insight into what is. Imagine that you lose a hand—you’re still you. If you lose an arm, you’re still you.
When you die, are you still you?
That’s the most beautiful question. Yes, what dies is our physical body. When the physical body goes away, you’re still you because you are not the body. You are the force that moves your body. The force which moves every molecule of your body; every quantum, which means the “real you” is alive.
When we have that awareness, our perspective changes. Now we know what we are, but there are no words to explain it. The closest is to say, “I’m life.”
Then we see our physical body in a completely different way. We see our body as home, where we live. I see my physical body as a temple that I love and honor. When I find out what I am not, what I find out is that my physical body is the love of my life.
What would you say to someone who believes
everything you’ve shared—in fact, they’re consciously on the path, but every now and then they catch
themselves slipping into an “unreal” illusion?
What could one do to remind themselves, other
than continue to ask these questions?
To continue to ask and answer these questions again and again. Ask the second question right away. “Is that real? Is this really happening? Or am I making it all up?”
And that is usually the answer. You’re making it all up. It’s only real in your mind, in your story, not in anybody else’s experience. If you’re facing this illusion, it’s because you have fallen prey to believing in your own story. It feels real, and you believe it’s real, so it becomes real.
In the book, I compare your mind with a country that is your creation, and because you create that story (that country), you are the “President.” Then the question becomes, what kind of president are you? How do you rule your story, your world? Are you a victim of your own beliefs?
You follow the rules that run your story, and there is a “Congress” who approves or rejects each rule. The only way to heal your story is to change the Congress within, which changes your beliefs around what is right or wrong. You are basically unlearning, which is the whole purpose of the Toltec.
In what way is the Toltec faith different from just being a spiritual person?
Well, the word Toltec means artist, which makes every single human an artist. We’re all working on our own masterpiece, which is the story of our life. It doesn’t matter what language you speak; it doesn’t matter what
religion you follow. You are the artist of your own life.
The challenge becomes changing the limiting belief system in our minds; to change the “constitution.” We do that by using the Power of Doubt and doubting everything that we know. We doubt by asking, Is that true?
Is that real?
If we doubt things all of the time by asking, “Is this real?” how will we know when we’ve actually landed on what really is real? Suppose we surrender to something as being real, but it’s just another illusion—How will we know which answer to trust?
This is where The Fifth Agreement comes in. The Fifth Agreement says to be skeptical but learn to listen. Don’t believe yourself and don’t believe anybody else, because there is no one truth. Everyone is coming from what they believe is true. They will tell you what they believe is real; listen, but doubt it.
If we always doubt everything, how do we find peace of mind?
By not believing anything, outright. Listen to what you tell yourself and then make a choice. Hear what other people say and take from it what resonates with you. What doesn’t, just put in the trash, it’s not personal.
When you do that, you’re challenging your beliefs and changing the laws that rule your life, and you become better president of your country. Then you’ve reprogrammed yourself in your own way. Only you can change your world—nobody else.
You seem so full of love and peace every time I
see you, and I wonder—do you ever have feelings
of despair or hopelessness?
Oh, definitely, yes.
What do you do when you have those feelings? Because so many of us are wondering how to cope with all that’s going on in the world today and even in our personal lives. What do you do?
Well, what we need to do is to use awareness to see what is real. I remember being in my 20’s and getting my heartbroken when things didn’t happen the way I wanted.
I see now that I broke my own heart, I just used other people and circumstances to do so. I was focused on things being a certain way, and if they didn’t work out, I’d get upset thinking life wasn’t fair. But it was not true.
I’m curious, what makes you sad? I’m sure you
eventually ask the three questions, but what makes Don Miguel sad?
That’s a beautiful question. And yes, I feel sad sometimes. Not as sad as forty or fifty years ago, but it’s a sadness that I understand. For example, I see my physical body declining, and there’s nothing I can about it.
I try to keep my body healthy so it can heal itself, but that little sadness is frustrating.
Yes. But what makes you so sad that you cry?
What makes me cry?
Yes. We all cry. We’re human.
Well, yes. I suppose what makes me cry could be my own stories that I believe when I forget that I shouldn’t believe. But as soon as I’m aware, then I stop right away.
What makes you laugh?
Joy makes me laugh. Love makes me laugh. Little situations make me laugh. Something that I adore makes me laugh.
What is your definition of happiness?
My definition of happiness is to enjoy what I do. Happiness is not something that makes me lose any kind of control. Being happy is just to be, to accept myself the way I am, and to be comfortable in my skin.
Are you saying that peace is happiness for you?
Peace is part of the happiness, yes. I would say that my happiness is an accumulation of all the things that make me feel grateful to live in this physical body.
With everything that’s going on in the world, what makes you hopeful?
I’m hopeless. And I can tell you that God is hopeless. He doesn’t play with hope.
So how do we move forward if we’re hopeless? Don’t we need a certain amount of hope to keep us going?
No. When you hope that something will happen, you feel bad if it doesn’t. But if you take action, it will happen. I can say, I’m hopeless, or I’m hope-less. Well, I’m hope-less.
Why should I hope for something that I don’t know will happen or not happen? If I want it to happen, I go in that direction and make it happen. And if it happens, good. It doesn’t happen, good anyway. At least I have taken the action. I don’t play with the hope. Can you imagine if God “hoped” that His creation would be great?
Wow, I really like that! Ok, I have a fun question, “Who is your favorite author?”
My favorite author? There’s so many. Maybe a newborn baby. They have all the potential to be whatever they choose. A newborn baby because it is pre-domesticated. It’s just pure love, an incarnation of love.
What a poetic answer. I love the thought that we’re the author of our lives, and a newborn baby is starting on a blank page, “hope-Lesly,” creating beautiful stories.
Thank you, Don Miguel, for being so generous with your time and sharing your exquisite insight with the Eden Magazine readers. For more information about don Miguel Ruiz or his book, The Three Questions, please visit www.miguelruiz.com.
Special Thanks To:
Don Miguel Ruiz
Tara-jenelle Walsch, Interviewer
Nicholas Walsch, Film Director
Dina Morrone, Editing
Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted before the world was so dramatically touched by the Coronavirus outbreak. This explains how it occurred that the interview took place in person, and why the pandemic was never discussed in our exchange.
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