The Mastery of Love
The Mastery of Love

by Don Miguel Ruiz

From the rear cover:

In The Mastery of Love, Don Miguel Ruiz illuminates the fear-based beliefs and assumptions that undermine love and lead to suffering and drama in our relationships. Using insightful stories to bring his message to life, Ruiz shows us how to heal our emotional wounds, recover the freedom and joy that are our birthright, and restore the spirit of playfulness that is vital to loving relationships. The Mastery of Love includes:

* Why "domestication" and the "image of perfection" lead to self-rejection

* The war of control that slowly destroys most relationships

* Why we hunt for love in others, and how to capture the love inside us

* How to finally accept and forgive ourselves & others

"Happiness can only come from inside of you and is the result of your love. When you are aware that no one else can make you happy, and that happiness is the result of your love, this becomes the greatest mastery of the Toltecs: the Mastery of Love."

From the inside sleeve -

In the Toltec tradition, three fundamental masteries guide us to our true nature, which is happiness, freedom and love.

The first is the Mastery of Awareness. This mastery teaches us to be aware of what we really are. It is the first step towards freedom, because we cannot be free if we don't know what we are, or what kind of freedom we are looking for. The Toltec said: "Let us see ourselves with truth," and they created a mastery just for awareness.

The second is the nMasyery of Transformation, which teaches us how to become spiritual warriors, and stalk our actions and reactions so we can break free of the knowledge that enslaves us. This mastery show us how to the dream of our life by changing our agreements and beliefs.

The Mastery of Love is the result of the first two masteries. From the Toltec perspective, everything is made of love. Love is Life itself. When we master love, we align with the Spirit of Life passing through us. We are no longer the body or the mind or the soul; we are Love. Then every action we take is an expression of love, and love in action can only produce happiness.

When we master Awareness, Transformation and Love, we reclaim our divinity and become one with God.

There is also a brief biography of the author inside the rear sleeve which is worth a read :)

Or click here

Note: I have only just started 2 read this book but I highly recommend it - reading off a computer screen cannot compare with sitting in a nice, comfy chair with a copy in your hot, little hands :)

Some links:

Search 4 the book

Some satisfied customers

Looking for Toltec wisdom

Here's a few sites about unconditional love

And a definition of just what it is

Exploring the link between unconditional love & happiness

What might be the obstacles?

The Buddhist perspective

Interesting article about Buddhism & translation I hadn't thought of :)

BuddhaNet is also a site worth a visit or 2

Equanimity is another important concept that means treatin everyone with unbiased compassion regardless of whether you have labeled them as friend, enemy or stranger in your mind :)

Google also suggested these - click ... click ... click

Affirmations about love

Variation on that theme

Some Biblical advice on love

What is the wisest way 2 live?

How 2 have true peace of mind

Love & meditation

The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi

May all beings be happy

Heaven letter

Fill the world with love - that site is searchable and you can subscribe 2 receive emails from them

Speaking of searches ... try searching 4 love in this collection of mine

Articles about love & relationships

Shambhala Sun is also searchable

Why not try the life positive site

Leads us 2 this piece about self-love

Books about love

Huge list of quotes about love

Speaking of neat quote sites - how about searching this one

Kahlil Gibran on love

More Biblical advice

Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is

Leads us here

To love the unlovable

Excellent piece about compassion & your inner child

Consciousness and Awareness articles

The followin comes from the Dalai Lama's Little Book of Wisdom:

This verse refers to the special case of relating to people who are socially marginalised, perhaps because of their behaviour, their appearance, their destitution, or on account of some illness. Whoever practices bodhichitta must take special care of these people, as if, on meeting them, you have found a real treasure. Instead of feeling repulsed, a true practitioner of these altruistic principles should engage and take on the challenge of relating. In fact, the way we interact with people of this kind could give a great impetus to our spiritual practice.

Interesting collection - includes several versions of the Golden Rule

Life lessons at this huge site!

Also found their page about love & relationships

Search prompted by a recent site

Every experience I have is an opportunity 4 greater growth

Learning 2 love & forgive yourself

How about a few more affirmations

A Story of the power of compassion

Whole bunch of spiritual articles

How 2 nourish your soul

Make it your goal 2 love unconditionally

Superb online book all about love

Feeling appreciation and gratitude for the beauty of creation allows us a glimpse of and experience of our Source

Can you really love everyone?

Decided 2 use a different search engine 4 an earlier search

What does Osho have to say about love?

Sparks another hunt through cyberspace

BeliefNet is also a great site

More quotes about love

Thoughts about love from Rumi

Speakin of poems

The Heartlight site is well worth a look

You can search their site too if you feel like doing so

More from Beliefnet

Heard this song on the radio while out shopping :)

This site is the first I click on - songs & quotes & other writings

Spiritual practice

Deepak has a bit 2 say on love

The Game is also a must-read :)

Pema Chodron is another author I have enjoyed - like the one about the heart being bottomless!

Spiritual love quotes

Another search 4 quotes tosses up a few

Affirmations about loving yourself & others

Ram Dass on love & consciousness

What is true happiness?

Prayer for unconditional love

We create heaven or hell here on earth (by our willingness or refusal 2 love one another)

More on that theme

Great collection of quotes about acceptance

"Our very first problem is to accept our present circumstances as they are, ourselves as we are, and the people about us as they are. This is to adopt a realistic humility without which no genuine advance can even begin. . . . Provided we strenuously avoid turning these realistic surveys of the facts of life into unrealistic alibis for apathy or defeatism, the can be the sure foundation upon which increased emotional health and therefore spiritual progress can be built."

More on the practice of unconditional love

The Buddhist way 2 happiness

Quotes from the near-death site - loads of em :)

God and his amazing creation

Quotes about happiness - and many other categories & authors!

After a few clicks leads us 2 Osho world

At that site - a HUGE list of topics he has spoken about!

He advises us 2 draw our OWN conclusions otherwise we won't grow :)

How do I learn 2 love myself?

Interview with Sharon Salzberg: "Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and to feel connected with others."

Cultivating Loving-Kindness for Self and Relationship

Sprouting Seeds of Compassion

Creating True Peace - another searchable site

How 2 deal with negative emotions - the Buddhist way

Great bunch of quotes by Anthony de Mello

Interview with Pema Chodron

More from Thich Nhat Hanh

How 2 be optimistic

Hmmm ... that page wouldn't load properly ... try here

Creed of the optimist club

The Fifteen Major Tests of the Spiritual Path

Embraced in love

Wisdom from Thich Nhat Hanh about a piece of paper :)

Quotes about overcoming difficulties

Great bunch of articles about mindfulness

�The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.�
- Thich Nhat Hanh

�Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.�
- Jon Kabat-Zinn

The wildmind site continues the theme!

More good tips on being in the moment - from a Google of "mindfulness present moment"

Let's not forget about Eckhart :)

More of Thich - I highly recommend his books

May he/she learn to identify and see the sources of anger, craving, and delusion in him/herself & more verses

Wisdom & fun - quite a few pages at this site!

The miracle of mindfulness

Some thoughts about gratitude - scroll down to number 125

When one's goal is to love all beings indiscriminately there are no obstacles on the path

You are truly loved

Prayer 4 forgiveness turns up quite a few

Excellent selection of wisdom pearls

You can search Shambhala Sun 4 Sharon Salzberg or happiness or both :)

Urban monk has some excellent articles

This being the best - all about compassion & happiness

We do TEND 2 reserve our kindest thoughts 4 those we agree with & who are most like us

MOST of those above were BEFORE I actually START 2 read the book :)

The man who didn't believe in love - worth getting the book 4 this alone!

Use the PDF viewer 2 view this page

Or click here to view the whole 5 pages at once - worth waitin 4 it 2 load

The book discusses emotional wounds that MOST of us have

A plan for unconditional love - good summary of the book

Master your own personality & beliefs

Or become masters of jealousy & sadness

The pathway 2 happiness

What would a visitor from another planet conclude about humans?

We can even say that this world is a mental hospital

Note - could remove Ruiz from these searches :)

We have a very sophisticated denial system

You might come to view all the drama as a comedy

Why feel bad or feel guilty because your emotional body is sick

More on the emotions

Interview with the author

Why don't our relationships with ourselves work?

I create an image of the way you should be, and because you are not and never will be the image, I judge you because of that, and find you guilty

We can talk about love and write a thousand books about it but love will be completely different for each of us because we have to experience love

Quotes from the book

You are going to be the right man for her if she loves you and she doesn't want to change you

Relationship is an art. The dream that two create is more difficult to master than one

More wisdom from the author - from his other books

You have the right to be mad, but I don't have to be mad because you are mad. I didn't do anything to cause your anger.

Thank you, but I don't need your love. I have the same love here in my heart, even bigger and better and I share my love without condition.

In your heart is all the love you need. Your heart can create any amount of love, not just for yourself but for the whole world

That's up to page 102 which is about half-way ... in case you haven't guessed by now - I highly recommend this book :)

More quotes from Miguel

A dream master creates a masterpiece of life

You didn't come here with a great mission to save the world

There is no worse madman than the one who doesn't want to understand

Humans accumulate a lot of knowledge; we learn all those beliefs, morals, and rules from our society, family and religion. And we base most of our behaviour, most of our feelings on that knowledge.

Here is a huge excerpt about healing the emotional body

List of interviews & articles by or about the author

Life is a dance

The magical kitchen - also a great analogy!

Had better luck when using a different search engine - quite a few turn up

It's a long process 4 the mind 2 find its identity

He advises us 2 frequently ask who am I?

Similar search

Leads us here

Ken Wilber has something similar 2 say

You are Life passing through your body, passing through your mind, passing through your soul. (May type more later if I can be bothered - it is a good section :)

You are Life passing through your body, passing through your mind, passing through your soul. Once you find that out, not with logic, not with the intellect, but because you can feel that Life - you find out that you are the force that makes the flowers open and close, that makes the hummingbird fly from flower to flower. You find out that you are in every tree, and you are in every animal, vegetable, and rock. You are that force that moves the wind and breathes through your body. The whole universe is a living being that is moved by that force, and that is what you are. You are Life.

You can have more compassion for your partner and allow her to deal with her own Parasite

We have all these judgments, all these programs that put limits on our own happiness, that push us to self-rejection and to reject other people also

It's about honouring the God inside each other

You will see God everywhere and it will no longer be just a theory

Don't believe you are unworthy of happiness or love. Don't believe in your own drama

Forgiveness is one of the keys 2 happiness

Continuing the theme - could also search Quote Land :)

Forgive others and you will see miracles start to happen in your life

At the risk of really labouring the (important) point :)

We create our own hell (on earth)

The awakening is like being at a party where there are thousands of people and everyone is drunk except you

God decided 2 play a game :)

The time is coming when you will become your own guru

Could add Ruiz to those searches ...

What will make you happy is the love coming out of you

Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you open our heart and open our eyes so we can enjoy all of your creations and live in eternal love with you

Again, trust me ... it's worth picking up the book JUST 4 the prayers in the rear!

More on the prayer theme

We ask that you help us to accept ourselves just the way we are, without judgment

If you are STILL 2 CHEAP 2 buy the book ... email me as I saved the prayers to my hard drize - ruiz4.htm

[email protected]

www.miguelruiz.com

And there you have it ... I finish the book in under 24 hours - probably 3 hours reading time in all but well-worth it! Why not get yourself a copy :)

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