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:
Here's a few sites about unconditional love
And a definition of just what it is
Exploring the link between unconditional love & happiness
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
What is the wisest way 2 live?
The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
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
Huge list of quotes about love
Speaking of neat quote sites - how about searching this one
Eventually you will come to understand that love heals everything, and love is all there is
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
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
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
The Heartlight site is well worth a look
You can search their site too if you feel like doing so
Heard this song on the radio while out shopping :)
This site is the first I click on - songs & quotes & other writings
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!
Another search 4 quotes tosses up a few
Affirmations about loving yourself & others
Ram Dass on love & consciousness
We create heaven or hell here on earth (by our willingness or refusal 2 love one another)
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
Quotes from the near-death site - loads of em :)
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 :)
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
Creating True Peace - another searchable site
How 2 deal with negative emotions - the Buddhist way
Great bunch of quotes by Anthony de Mello
Hmmm ... that page wouldn't load properly ... try here
The Fifteen Major Tests of the Spiritual Path
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.�
�Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.�
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!
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
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
- Thich Nhat Hanh
- Jon Kabat-Zinn
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
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
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
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
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?
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
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!
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
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 :)