WEEKLY MALA MEDITATION: The Four Agreements (II)

This is week II of IV of our theme using the book, “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. Last week, we used the first agreement, “Be Impeccable With Your Word” and this week we’re focusing on the second agreement, “Don’t Take Anything Personally.” His summary of this agreement states, “Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.” 

This one can be tricky to really understand because it’s hard to imagine that the way people respond to us isn’t because of us at all. I’ve learned to understand it this way: Everyone’s perceptions are vastly different. Our perceptions are influenced by many factors that include things like our previous experiences, mood, health, exhaustion, and hunger. You could have ten people hear one person tell a story, then upon asking those ten people to repeat the story, you will hear ten different versions. The same concept applies to children raises in the same household- each child has a very different perspective of the same upbringing. 

To put it more simply, if someone perceives things negatively, they will have a negative response, and if someone perceives things in a positive light, they will have a more positive response. Ultimately, everyone is responsible for their own behavior, happiness, decisions, responses, etc. and most of it is determined by their own perception. Don Miguel Ruiz explains it much more thoroughly in his book.

HOW TO USE YOUR MALA:
Starting next to the guru bead, move your fingers from one counting bead to the next as you say the affirmations in the photo. Once you’ve returned to the guru bead, you have completed a full meditation!