Be impeccable with your Word

Be impeccable with your Word.

These words form the first and most profound "agreement" of Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements. I won't go into the other three here, nor what he means by the term "agreement", but I highly recommend you look it up at some point as it really has the power to transform lives if understood and applied correctly. However, I do want to dwell on the first...

I ran into trouble last week, and spent at least one full evening building up a mountain of unwanted negative energy, because what I was receiving from someone - or rather, my perception of what I was receiving - did not match my expectation. Yes, I admit, there was a little bit of selfishness and ego in there, but...honestly, I thought something should or would have happened differently. My view or blueprint "dictated" something should be a certain way, and when it turned out differently, it created anxiety and anger inside me. And yes, I turned the thought over several times that I should either change what's happening if I don't like it, or accept what's happening if I can't change it. And yes, I also realised that I THOUGHT too much. But I could not stop the current of bad energy engulfing me.

See, I know all the shoulds. I studied NLP, and know the power of words, expressions, behaviour and impressions. And I accept how fundamental gratitude, the law of attraction, compassion and meditation in my life is. These strategies and practices work for me and I would not dream living a life devoid of them again. But still, I wasn't getting anywhere. Or rather I was in Upset Land, with all the Unhappy, Impatient, Ungrateful and Fretful Ones .... Until I realised my word is not impeccable.

The meaning of Ruiz's first agreement (according to Toltec spirit) is to "speak with integrity and not to speak against yourself, to yourself or to others. It is to use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love..."

However, my Word is so much more than my spoken word, opinions, comments or thoughts. Through my Word I have the power to create using expressions, emotions, attitude, actions, as well as what I don't express or what I remain silent about.

And what does impeccable mean? Anything that causes you to hold back in your actions of love for yourself and others, goes against being impeccable. So, my actions, expressions, attitude and emotions (my Word) have to be loving and kind (impeccable) against myself.

I am pondering how I perceived someone else's Word as not matching what I expected, without adhering to the first and foremost agreement to use impeccable Words against myself. How often do I do that - create a new "agreement" based on my perception of someone else's Word?

I have the power to create and radiate love and kindness to myself, regardless of someone else’s Word!