Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your Word in the direction of truth and love.
Being “impeccable with our word” means that we stop thinking or speaking in any way that is not constructive, creative, or positive. In order to follow through with this decision, you may have to work hard at first to maintain your awareness.
Our habits of thinking and speaking are so deeply ingrained that often we are not truly aware of the words we use or of what they actually mean. If that is the case, pay closer attention to what you think and say. Focus your attention not just on the words, but also on their true meaning and intent—the all-important message behind the words.
If you decide to do this—and you will have to, if you want to be impeccable with your word—you might begin by deleting from your conversation all the popular words and phrases that express something deeply negative. That means not just the foul words and phrases, which usually carry an energy of anger, but many common sayings, too. For example:
“I’m sick and tired of this job!” (Is it any wonder then that you get laid off with a chronic illness?);
“I’m fed up with it!” (Repeat that one for digestive disorders!);
“This project is a pain in the neck!” (Ouch!);
“It’s killing me!”
Since many illnesses are directly related to our thoughts, words, and feelings—it makes sense to start practicing a higher level of “verbal hygiene.”
A Master of the Word
As a Knight-in-Training, would you like to know how well you wield your sword? To begin, ask yourself a few questions like this: Why do I speak? What do I really want to communicate? What will my words trigger in myself or others? If my words were seeds, would they produce flowers or weeds? Am I prepared to reap what I sow?
This reminds me of a young physician I have known for about a decade now. We don’t see each other very often, but even in our first encounter there was something in this man that moved me deeply without my knowing why.
After pondering for some time, I realized that the man possessed a quality uncommon in modern society: goodness. He is simply a good man. He doesn’t have a trace of malice, contempt, or irony. He doesn’t even criticize. You can see the goodness in his face, especially in his kind, caring eyes.
I have often observed this quality in farmers and peasants who live close to the earth, but rarely in city folk. My physician friend is also a passionate gardener, but his most unusual quality is that he never says anything negative about anyone. He never gossips or slanders, nor does he criticize or think badly of himself. Should a person near him start gossiping about someone else, he will either discreetly lead the conversation in another direction or remain silent. On some occasions, he just walks away.
In my mind, this man is a beautiful embodiment of maintaining the impeccability of our word. Through his simple and humble but luminous presence, he is a model for what the Knight-in-Training should strive for: mastery of one’s word, which begins with the mastery of one’s thoughts.
Don't Speak Badly of Anyone
Another true story I would like to share in this vein has to do with Master Philippe of Lyon, France, who lived from 1849 to 1905 and was one of the most amazing healers of all time. Philippe organized healing sessions at the Rue de la Tête d’Or, during which indisputable miracles kept happening week after week. News of his healing work ended up reaching Russia, where he was called upon to take care of the young Tzarevich Alexis, who suffered from hemophilia and was later cared for by Rasputin.
What did “Monsieur Philippe,” as many people called him, ask in payment for his spectacular healings? He didn’t ask for money. He asked only that his patients maintain impeccability of their word!
“Don’t speak badly of anyone for two days,” he asked of one man he had just healed. “Don’t gossip for two hours,” he requested of a woman patient. And to another, he said, “I can’t even ask you not to speak badly of anyone for a single hour; you couldn’t do it. So find two people among those closest to you, and ask them not to say bad things about anyone for one day.”
Being A Dead-End for Gossip
Philippe was offering healings—indeed, often life-changing and miraculous healings—in exchange for his patients being impeccable with their word! “Each slander,' he used to say, “adds another stone to the wall we build between the angels and ourselves. We cut ourselves off from Heaven; we condemn ourselves.'
To be impeccable with our word means choosing to be a “dead end for gossip.' Others may continue to spread rumors, but the Knight-in-Training resolves not to spread them any farther. The chain of gossip, the sticky cobweb that is unconsciously woven from person to person, will stop with those who are impeccable.
To be impeccable with our word means using our word to serve truth and love. “The word is magic', says don Miguel, “and misuse of the word is black magic. We are using black magic all the time, without knowing that our word is magic at all.' Being impeccable with our word means being a white magician, someone whose word sheds light, uplifts, and brings warmth and freedom to others.
The Creative Power of the Universe
One prominent white magician of our times is the Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto, who in recent years has demonstrated the amazing power of the word to alter the structure of water molecules. Emoto takes pictures of ice crystals after the water has been infused with different thoughts, words, or phrases.
The results speak for themselves: The water infused with words of love, peace, beauty, and health create magnificent ice crystals, while those infused with words of anger and hatred are ugly and deformed. Do we need more proof of the power of the word?
“In the beginning was the Word”, the Bible begins, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word was God! Your word is the divine power of the universe, the phenomenal power of creation itself!
“All things came into being through Him”, the Bible continues, “and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” The word is the creative power in its pure state, before manifestation.
What Universe Do You Create With Each Word You Speak?
What we create with our word depends on our state of consciousness and our intent. “Tell me how you speak, and I will tell you in what world you live!” What world, what universe do you create with each word you speak?
Don Miguel tells us the First Agreement, "Be Impeccable With Your Word", is so powerful that by mastering this one alone we can transform our entire lives. If we stop spreading emotional poison, if our thoughts and speech flow more and more like fresh spring water, we and all those around us will begin to taste the truth of Heaven on Earth.
All we have to do is our best. As the Fourth Agreement reminds us, we don’t have to be perfect.
As Toltec Knights-in-Training, day by day we simply do our best to be impeccable with our word. If we have just started, we will make mistakes—maybe, lots of them—but if we do our best today and tomorrow, we’ll do a little better the next day, and even better in a week or a month. Eventually, through continued practice, we will have reached the highest mastery: the consistent impeccability of our word.
©2012 by Trédaniel La Maisnie. All Rights Reserved.
Original title: Le Jeu des Accords Toltèques
Reprinted with permission of the English-language publisher,
Findhorn Press. www.findhornpress.com.
Article Source:
The Five Agreements Game: A Chivalry of Relationships
by Olivier Clerc.
The Five Agreements can transform your life by replacing the thousands of self-limiting beliefs that run your relationships with yourself, others and life itself. In the book that comes with this game, Olivier Clerc introduces the Toltec way as an authentic 'chivalry' of relationships, allowing us to establish impeccable relationships with both others and oneself. Simply playing this game will lead you to use the five simple yet efficient agreements to fully accept yourself and others. Thus you will acquire self-mastery in three major steps:
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About the Author
Born in Switzerland and living in France, Olivier Clerc is an internationally reknown writer and workshop leader, teaching in many countries around the world. After meeting Don Miguel Ruiz in Mexico in 1999, when he received the "Gift of Forgiveness", Olivier translated and published all of Don Miguel's books in French. Find out more about Olivier and his books at : http://www.giftofforgiveness.net/
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