The Voice of Knowledge : A Practical Guide to Inner Peace (Toltec Wisdom)

Don Miguel Ruiz; Janet Mills

ISBN 10: 1878424807 ISBN 13: 9781878424808

Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing, 2005

Synopsis

Before we learn to speak, our true nature is to love and be happy, to explore and enjoy life. As little children, we are completely authentic. Our actions are guided by instinct and emotions; we listen to the silent voice of our integrity. Yet when we learn a language, our attention becomes focused the collective knowledge passed down from generations and learned from others. We no longer perceive the world through the eyes of love; we only perceive what we have learned to believe. The voice of knowledge comes alive inside our head, and what is that voice telling us? Mostly lies. That voice never stops talking, judging, gossiping, and abusing us. It constantly sabotages our happiness and keeps us from enjoying a reality of truth and love. Ruiz shows us how to recover the silent voice of our integrity and find inner peace. When the voice of knowledge no longer controls us, our life becomes an expression of our authentic self, just as it was before we learned to speak. Then we return to the truth, we return to love, and we live in happiness again.

About this title

Review

As little children we know how to live in the moment and be completely authentic. But then something damaging happens to us, according to author Don Miguel Ruiz: we are given "knowledge" about how to live in the world. Parents tell us how to behave in order to be a "good" boy or girl. Teachers tell us what it takes to be a "winner" or a "successful" adult. This collective "voice of knowledge" is not only false--it is often poisonous, explains Ruiz, bestselling author of The Four Agreements. It makes us believe that "I am not the way I should be; it is not okay to be me." Drawing upon the story of Adam and Eve, Ruiz refers to the forbidden tree of knowledge and likens the abandonment of the true self to the fall from heaven. What Ruiz calls "the voice of knowledge" others spiritual teachers might call ego--the hidden and carefully defended belief system that prevents us from living and expressing who we really are. "The structure of our knowledge makes us feel safe....When we discover that we are not what we believe we are, the foundation of our entire reality begins to collapse." In the Toltec tradition, Ruiz says every human is an artist, "and the supreme art is the expression of the beauty of our spirit." He explains that there are two kinds of artists: "the ones who create their story without awareness, and the ones who recover awareness and create their story with truth and love." The recovering of awareness is what this fourth book in the Toltec Wisdom series is all about. This makes for a good bedside spiritual growth book. Each chapter closes with "Points to Ponder"--summary thoughts to sleep upon as you create the more authentic story of your life. --Gail Hudson

From the Author

Miguel Ruiz and Janet Mills

Edition details

• Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1878424807
• ISBN 13: 9781878424808
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English