 The Four Agreements are: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic everyone in the world has been thrown into chaos, and whether we like it or not we now have the opportunity to tackle some of those tasks that we seem to “never have enough time for”. A phrase that we soon realize was a lie and in fact we always had the time, we just lacked commitment or motivation to complete. Harsh words? Maybe. However, this is not the point of today’s review. As I mentioned in my first book review “The Chimp Paradox”, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to attempt to read a book every week. (UPDATE: I have more or less succeeded, this is of course, depending on how you define success.) Of those books I have read I have chosen to highlight The Four Agreements, a book that will hopefully help whoever is currently in the midst of a self-reflection or self-improvement mission. The book was recommended by one of my co-workers after a discussion regarding some of the pitfalls most individuals’ have regarding their relationship with “self”. He briefly handed me the book to skim through and I quickly noticed some areas that I definitely need a gentle reminder on. In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. One of the shortest of the books I have read thus far, The Four Agreements dives into the spiritual knowledge of the Toltec naguals and the applications to use such knowledge in everyday life events. Some of the knowledge revealed in the book has similarities with Christianity, and in some ways with the concept of Karma, which is an interesting blend. The book consists of seven chapters, however it packs some powerful content in such few pages. For example, one of the four agreements is: Do Not Take Anything Personally, something that made me reflect on how many times I may have taken things personally. [Never, I am awesome.] If one genuinely reflects on the events that occur in their life, how many times do we take things personally? I estimated I take things personally more times than I realized and more times than I would like to admit. The issue with this, as don Miguel mentions in the book is the amount of distress that weighs down on someone. My interpretation of such distress is like having serious emotional baggage for the soul. Which leads me to another agreement that struck a chord with me. Don’t Make Assumptions. A statement so bold it might as well have its own type font. How many times have we made assumptions? How many times have you assumed your partner would take out the rubbish? You leave the house for the day, come back and find the rubbish still there? We all make assumptions. The assumption that whomever we speak to, will uphold their word in a promise they have made to us. The assumption that our friend will have our back until the end of time. Assumption is synonymous with expectation and expectations are a dangerous thing. Dangerous because, as Mathew Hussey says, “…People don’t break your heart; they break your expectations.” No truer words. Don Miguel Ruiz is a renowned spiritual teacher and internationally bestselling author. He has spent the past three decades guiding people to personal freedom through his profound insights regarding the nature of human reality. In summary the book uses brief chapters to highlight the four [in my opinion] basic principles of being human, peppered with examples of stories from the Toltec traditions, which help exemplify such principles.
There is a forewarning, I do read any “religious or spiritual” book, as I am a firm believer that there are possible hidden gems inside such books. If you are an individual who disagrees with this concept, then perhaps this book isn’t for you. Thus far, in some way every book I have read has brought me closer to the self-development/awareness I am trying to achieve throughout this chaotic year. A journey that brings me to a point I believe Dr. Eric Thomas once made: "Read the books for the season of your life." Not sure if that was his exact quote if I am honest, as I can’t remember which video I heard it on. Nonetheless, my current season may be completely different from your season. However, I share this with you in case for whatever reason you are currently, or in the near future passing through this season in your life. Enjoy! To find out more about Don Miguel Ruiz visit his website or click here to buy the book. #FourAgreements #SundayReads #BookReview #WildIsadora #Isadoraland This article is not sponsored by the author nor does it reflect the views of the author or represents the author in anyway. All effort has been made by the writer for the authenticity of the information herein about the author's publication. For up to date information, please click on the author's website.
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 Today is a day of celebration for various reasons. Today marks the midsummer solstice (for those who follow that bit of information). Today also marks my mom’s big 60 birthday. Yup, she’s been walking this earth for six decades. Why is this a big deal, other than the obvious? My mum was born on a night called La Noche de San Juan, a night that is celebrated in Puerto Rico and in other areas of the world. For those who don’t exactly know where Puerto Rico is please refer to the map below.  Image from Google Maps This is a night dedicated to celebrate Saint John the Baptist’s birth and given the catholic background of the Carribean island this would be a night that is included on the social calendar. However, what makes the night so special in Puerto Rico is that the special night is spent at the beach or at the festivities occuring around the island and if you're so fortunate you may get both, festivites and beach, at the capitol of Puerto Rico in old San Juan area. Lots of rituals take place, but the most important of rituals is to dunk in the water about twelve times in an effort to clean yourself of bad luck for the rest of the year. “The Feast of Saint John closely coincides with the June solstice, also referred to as Midsummer in the Northern Hemisphere. The Christian holy day is fixed at 24 June; but in most countries festivities are mostly held the night before, on Saint John's Eve.” Although a predomitaly religious "holiday", there are usually (I say usually because...well...corona) a variety of concerts to attend. Fireworks can be seen from afar and the scent of an ongoing grill permiates the island air.
Essentially, it's like 4th of July celebrations with a more religious incentive behind it. I have to be honsest, I don't remember a lot of these celebrations because most of the celebrations I atteneded were when I was a little kid. What I do rememeber is attending a massive gathering with lots of BBQ ribs and going home with beach sand in my hair. I will forever associate my mother's birthday with La Noche de San Juan and the memories that were made whenever we would attend a festival. I hope that things can get back to some form of normal so that others can experience these festivities, but until then I hope you have a Feliz Noche de San Juan. To read about the festivities from my mum's perspective, read her post here. #NocheDeSanJuan #60thBirthday #WildIsadora #Isadoraland  To the mother who has become a father.
To the father has become a mother. To the guys who have decided to become a dad. To the guy who you call dad. To the dad who never gave up faith that things would get better and brought his family up. To the dad who takes the time to go to soccer games. To the dad who is deployed for months on end. To the dad who stays up by your bedside. To the dad who fought the fight. To the dad who works around the clock to make sure things are "just right". To the dad who loved with love. To the dad who saw the struggle. To the dad who never stopped supporting. To the dad who grew up whilst you were growing up. To the dad who took the time to make the calls. To the person you call dad. Thank you for taking up this task. The road was not paved. The horizon unknown, and the benefits unclear. Without you there is no me. Without you there is no we. Thank you. Happy Father’s Day!! #FathersDay #ThanksDad #SundayReads #WildIsadora #Isadoraland  Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet. June is, for most in the northern hemisphere, the first official month of summer. The first month where it is safe to unveil skin for summer roasting. The first month of freedom for those tied to educational institutions. The first month for back to back weddings. Moreover than being the first month of summer, it is also the month of love. Equal love. Genderless love. Labeless love. June is Pride month and although the crowds of peace and love have been replaced with crowds of protests for racial equality, we all protest for the same thing. The right be loved. The neighborly love. The friendship love. The parental love. The cultural love. The humane love. The love that sees no race. The love that sees no gender. The love that sees no hate. This is not a political piece; I strive to leave politics out of anything I post, like, or comment. I do not believe in feeding the fire of anger and hate, as it only gets replenished with more hate. Although, I must admit, lately it's been a little harder than normal not to interact. Things are unbelievably difficult at the moment; we all know this. Yet, I am not going to harp on about the difficulites. I will; however, harp on about love. I strive to replace anger with love. Love for thy neighbor. Love for thy community. Just, love. The LGBT community began as a group of individuals fighting for their right to love. Such a simple action that seems to elude humanity’s everyday interaction. I have been fortunate to wander this earth and see love at its finest, but I have never felt the love run so deep beneath the societal labels as I have at a Pride event. The rainbow flag represents more than just colours of the labels LGBTQI+. The flag represents all the races congregated in unison expressing love and asking why something so simple is banned in some countries. Something so simple that brings all races together in unison for one cause. I’m not a hippe, although I can see where they are coming from. I’m not a “pothead”, although let’s be real, when was the last time you saw someone who smokes be aggressive? Just saying. I’m just a person who strives to do right every day to everyone and everything around me. The best way I have found to do this, is just to love. Just like Bob Marley said. One love, one heart #PrideMonth #PrideIsLove #SundayReads #WildIsadora #Isadoraland
 "Love Conquers Hate" tote from Ditch The Label | ditchthelabel.org No I took a week off social media to mourn a loss of a life. An unnecessary loss of a life. With little to no interaction on social media, I started the mourning process with a simple post that looking back I believe only a few understood. The post was the simplest way I felt I could provide support to an already bubbling situation without feeding to the negative energy that surrounded it. No hashtags. No further explanation. No pursuit for likes or reposts. No ratings. No trend. Just an honest desire to give a voice without fuelling a delicate situation to an overly publicised social outlet that has lost sight of the real issue that is interwoven in American society. Everywhere you read in the news, it’s black/white, what fails to be mentioned is the social issue that has continued for years. As a society we have all become apathetic and, in one way or another, have fed into the narrative that fuels the fire that burns in the underbelly. We have lost sight of humanity and replaced humanity with segregation. A man stood on another man’s neck as crowds watched and filmed the incident. Almost nine minutes later that man. Whilst this entire event unfolded, crowds gathered and filmed the event. Crowds gathered and filmed the entire event, with no strong resistance to prevent the situation from happening. As a minority in a minority culture, I know what it is like not to be liked, not just by one side, but by multiple. I am too white to be Hispanic, too black to be white, and too white to be black. I can’t even visit my the “motherland” without having smack talked about me in a different language. Not to mention most people didn’t know the island was a commonwealth of the U.S. until the hurricane happened. I understand it all. This post is not intended to further discuss the present situation of what’s right and what’s wrong. I have come to the conclusion that right and wrong is subjective. Diffusion of responsibility is a sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when other bystanders or witnesses are present. I remember being told about a study on diffusion of responsibility. The study was conducted to better understand the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese who was attacked whilst walking home from work. According to reports, dozens of people witnessed the attack but did nothing to help because each individual assumed the event was being reported. Sound kinda familiar? But how do you act when the person that is supposed to help you is the person that is doing the injustice? I would say America needs to do better and live up to the values that so proudly profess; however, that would just be hypocritical. How can you ask a nation to change thier ways when other nations won't change their ways? How can anyone ask a nation to change their ways when we do not ask of change from ourselves? Change starts with you. What are you going to do now? First they came for the Communists #Change #Humanity #FutureIsYou
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