The market for self-help books is pretty strong in Mexico, but few Mexican authors have reached international success like Dr. Miguel Ruiz. Born in Guadalajara but brought up in Tijuana, the San Diego resident has broken the language barrier with "more than 8 million copies sold" of his most popular book: The Four Agreements.
Oprah.com
His past book catapulted him to the bestsellers lists (appearing on the New York Times bestseller list for 8 years) and he was even featured on prominent TV shows like Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres. Almost two years after that first publication and other works, Ruiz returned to the spotlight with an autobiography.
The Toltec Art of Life and Death was inspired by his 9 month coma, the result of a heart attack back in 2002. "When I came back to San Diego on February 28, I woke up with a tremendous chest pain and I obviously knew right away that it was a heart attack because I'm a doctor, I was a surgeon in Mexico until 1986. I had a pretty intense pain but I was really excited for the experience I was about to have."
Don Miguel Ruiz's website
The book is essentially about "the 'dream' he had while on that state" a period in which he learned on "how to leave the body and change the perception that we have of death". This text deals with similar subjects that are addressed on his past works like "the interaction that we have with our knowledge" and "the conflict between telling the truth and lying", which puts a lot of "superstitions" on us that enslaves the human condition.
"Sarita, my mother, is a secondary character but very important, because before dying she told me that I was not allowed to die before her, she was doing everything in her power to bring me back to life and in order to do that, she had to face my knowledge", explain Don Miguel about the role that his healer mother had in this odyssey.
Don Miguel Ruiz's Facebook page
The narrative of the book is based on his experience, but the author clarifies that this book is not only about his life lessons. "This book tells the story of the dream I had during my coma so that whoever reads it can compare it with their own dream, their own story. Because changes can be achieved. They can change their own way of thinking. They're the only ones that can do it."
This posture is part of a popular way of thinking but very divided, questioned mostly by all the new generations with postmodern views and focused on having everything immediately (which is a stark difference from the devotion to past times or the idea of transcendence.) Much of the skeptics are usually inclined to the individual hedonism, a pretty common way of life in an era where the oversaturation of information seeps in pretty intensely.
Don Miguel Ruiz's Facebook page
"Each generation will find what they're looking for in this book and every time they read it, it'll be like they're reading a different book. This means that they are evolving. All of my books are of tremendous help in changing the reader's perspective, so if they do change their own way of thinking, they'll see an increasingly better world."
The doctor also stressed the importance of these improvements, despite the ever increasing fast-paced way of life that generates this massive consumption of readily-available information, which are a result of technological advances. "There are a millions and millions of different and contradictory opinions, but at the end of the day, all of this finds balance."
His humanist view can be seen in every angle with which he illustrates his ideas, a view that he entrusts to his readers and their potential to comprehend and apply to their own daily lives. "Each time, the possibilities of change are greater, both in a positive and negative way. Fortunately, we are on the right path and humanity keeps moving towards a much better future." concluded Don Miguel.
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karla.sanay@sandiegored.com
Translated by: edgar.martinez@sandiegored.com
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