Barbara Emrys - The Toltec Art of Life and Death

Copyright Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Preface Cast of Characters Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Reader’s Guide Glossary Acknowledgments About the Authors About the Publisher

Thorsons

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First published in the US by HarperElixir, an imprint of HarperCollins 2015

First published in the UK by Thorsons 2015

FIRST EDITION

© Miguel Ruiz and Barbara Emrys 2015

Designed by Ralph Fowler

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Miguel Ruiz and Barbara Emrys assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008147969

Ebook Edition © September 2015 ISBN: 9780008147976

Version: 2015-09-25

I dedicate this book with all my love and gratitude to the young woman who left her physical body in the month of October 2010 and donated her heart to me. Thanks to her generosity and to the generosity of her family, I have been able to travel to cities around the world, bringing my message of love, awareness, and joy to many ­people. It is because of her that I was also able to create this book with Barbara Emrys, whose imagination and artistry bring the story of don Miguel Ruiz to life within these pages.

To all the hospital personnel who have treated me since my heart attack, during my subsequent heart transplant, and up to this date, I offer my deepest gratitude.

I also dedicate this wonderful story to my sons, my daughters-in-law, and my entire family, all of whom I love so much. This is also for my readers, whose growing awareness over the last fifteen years has encouraged me to deliver my message in inventive and exciting ways. It is clear to me that their love for this wisdom has made the world a happier place to live.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication I dedicate this book with all my love and gratitude to the young woman who left her physical body in the month of October 2010 and donated her heart to me. Thanks to her generosity and to the generosity of her family, I have been able to travel to cities around the world, bringing my message of love, awareness, and joy to many ­people. It is because of her that I was also able to create this book with Barbara Emrys, whose imagination and artistry bring the story of don Miguel Ruiz to life within these pages. To all the hospital personnel who have treated me since my heart attack, during my subsequent heart transplant, and up to this date, I offer my deepest gratitude. I also dedicate this wonderful story to my sons, my daughters-in-law, and my entire family, all of whom I love so much. This is also for my readers, whose growing awareness over the last fifteen years has encouraged me to deliver my message in inventive and exciting ways. It is clear to me that their love for this wisdom has made the world a happier place to live.

Preface

Cast of Characters

Prologue

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Reader’s Guide

Glossary

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Publisher

Preface Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication I dedicate this book with all my love and gratitude to the young woman who left her physical body in the month of October 2010 and donated her heart to me. Thanks to her generosity and to the generosity of her family, I have been able to travel to cities around the world, bringing my message of love, awareness, and joy to many ­people. It is because of her that I was also able to create this book with Barbara Emrys, whose imagination and artistry bring the story of don Miguel Ruiz to life within these pages. To all the hospital personnel who have treated me since my heart attack, during my subsequent heart transplant, and up to this date, I offer my deepest gratitude. I also dedicate this wonderful story to my sons, my daughters-in-law, and my entire family, all of whom I love so much. This is also for my readers, whose growing awareness over the last fifteen years has encouraged me to deliver my message in inventive and exciting ways. It is clear to me that their love for this wisdom has made the world a happier place to live. Preface Cast of Characters Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Reader’s Guide Glossary Acknowledgments About the Authors About the Publisher

This book recounts the events of my life. Unlike my previous writings, it merges the power of imagination with the teachings of Toltec wisdom. It tells the story of a mystic dream I experienced several years ago, during the nine weeks of a medically induced coma that followed my heart attack.

At the time of our death, it is said, a lifetime of memories will flash before our eyes. Something similar happened to me while my body desperately struggled to stay alive and my mind expanded toward the infinite.

You could say that during those long weeks I dreamed my legacy. A personal legacy is the compilation of all the experiences in our life. It is the sum of all our actions, all our reactions, all our emotions and feelings. It is what we give to those who remain, after we leave our physical body. A legacy is all that we are, the totality of ourselves. Through the memories others have of us, our legacy is determined . . . and the more authentic we are, the brighter that legacy will be.

I was inspired to create this book as a gift to my sons, to my students, and to all those whose love helped bring me back to life. To my children, my family, my friends and lovers, I give my memories and my unconditional love. To those who wish to learn from my words, I offer the experience of my life. My enduring love of the world is my gift to this beautiful planet. The authenticity of my awareness is my gift to humanity.

Our waking lives, like our sleeping dreams, are works of art. This book is an artistic piece of storytelling about very real interactions between me and my mother, doña Sarita, a well-respected healer in San Diego and my teacher and guide through much of my life. From the moment of my heart attack on February 28, 2002, she did everything she could to keep my body from dying. Using all the power of her faith, she gathered her children and apprentices to perform a series of ceremonies on my behalf. She worked tirelessly, day and night, to bring me back to health and consciousness. She was determined that I return to my body and give it life again. On many occasions she went into a trance, or deep meditation, with the intention of entering my dream and demanding that I reject death.