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. Contents 1. Dedication 2. Preface 3. Glossary 4. Cast of Characters 5. Prologue 6. Chapter 1 7. Chapter 2 8. Chapter 3 9. Chapter 4 10. Chapter 5 11. Chapter 6 12. Chapter 7 13. Chapter 8 14. Chapter 9 15. Chapter 10 16. Chapter 11 17. Chapter 12 18. Chapter 13 19. Chapter 14 20. Chapter 15 21. Chapter 16 22. Chapter 17 23. Chapter 18 24. Chapter 19 25. Chapter 20 26. Chapter 21 27. Chapter 22 28. Chapter 23 29. Chapter 24 30. Chapter 25 31. Reader’s Guide 32. Acknowledgments 33. About the Authors 34. Credits 35. Copyright 36. About the Publisher Preface 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. Those excursions into my dream state are the basis for this book. When my mother confronts me there, I send her to talk to the main character of my story, which is my own knowledge. In this fantasy, knowledge is depicted as a mysterious creature called Lala. You could say she is the embodiment of everything I believe and everything that gives shape to my story—just as your knowledge helps you create the story of your life. Many wonderful characters bring energy and life to this story. Each one reflects me and each one contributes to my healing in a singular way. Although some of their names and some of their exchanges with me have been fictionalized, all of these characters represent actual friends, students, and family members. Some are dead and some still live and laugh with me, but all of them have enriched my world. My love for each of them is strong, and my gratitude for the role they played in my life and in my recovery is boundless. It may seem that our experiences—yours and mine—are very different. Your main character is different from mine, and your secondary characters probably don’t seem like the people in my story. While we may seem different, you are an essential part of the dream of humanity, as I am. You have searched for truth through symbols, as I have. You are knowledge, seeking to redeem itself, as I was. You are your own savior, and you are pure potential in action. God represents the truth of you, and the truth will set you free. Let this book help you understand these things. Listen, see, and dare to change your own world, a world made of thoughts and automatic responses. Allow the events of my life to inspire new insights about your own dream and its current challenges. A good student makes the most of whatever information becomes available, and as my story demonstrates, life provides all the information we need. With all my love and respect, —Miguel Angel Ruiz Glossary Awareness: The ability to see things as they are. Death: Matter; the absence of life. Dios/Diosa: God/Goddess Don/Doña: Titles of respect in the Spanish language (similar to sir, lady). A dream: The mind’s reflection of our perception. The dream of the planet: The collective reality of the human species. Dreamer: Someone who knows that he or she is dreaming all the time. Energy: The eternal supreme power, the only thing that really exists. Evil: The result of believing in lies. Evil actions intensify according to how distorted the lie is and how great the level of fanaticism. Faith: Believing 100 percent, without a doubt. God: The eternal supreme power, the only thing that really exists. Heaven: A story in our mind that results in happiness. Hell: A story in our mind that results in drama. Intent: The message of energy that gives direction to light, creating matter and disintegrating matter. Intent travels at the center of light, with quanta revolving around it. Intent is life itself. Knowledge: Agreements made between humans about the nature of reality. Knowledge is communicated through symbols, such as words and numbers, phrases and formulas. Lies: Distortions of the truth within the human mind. Life: The creative force of God, or energy, that manifests matter. Light: Life’s messenger, and its first manifestation. Love: The aspect of energy that manifests as the totality of all vibrations, moving matter and recording information into matter. Matter perceives and reflects it, and reacts with the complete range of emotions. Magic: The creative aspect of energy. Matter: The finite manifestation of infinite life. Mind: A virtual reality, created by the reflection (in the brain) of everything that the brain perceives. Mitote (mee-'toe-tay): The ongoing conversation in our head, which sounds as if a thousand people are talking at once and nobody is listening. Nagual: The Nahuatl word referring to the force that moves matter. Nagual man/woman: A person who knows himself/herself as the force that moves matter; an immortal. Nahuatl: The language of Aztecs. Power: The potential to create. Shaman: In all cultures, a medicine man or woman. Soul: The force of life that holds a universe (matter) together (e.g., the universe of the human body). Every component recognizes itself as part of that universe. Story: An explanation of a dream. Teotihuacan (Teo): An ancient city of Mexico, which flourished from 200 BC to AD 500. Its excavated temples and pyramids are located approximately thirty miles northeast of Mexico City. Toltec: A Nahuatl word meaning artist. Tonal: Matter Truth: That which is real; another word for God and energy. Truth existed long before humanity and will exist long after humanity. Wisdom: The ability to react correctly to every event; common sense.