Don Miguel Ruiz - The Three Questions: How to Discover and Master the Power Within You

S IMPLE STORIES INVITE us to reflect on our own lives. One way or another, they represent everyones story. If a story is good, it has the power to inspire questions and encourage us to look for answers. If a story is very good, it can get under our skin and dare us to see the truth. It can open new doors of perception. These stories leave us a choice: to be challenged by the truth or to close the door and continue walking a familiar path.

This book is for those who are willing to see the truth of themselves. It is for those willing to ask what is real and to go through unfamiliar doors. Life is eager to begin a new conversation with you. If youre willing to listen and to change, your world can be transformed.

We humans are what we are today because of the way our nervous system has responded to light over millions of years. Our brains have become intricate, our capabilities diverse, and our societies complex. Weve certainly made our mark on this planet. And yet, if we were asked what we had to show for humanitys years of evolution, what would we say?

Would we say that were free of worry and conflict? Would we say we finally understand how to be the best humans we can be? It would be wonderful to say that our beliefs no longer drive us to do terrible things. It would be great to say that our minds no longer wage their internal wars. It would be nice to say that humans have become far too wise to turn against each other. It would be nice to say that about our species, but we cannotnot yet, at least.

In an ideal world, humans get along with each other for their own benefit and for the benefit of humanity. In an ideal community, people cooperate in order to prosper, and they appreciate their good fortune. They value life and care for the land that nurtures them. Ideally, they respect themselves and everyone else.

In an ideal family, children are made to feel safe and appreciated. Parents are inspired teachers and vigilant protectors. The elderly continue to be productive. Groups of people form societies, of course, but no society tries to undermine any other. Together, they build greater communities, and together they ensure the well-being of every citizen.

In this world of our imagination, governments may still exist. An ideal government presides over a country with respect. Its leaders are wise and farseeing. The best possible congress is one that legislates with conscience and compassion. Its laws are clear and justand the rules apply to everyone.

In this ideal world, people are also able to govern themselves justly. What does it mean to govern ourselves? It means we are in charge of our own thoughts and responsible for our own actions. We refuse to walk blindly through life. We see exactly what is and not merely what we prefer to see. We dont permit the past to take command of the present. We view our personal reality the way a great artist wouldwith an eye for beauty and balance.

In an ideal world, we dont punish ourselves repeatedly for one mistake. We dont indulge in self-pity. We dont manipulate emotions. We dont gossip or seek out drama.

In an ideal world, we have no desire to judge or to blame. We are not defeated by guilt and shame, nor do we inflict shame on anyone else. In other words, we govern ourselves in the same way we want to be governed: with respect.

There is much more we could say about that ideal world, but its important to consider why this world doesnt actually exist for most of us. Helping the world move toward its ideal expression is too great a task for a small book, but we can take the first steps on our own. Everything we build together as human beings begins with a little imagination. We may believe we are tragic victims of circumstance, but with imagination we can take another perspective and see how unkindly we treat ourselves. With all its thoughts and judgments, the mind may seem like our worst adversary, but by imagining the mind differently, we can make it our ally. By modifying the way our minds work we can begin to change our world.

We all have fears we wont admit to ourselves, and were not always sure how to overcome them. We need love, but were not convinced we deserve it. We want to love ourselves, but we dont know how. To one degree or another, there is chaos and confusion in each of us. Ideas take hold, and opinions intimidate. We get caught up in our own drama and take it all so seriously. We play roles that dont reflect the truth of what we are.