The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship

by Miguel Ruiz

Love has no obligations. Fear is full of obligations.

Love has no expectations. Fear is full of expectations.

When we love, we don’t have expectations; we do it because we want to, and if other people do it or not, it’s because they want to or not and it’s nothing personal.

Love is based on respect.

Love is ruthless; it doesn’t feel sorry for anyone, but it does have compassion.

Love is completely responsible. Fear avoids responsibility, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not responsible.

Love is always kind.

Anger is nothing but fear with a mask. Sadness is fear with a mask. Jealousy is fear with a mask.

Love is always kind, and that kindness makes you generous and opens all the doors. Love is generous. Fear is selfish; it is only about me. Selfishness closes all the doors.

Love is unconditional. Fear is full of conditions.

We don’t have the right to change anyone else, and no one else has the right to change us. If we are going to change, it is because we want to change, because we don’t want to suffer any longer.

Selfishness, control, and fear will break almost any relationship. Generosity, freedom, and love will create the most beautiful relationship: an ongoing romance.

Have the courage to go for it 100 percent or let it go. Let go of the past and begin every day at a higher level of love. This will keep the fire alive and make your love grow even more.

Your heart is like that magical kitchen. If you open your heart, you already have all the love you need.

You have to focus on the most wonderful relationship you can have: the relationship with yourself. It is not about being selfish; it is about self-love.

Your reactions are the key to having a wonderful life. If you can learn to control your own reactions, then you can change your routines, and you can change your life.

The real mission you have in life is to make yourself happy, and in order to be happy, you have to look at what you believe, the way you judge yourself, the way you victimize yourself.

Usually humans go into relationships as the hunter. They look for what they feel they need, hoping to find what they need in the other person, only to find that it’s not there. When you enter a relationship without this need, it’s a different story.