Don Miguel Ruiz was born into a family of healers, and raised in rural Mexico by a curandera (healer) mother and a nagual (shaman) grandfather. Although the family anticipated that Ruiz would embrace their centuries-old legacy of healing and teaching, Ruiz chose to attend medical school and become a surgeon. However, a near-death experience in the early '70s changed his life. Stunned by this experience, he began an intensive practice of self-inquiry; devoting himself to the mastery of the ancient ancestral wisdom. Ruiz, a nagual from the Eagle Knight lineage, is dedicated to sharing his knowledge of the teachings of the ancient Toltec. For more than a decade, he has worked to impart this wisdom to his students through book and audio publications, workshops and journeys to sacred sites around the world.