freedom

A New Beginning...

I’m back everybody! It’s been a while since I last wrote an article for my blog. I am here in response to the countless clients, friends and relatives who have been asking what I’ve been up to. Well here it is! Over the last 19 months I’ve been entirely focused on finishing my first book. Woo Hooo. It’s been a journey filled with beauty and excitement, mystery and drama; soul expansion and golden nugget discoveries and most of all, profound moments of pure wonder and humble amazement.

These last few months have left me full of joy and gratitude. With the book almost ready to be shared with you all, I return to you refreshed and fulfilled and raring to start this new chapter of my life. Let the ride continue.

Many of my closest friends have been asking me how to describe the experience of writing a book. Some of them had the idea that it would involve experiencing tension and frustration caused by mental blocks. To be completely honest with you, it’s been one of the most intimate experiences of my life as many hours were spent in either silent reflection or in meditation or in silent typing and editing. Never before have I spent so much time with myself.  It was never a life long dream or goal of mine to write a book, however two years ago without much warning my life’s path took a sudden and dramatic detour.  I enjoyed a life changing experience and since this blissful day, during which my soul made a promise that my physical self would keep, an omnipresent spiritual force has undeniably guided me. With my chakras aligned and intuition attuned, my higher self reassured me I could simply surrender to this spiritual guidance and I so I did. Pausing my professional life, I chose to dedicate all my energy to fulfilling my promise. When I was not typing, I was reading and delving further into the truth. I have had lots of fun and through me, this spiritual force has written the book to be shared with you all in just under 12 months.  

In the beginning I was not sure how I was going to publish this book. I knew it would be published, someway somehow, but I didn’t exactly know how or when.  

I of course approached one of my favourite traditional publishers in the UK as part of their annual book competition. If selected from the several dozen other novice writers competing, they would offer a book contract, prize money for book marketing and agree to publish my book two years later. At the time I thought it sounded like a great opportunity.  Hiring the services of a well-established and professional company, I gave it my best shot to put together the best book proposal I could. What an intense six months process! It definitely helped me up my game. I was pretty sure they would give me an opportunity but fortunately I was not chosen. Yes! That is what I said. It’s not a typo. Fortunately I was not chosen. Yes of course it took me few days to see that despite my best efforts and spending the last of my savings, it was not my path to walk. The Universe had other plans for me. It was a test of trust. I surrendered once again.

Feeling a little unsettled and doubtful I took a break and forgot all about the book for a couple of months choosing instead to enjoy the summer months with my family. Then one day, I felt the urge to read through my manuscript and with fresh eyes, I devoured it from beginning to end, making some much needed improvements to the text. That is when I accepted it was not ready when I had presented it for the book competition. It was when I also realised I would not give up. I know in my heart that the powerful messages in this book deserve to land in the hands of so many people around the world.

Reignited, I felt this force taking over the show once more and I started to search for different ways to publish my book. I even sold my beloved campervan to finance the completion of this book. One day while reading one of my favourites authors I saw the name of an independent publisher from a different continent. I couldn’t help but check their website and my intuition said: ‘do not hesitate and send them your manuscript now’. So I did. Some days later the publisher’s CEO replied directly to me announcing that my manuscript had been accepted and, if I decided to work with them, that the book would be published within the next three months. Wooo Hooo. I couldn’t believe my eyes!  

As if that wasn’t enough good news, I also have full control over the publication, which would not have been the case if I had been chosen as winner of the book competition. There are no coincidences, only synchronicity in the Universe. This is clearly my path to walk and I’m so happy it worked out like this. I feel free to do things my way. I feel free to follow my heart all the way. WHICH IS WHAT THE BOOK IS ALL ABOUT!

It is not a coincidence you are reading this article, so please subscribe to my bi-weekly blog to keep you updated on the publication of what I hope will become a cherished book for you. Ok Ok ! I hear you say!  What is the booked called the Ray??

 ‘Love is the Answer: Wake Up Who You Really Are And Live the Live You are Meant to Live’.

It’ll be ready for Christmas for you to stick it in ya stocking!

Peace, Love & Light,

Ray Deekes
Self-Love and Happiness Life Coach

‘Happiness isn’t a feeling. It’s a practice’

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Research has shown that the best way to be happy is to make each day happy.

Quote of the week - July (week 4)

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YOU are the master and the creator of YOUR LIFE. YOU are the only one who is capable of doing the things that are needed to reach YOUR DREAMS.

GET COACHING, GET RESULTS

Quote of the week - July (week 3)

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YOU have the power to change anything. YOU are the one who chooses your thoughts and YOU are the one who feels your feelings. YOU are the creator of YOUR LIFE.


GET COACHING, GET RESULTS

What is mindfulness and how it can help with these crazy times?

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Mindfulness is living in the now. It is essentially about being more aware and awake in every moment of your life.

I discovered Mindfulness more that three years ago when a colleague at work recommended me a Mindfulness course for professional development. At that time I was suffering from high levels of stress and anxiety at work. Mindfulness meditation really helped me to start taking back control of my life by learning to relax and cope with stress even when things looked out of control. 

It took me months of commitment, dedication and daily practice to be able to discover peace, freedom and happiness with mindfulness. It was totally worth it as it has paid off with large dividends. Today I’m an enthusiastic practitioner and I’m very passionate about it. Mindfulness doesn’t eliminate the difficulties of living but it gives us the space to choose how to react. It prevent us from getting lost in stories about things that may or may not happen.

Our state of mind has a very powerful influence on how our body feels. This area of science is called mind-body medicine. As humans we get lost in our thoughts, they consume our attention most of the time. We're creating all sorts of stressors and anxieties about what ifs and maybes in the future or reliving stressors from the past, and that produces an inappropriate activation of the stress response (fight or flight).

The prolonged effect of too much stress produces a wear and tear in our immune system. It's like getting a car and absolutely flogging it to death by the way that we're driving it. So when our immunity system gets compromised, we accelerate the progression of chronic illnesses, heart diseases and accelerate the aging of the brain.

Being relaxed and aware is the mental equivalent of being fit and healthy. Mindfulness can be practiced any where, any time, regardless of what you are doing. The more you practice it the easier it gets. By practicing every single day it helps us to:

  • Decrease stress, anxiety, and depression

  • Support better regulation of emotional reactions and increases positive psychological states

  • Decrease burnout

  • Increase immunity to the influenza virus (flu) and coronavirus

  • Improve relationships 

  • Increase creativity

  • Improve skills needed for interpersonal relationships

  • Overcome procrastination and improve your productivity

  • Improve empathy and compassion

Brain imaging studies also show that regular mindfulness practice produces growth in brain areas associated with learning and memory processes, emotion regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective-taking.

Mindfulness can really help you to keep calm, find happiness and peace of mind even in the midst of dealing with coronavirus. Mindfulness for wellbeing and top performance is one of the key elements of Ray of Light Coaching Programmes.

I cannot thank Ray enough for the help he has given me. It made such a difference. I was really struggling with anxiety and stress. As a working mum of four children I found it hard to find balance in my life. I didn’t feel I was doing good enough. I felt overwhelmed. Ray helped me to see things differently, to slow down and to focus properly on one thing at a time. Learning Mindfulness meditation gave me the skills to have more control and to function better. I struggled to fall asleep but a quick meditation along breathing techniques has completely solved this problem. I do it every night without fail. I also use this to relax and focus on the next task when I’m really busy. I’m still learning Mindfulness and I try to apply it in different areas of my life on a daily basis. It is an ongoing process but it’s really worth it for the benefits you get.
— Emma, England
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ray Deekes is a firestarter. He is passionate about inspiring and empowering others to reach their true potential and to live a fulfilling life.

He brings a mix of stress management acumen and understanding on peak performance, health & wellbeing learnt from his studies in Stress Management, Health & Wellbeing (Centre for Stress Management, London) as well over 20 years of experience in high demanding jobs working with top executives from around the world and over 30 years of sports practice. Ray is also a enthusiastic practitioner of Mindfulness (Monash University) and very passionate about promoting healthy eating (University of Aberdeen).

www.rayoflight.online