A Moment of Reflection

Today I opened my LinkedIn and saw a message that made me have a moment of reflection. It’s been over year since I finally made a life time dream come true: to do what I love to do by creating and developing my own company to help others to find their true potential and live a fulfilling life.

I was very excited to launch my website which I designed myself.  The process of showing my ideas and concepts was a very enjoyable experience as it was full of creativity, learning, passion and dedication. 

Just a month later after officially launching Ray of Light back in February, things started to get very difficult for many people around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been hard to listen to the news on a daily basis and to stay positive. Job insecurity and fear have added an extra layer of stress to many people’s lives, making them unable to manage this additional pressure. I have friends and acquaintances that are suffering from very high levels of stress and anxiety, some of whom are dependant upon medication to feel they can cope. This is affecting their lives on so many levels (health, relationships, work, etc.).

Speaking of friends, I recently had a fantastic conversation with a close friend who works is a human resources specialist.  During this conversation, she told me that she regularly deals with people suffering with high levels of stress due to experiencing difficulties at work. She always recommends finding a good ‘stress coach’ to help them manage their stress and improve their wellbeing. SADLY, she states that a very small percentage of stressed people actually take action. Furthermore, a recent UK psychologist study revealed that only one out of ten people needing professional support actually take action and get help. A common strategy is to suppress emotions, increasing reliance on alcohol, smoking, food, caffeine, etc.  We live in a quick fix society, which advertising thrives on BUT these quick fixes do not make the problem go away. These coping behaviours have a detrimental effect on the individual’s health (e.g. affecting levels of energy and motivation, gaining weight, etc.), relationship problems, quality of sleep and weakening their immune system (so important at this time!).

One of the things I’ve learned from direct experience: that we are all capable of doing what we set to do if we have the confidence, dedication and the motivation to do it. We are all capable with a system in place.

I’m very grateful for having gained experience helping people from different cultural and economic backgrounds and people of different professions around the world.  

I have enjoyed the challenges of improving the way they feel, their relationships, their health, their professional life and their wellbeing. I have helped several people to lose weight, to manage stress and anxiety, to develop their businesses, to improve their physical and mental health, to improve relationships, to stop procrastinating and improving their productivity, to get fit, to sleep better, to improve their nutrition, to improve the way they feel and to experience more joy in their work places and their homes. A big thank you to all of them for being brave to step up for what you really want in your life and for working together with me making positive changes in your lives. 

I am ready for more. Why not make 2021 the year your dream comes true for you too?

Wishing you a Happy New Year! Get off to a good start with Ray of Light Coaching Services. 

Warm wishes,

Ray Deekes
Director of Ray of Light Coaching Services

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

Quote of the week - May (week 3)

In this time of uncertainty, a lot of people are feeling stressed, anxious and worried about what is going on. With Ray of Light Coaching Services learn coping strategies to handle inevitable life stressors which come in your way.

Find out more about Ray of Light’s International Online Coaching Programmes at: www.rayoflight.online

GET COACHING GET RESULTS

You are the architect of YOUR LIFE

Many people think that whatever happens in life is down to good or bad luck BUT in reality each and every one of us are the creators of our lives.

Yes, these are very difficult times for many people around the world due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Viktor E. Frankl was a holocaust survivor who gave us a very powerful life lesson. He taught us that we are the architects of our lives even in the worst circumstances. As long as we have a reason to live and to fight for our dreams, we will find a way to move forward. 

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ”

— VIKTOR E. FRANKL, Holocaust survivor

Everything, which happens to us, everything we experience, has a meaning and a purpose, so there is no such thing as good luck or coincidence. We are powerful creators of our lives using the circumstances we create to grow, to develop, to be happy, etc. We create our own world: what we think, what we say, what we experience, who we meet, who we relate to, our careers, our jobs, where we live, who we choose to marry, when and how many children we want to bring to this world, how we raise them, the amount of time we dedicate to our loved ones, to be happy with our lives, etc. 

Many people live complaining all the time about their lives, blaming everybody but never looking at themselves. They are not able to reflect objectively and evaluate their beliefs and attitudes.  We are the only ones responsible for the way we live our lives.  You are the architect of YOUR LIFE.

If you have reached a moment in your life where your intuition is trying to tell you to change something in your life, what is stopping you from listening and doing something about it?

Only YOU can decide to take control of YOUR life. Things are not just going to happen for you, YOU have to make them happen.

Ray of Light’s Coaching Programmes are designed to empower you by putting you in the drivers seat. The destination being life as you want to live it. 

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

Quote of the week - April (week 1)

Make the decision TODAY to master your fears and star enjoying your life to the fullest. Get the support you need with Ray of Light Online Coaching Programmes to:

• Reduce your stress, anxiety, burn out & depression

• Boost your joy, happiness, enthusiasm & self-confidence

• Increase your resilience & peace of mind

• Improve your productivity, your relationships & overall wellbeing

• Learn coping strategies to handle inevitable life stressors that come your way

What can you do being stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak?

The best thing you can do during these difficult times being stuck at home is to talk to the one that is inside you. To connect with yourself now that you don’t have all the distractions we normally have everyday.

This is the best moment to meditate. To practice gratitude. We all have many things to be grateful for in our lives; the love of our loved ones, our health, one more day of life on this beautiful planet, listening to the birds singing, looking at the sky in the morning or the stars at night, to feel the sun on our face, on our skin (even through a window), to hear our children tells that they love us, to see their smiles and hear their giggles.  

Many people feel lonely in these times. The worst solitude is the one we have inside us. Make friends with yourself. Enjoy your own company. We can always relive happy moments when we remember them. Even with loved ones that are no longer with us.  

If you love life, then ask yourself how you want to spend your life. Do we spend it paying bills, buying things we don’t really need or in actually living it? If you love life then spend it really living life to the fullest. 

And what is living? It’s trying to feel happy. It’s to spend most of our time doing the things that make us feel alive, things that gratify us with out causing harm to others. Remember that life has an expiration day. Let’s use this precious time to reconnect with ourselves. As long as you have a reason to live and to fight for your dreams you will find a way to move forward. We all are going to leave this world at some point. What we take with us and what we leave behind for our loved ones are memories of how we lived. That is why we should make the most of our limited time in this beautiful world to make our lives extraordinary. 

The enforced lockdown offers each and every one of you a unique opportunity to reconnect with your love ones, to learn to connect with yourself and to reflect on your life. Where you have been and where you are going. To learn, to grow and to improve. Every day is truly a gift so don’t waste it. Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.  

LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULLEST. MAKE IT A MASTERPIECE.

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

Quote of the week - March (week 4)

Stress is the number one cause of disease in the body yet most of us do nothing to counter its negative effects on our lives. In these difficult times if you or a loved one are suffering from stress, it needs to be addressed, not ignored.

GET COACHING. GET RESULTS

With Ray of Light Coaching Services learn coping strategies to handle inevitable life stressors which come in your way. Find out more about stress and Ray of Light’s International Online Coaching Programmes at: www.rayoflight.online

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

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

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