Theresa Cheung - The Ritual Yearbook: 365 Simple Daily Practices to Boost Happiness & Fulfilment

THE RITUAL YEARBOOK

365 Simple Daily Practices

to Boost Happiness & Fulfilment

By Theresa Cheung

First published in the UK and USA in 2019 by Watkins, an imprint of Watkins Media Limited Unit 11, Shepperton House, 8393 Shepperton Road, London N1 3DF

enquiries@watkinspublishing.com

Design and typography copyright Watkins

Media Limited 2019

Text copyright Theresa Cheung 2019

Artwork copyright Watkins2019

The right of Theresa Cheung to be identified as the Author of this text has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Commissioning Editor: Jo Lal
Managing Editor: Daniel Culver
Head of Design: Georgina Hewitt
Designer: Karen Smith
Production: Uzma Taj

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78678-207-6

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Typeset in Interstate and Harman

Printed in the United Kingdom

www.watkinspublishing.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Sincere gratitude to my publisher, Jo Lal, for being the inspiration behind this ritual book series and to her invaluable help with final editing. Thanks to Etan Ilfield for his support and his vision. Thanks also to Ingrid Court-Jones for her wonderful input and much needed help at copy edit, to Daniel Culver for his fantastic work at proof stage, to Vikki Hartley for her joyful promotion, to Jenna Brown for her magic with foreign rights and to everyone at Watkins involved in the publication and promotion of this book. I am forever honoured to be given the opportunity to write books for a publisher that has such an incredible history and esteemed reputation in the world of mind, body, spirit.

Heartfelt thanks to my brilliant publicist Lyndsey Mayhew (www.lyndseymayhew.com) and my wise agent Jane Graham Maw (www.grahammawchristie.com). Credit also to Ruthie Cheung for her research efforts and her help with proofreading. And last, but by no means least, deepest love and gratitude to Ray, Robert and Ruthie, as I immersed myself in the blissful ritual of writing this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Theresa Cheung was born into a family of spiritualists. Since leaving Kings College, Cambridge with a Masters in Theology and English, she has written numerous bestselling mind, body, spirit books, including two Sunday Times Top-10 bestsellers. She has sold over half a million books and her titles have been translated into more than 30 different languages and become international bestsellers, with 21 Rituals to Change Your Life (Watkins) translated into 13 different languages. She has written features for personal growth and spiritual development for magazines and national newspapers, and her radio and TV work include an interview about spirituality with Piers Morgan on GMTV and Russell Brands Under the Skin . She works closely with scientists studying consciousness and is collaborating with The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), who awarded her readers this landing page: http://noetic.org/Theresa-Cheung/. Theresa has a thriving author page on Facebook and her website is www.theresacheung.com.

Relying on the power of positive thinking to change your life is like choosing the blue pill to reference that iconic Matrix movie scene, where Neo is offered a choice between taking a red or a blue pill. Choose the blue pill and he will remain blissfully unaware of his destiny. Choose the red pill and he will see things as they really are. Choosing rituals is taking the red pill. Its waking up to the reality that if you want your life to change, positive thinking just isnt enough. You need to take meaningful action. You need daily rituals.

THE REAL SECRET

Weve grown accustomed to thinking that intention, or the power of positive thinking, is everything when it comes to attracting good things into our life. But just as we eventually learn to trust a person by their actions and not their words, perhaps thats the same for the law of attraction. What if the universe responds not so much to our thoughts but to our actions? What if our daily actions signal to the universe that we are someone worth trusting and investing in? What if our daily actions are the real secret to a rewarding life? What if the universe is only interested in supporting someone whose actions match their intentions?

Seen in this clear light, we are not what we think but what we repeatedly do . Repeat an action often enough and it becomes a habit, but habits cant ignite change because they are mindless. They lack personal meaning. For actions to create lasting change they need to be filled to the brim with meaning. They need to be ritualized . This book will help you become aware of the meaning and significance of specific actions, so you can transform them into empowering rituals. Youll be encouraged to perform daily rituals for a year and, during the course of that year, to watch all areas of your life improve.

THE SCIENCE OF RITUAL

Rituals are repeatable actions performed with mindfulness, feeling and intention. Rituals give our lives meaning. They bring an element of the sacred into our lives or an awareness of something higher or greater than ourselves. Not surprisingly they are often associated with religion, but you dont need to be religious, pagan or even to believe in their power. Rituals, like spirituality, are universal and for everyone regardless of culture or individual belief.

Research backs up the life-changing power of rituals. Numerous studies show that your brain is led more by your daily actions than by your thoughts. Change starts with what you repeatedly do your small everyday actions regardless of what you are thinking. If youve ever felt your mood boosted after a brisk walk, you will already know the truth of this. Its how rituals work. The power lies in actually doing them and how they can focus your concentration on the present moment. These rituals may feel like small actions, trivial even, but you will find the transformative impact comes from repeating them. Daily rituals really can evolve into life-changing results.

Intention, or belief in the power of a ritual, is helpful but intriguingly new research suggest simply having personal rituals in your life is the key, regardless of what they are.

Most of the rituals are backed up by solid research and throughout this book you will find extensive footnotes so that you can find the source of that research. When there is evidence of the benefits of a certain ritual, you will find it here, which will help you understand why you are being asked to do it. But it wont always be possible to provide evidence. Sometimes you will be asked to take a leap of faith and perform rituals inspired by influential thinkers. This lack of scientific evidence is not because the benefits arent real, but because the real power of rituals is unseen. Science isnt yet ready to fully acknowledge the power of the unseen in our lives although as you work through this book you will see that the gap between science and spirituality is closing.