I have over the years read many books, some texts for courses but mostly fiction. There is a thread that links them all: setting out intentions in the first couple of paragraphs. Where did the inspiration come from to write the book? Who inspired? And where the information was discovered. For me, it is simple to answer the questions. The inspiration to write is a result of the enormous changes that have happened around me over the last seven years or so. Who inspired me? Well, that is often inner guidance, and the people met along my life’s path. The answer to the final question is information comes from life, its experiences both good and bad, tried and tested patterns and observations of life. My faith in spirit and universal energies plays a big part in my written and spoken word.

To start a story, you have to start right from the beginning; however, I don’t want to take you on a long historical journey but give you a snapshot and an insight into my mind. I have come a long way from previous mindsets, so this book is about how I came from working as a prison officer on the landings and being the black and white version of me to becoming the full-colour waistcoat man. These days I am more open to the idea that there is more to life than the human eye perceives.

Twelve years in a job is difficult to gloss over. But I have to keep it in perspective. The time and experience formed a massive part of my current thinking. What I’ve discovered is: the times of adversity is when a real character is found. Working in the prison service was traumatic as an empathic individual. It has taken several years to recover from being in that role. Only recently have I seen the valuable lessons. For example, understanding people’s character: I have gained from experience.

I’ll take you to the tail end of my service. My daily commute was an eighty-six-mile round trip, and it was usually full of nervous anticipation, anger and an all-round stressful feeling. One morning as I was driving, I began to smell a strange smell in my car, it took me a good few minutes to establish what it was. The scent was familiar, and it took me back somewhere, it was the smell of cigarette smoke. Having grown up in an environment where both my parents smoked heavily, I am very anti-smoking in my environment. I have never smoked or allowed anybody to smoke in my car. I am a very analytical person at heart: seeking fact and logic in situations. I will do this to see if I can find a process or a pattern, I can then deconstruct it to its parts, and this should give me the reason why something is happening. In this instance, there was no logical explanation, so reluctantly I just had to put it down to one of those things.

Over the next few months, it began to happen more regularly, the sense of smell was heightened, interestingly though it only ever seemed to happen on my way to work. It was almost like somebody or something was assisting and supporting me to get to work. I cannot understate just how low I was at that particular time. I was grateful for the help no matter where its origin was.

Fast forward another year, and I found myself out of the prison service having served 12 years four months and 16 days. I volunteered for redundancy and was very fortunate to get it. I now had freedom but at what price. I had a huge gap to fill both in a financial sense and also the routine that I had followed for the last dozen years. I ended up working on a building site labouring, and it wasn’t an incredibly skilful job it just required a lot of manual labour, I would move things from one place to another and assist the tradesmen. It was reasonably routine steady work, and then a day that had started just like many others became the catalyst to change my life for the better. It set off a chain of events whose effects are still felt to this day. I was clearing out a garage readying it for the next delivery when I turned around and saw my Grandad in full form, he was complete with his trademark cap, and what was known as his cadging bag, that was where he kept things he had managed to scrounge or repurpose. I still to this day have one of his “thing of purpose” boxes, to most people, it would appear as junk to me things that may well have a use in the future. Anyway, I am digressing slightly now typically seeing your Grandad in the workplace is not earth-shattering news however I would like to point out at this time my Grandad had been dead for ten years I know because I went to his funeral. Wait, what he passed away ten years ago, and you have just seen him, I regularly crack the joke during my demonstrations that at that moment I discovered adrenaline has a colour and it is brown ladies and gentlemen. My mind was blown, who on earth could you discuss this with, who could help you process what you have just seen. I have a simplistic view on most things if you have a problem with the car you take it to a mechanic, and he fixes it, a relatively black and white scenario. Who do you go to when you have seen a “ghost” or what I now know as spirit. I had a lot to ponder on.

I mentioned earlier that I had a huge gap to fill, and I have always had a fascination with mediums and psychics and their work. I considered myself as an open-minded sceptic, neither believer nor cynic. I ended up going to a spiritualist church that was set up in a local community centre to get some of my questions answered. I walked through the door and was met with a very welcoming smile and a hug, in a previous job this hug would mean an imminent threat, so it was a strange experience for me to let somebody in that close. I stood there being hugged and found myself having to breathe deeply to steady my nerves. I slowly let out that breath, and then a lovely thing happened. I found an answer, and I found what I needed to fill that gap. I found peace, peace in my mind, peace in my heart. This little place, this sanctuary gave it in abundance and continued to for the next three years. It was also instrumental in me meeting somebody who would provide me with an opportunity of some much-needed work and income. That opportunity was gratefully accepted. A week after week I attended, I was curious but not convinced, and I was able to speak to like-minded people who would listen without judgement to this gobby loud individual and his odd opinions.

Finally, I could be myself, or I could choose not to engage if I didn’t want to, those couple of hours a week proved invaluable, it was a place where for a short while I could escape my troublesome mind. While I was there, I watched many different mediums over the years. Some were great and some not so: it’s all down to personal choice but what did bind them all together was their drive to bring in love light and upliftment to those in need. It was during that time that I received my first prediction by a wonderful lady by the name of Helen, Helen along with Ann, another light in my early days helped nurture me through a lot of my initial hangups with mediumship. Helen said to me I had a future at mediumship. I laughed; she continued that within 18 months, I will be up on platform giving messages. I again laughed and said, highly doubtful. Little did I know.

I was stacking the chairs away one night after the service and heard a lady in the kitchen talking about a message that I had given her during the development circle. She said Rick always provides guidance; it is almost like counselling. That has stayed with me and has also influenced my style of spiritual counselling to this day. I was and to a certain extent still am on a mission to find my purpose so I would always question people with more excellent knowledge about the things that I had experienced, the cigarette smell, the image of Grandad etc. I subsequently found out they were prompts for something bigger. Over the next three or so years, I attended the development group to sharpen my connection with spirit. I am not a religious person, but I love working with the universal energy that surrounds us all.

All of this gave me a thirst for more knowledge, and it was at this point I met my next teacher Simon, he can extract, or coax out talents and skills. My skills were hidden under a layer of insecurity. A distinct lack of confidence, he managed over the number of courses I attended to draw them out, who would have thought the threat of a pointy shoe up my rear end would provide such great motivation. Simon managed to do this work with a twinkle in his eye: but also got you to maintain the discipline that this work requires. Coupled with that, I did a thirty-week development course in Lincoln with another lovely soul who taught me the importance of being yourself and trusting in spirit; it was a great experience. Through the church, I was fortunate enough to work with one of my idols Pat. I can’t speak highly enough of her, she took me to various churches and psychic suppers, giving me the confidence to work the platform and deliver messages. I loved nearly every minute of it, think about the adrenaline from earlier. You will understand why I said almost all of it, damn pesky nerves.

Another turning point for me was Simon’s student fair where you get to experience what it is like to read for the public, wow that was an intense day. Now despite being full of nerves, I had a full booking sheet within minutes of setting up. I had a well-attended demonstration and that for me was the day that the waistcoat man’s persona was born. It triggered the intensity in me, and my love of the work intensified.

It is my firm belief when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I ask spirit for that to happen, and this next teacher was a man who I now see as a dear friend, an ally and a confidant. Ian and partner Liz run Lizian events which is a beautiful community-based business. They introduced me to the professional arena, and I can now sit proudly amongst my peers and teachers and give professional readings. I am honoured to sit amongst so many like-minded people who have people’s wellbeing at heart. I am thrilled when my counsel is sought. I always look to sharpen the sword: so, I’m prepared to learn new skills. Adding neuro-linguistic programming, analytical hypnotherapy and also with the guidance of Ian reiki master to my skill set all with the aim of helping as many people as I can see their true potential.

What you will find out with me is I am blunt and honest but also a great ally and fiercely loyal to my clients. I have no giant ego and am not pretentious, and I coined the phrase I am what I am, I do what I do. I am just me, that sums me up perfectly.

All I ask as you read this book is to realise I desire to inspire! However, none of the information contained instructs how to run your life; free-will must override all thoughts. This book includes personal observations of how my life’s path has opened new horizons and my thoughts at certain stages during my journey. I hope you enjoy the read and maybe you’ll find inspiration or a starting point of change.

Enjoy the journey.