Book: The Atheist and the Afterlife – An Autobiography: A True Story Of Inspiration, Transformation, And The Pursuit Of Enlightenment
Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hello. My name is Ray Catania, and I am a teacher of Metaphysics, a Spiritual Coach, and of course an author.
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing ‘The Atheist and the Afterlife – an Autobiography: A True Story of Inspiration, Transformation, and the Pursuit of Enlightenment’ book?
Since it is an autobiography, one of the primary challenges was recalling the events of the past as detailed as possible, to immerse the reader in the story. Allowing them to feel like they were there with me and get the true sense who I was, where I was, and where I was going.
Another came about from describing the supernatural events surrounding my spiritual awakening. It can be difficult to elaborate and conceptualize paranormal activity and things not of this earth. For example, to explain a near-death experience, can be somewhat challenging, because we don’t really have all the words in our vocabulary to describe such an event.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I don’t know if I have a writing style per say. This is my first book and I just sort of wrote it straight from heart, exactly the way I would say the words to you if we sat down and had a talk.
Q4. What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
Since my spiritual awakening I have been significantly attracted to nature. I like places with trees, mountains, lakes, or streams. Very quiet, peaceful, and tranquil type places.
Q5. Is there much to do before you dive in and start writing this type of book?
The book had actually begun as a journal of the crazy events that were transpiring all around me. As something unexplainable would happen, I would write about them. For example, if I received a message from the other side, had a vision, or a premonition, I would write it as quickly as possible so as not to forget the details. It was from these journals of experiences that book was born from.
You would think that because these events were so far out of the norm that they would be easy to remember but it is actually the opposite. I think it is because of the way the information is transmitted. Through thought and energy, makes it very fragile. As opposed to the written word, spoken word, etc. If you take something in through the usual five human senses it is much easier to remember because we practice it all the time, but the sixth sense isn’t something we focus on typically and so it makes retention more difficult.
Q6. How long did it take you to write ‘The Atheist and the Afterlife – an Autobiography: A True Story of Inspiration, Transformation, and the Pursuit of Enlightenment’?
Well since it is an autobiography, I suppose I could say about 40 years, given my age but actually it took about eighteen months or so to get the material from my mind to digital paper.
Q7. On what platforms can readers find and purchase ‘The Atheist and the Afterlife – an Autobiography: A True Story of Inspiration, Transformation, and the Pursuit of Enlightenment’?
The book is available in 52 countries worldwide, anywhere books are sold. It is available in various formats including digital versions for Amazon, Apple, and Barnes and Noble, and the new audiobook version has just begun to hit stores, which I narrated myself.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Atheist and the Afterlife – an Autobiography: A True Story of Inspiration, Transformation, and the Pursuit of Enlightenment’?
The idea of the title was explaining the immense transformation I underwent spiritually. In the book’s beginning I am a non-believer. An atheist who after a spiritual awakening, transpiring over decades of time and many paranormal events, finally succumbs and concedes to the fact that not only is there an afterlife, but I have the ability to communicate with it.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also you?
Well, the idea of the book is to take the reader along with me on the wild ride that is my life. It is written from the first person. So, I try to make the reader feel as though they are having the same experiences with me, as they are happening. Much of the latter portion of the book was written in real time. You get to read parts from my journal. So, as I learn and experience new things, the reader will get to learn and experience new things with me. There is no shortage of material. In fact, since the publishing of that first book, I have enough material for the second which is almost completed. I already have a good idea about the third one too.
Q10. Are there any secrets from the book (that aren’t in the blurb), you can share with your readers?
Oh yes! There are many. The book is divided into three parts. The first part of the book is “My Life.” It is filled with trauma and tragedy. Including my own death, which I came back to write about. The second part of the book is called “Our Lives” because this is when I meet and fall in love with Jessica. She was the catalyst, in me exploring the things that were happening to me after the NDE. During this second part of the book, we get to meet and interact with her dad. He has been dead for over 20 years. In the third and final part of the book entitled “The Afterlife” I explain my theory of where we go when we die. I am not talking about any imaginary conceptual realities, I mean I will tell you where the energy that makes up the human conscious mind will actually, physically, go when the body dies.
Book Is Available On Amazon
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