WHERE IS YOUR JOURNEY TAKING YOU?

Are you on a journey that is bringing you to a place of joy? I've heard it said that there is nothing more important than to not allow anything to take you from consistent moments of joy. This is my mission with the series of books I have written for you. I can guarantee laughs from beginning to end.

Start the journey with "The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude". Then slip into the sequel, "Babes in Bucksnort". You can learn more about these books in my blogs or by reading the reviews posted on Amazon.com. For now, let's focus on your personal journey.

Are you finding satisfaction? Are you taking pleasure from the path you are on? If not, you can always change the picture, but you must be willing to work. Let's face it, life is not easy.

The important thing to remember is to be gentle with yourself. There is no right or wrong path. Whatever path you have been traveling is the right path for you. That path has also brought you to my blog. Perhaps this article will wake you up to the truth that you can change your life.

As I've said, it's not easy, but it involves taking simple steps; taking baby steps that will lead you to a better feeling place. You cannot jump from a place of despair to a place of joy in a single leap. You have to keep reaching for the next best thought, feeling or action. Taking action is often the key. Anything that will get you outside of yourself is a good place to start.

Try taking a walk and appreciating the natural wonder around you. Enjoy the feeling of your muscles at work. Appreciate the fact that you can walk. Visit a friend. Go to the movies. Read a good book. Join an open and affirming church that gives you positive messages about yourself.

The important thing is to break out of your shell of isolation. No man or woman is an island. We are on a journey with others. It is important to surround yourself with positive people and influences that will make you feel better.

Just remember, it is not those things outside yourself that are making you feel better. When you are immersed in positive activities, you are drawing on the innate joy within yourself. You are doing it for yourself. Be grateful for it. Gratitude is paramount as a stepping stone to consistent moments of joy.

Now, the next thing you can do is give a gift. Share your joy with another. Call a friend. Encourage them if they are troubled. The joy you share with another will only multiply your own joy. It is contagious.

Perhaps you are now ready to take another step. Take a deep breath and imagine yourself surrounded by a bright light. That light is your future. What would you like to see happen? Let that be an inspiration to you.

Now, it is time to get back into action. Commit to one thing you can do that will make you feel better today. The more you practice this, the closer you will come to realizing your dreams. By staying in a consistent place of joy, the universe will unfold before you and bring you the dreams you wish to possess.


Just don't allow yourself to wallow in self-pity about what you don't have now. Practice claiming what you wish to possess without focusing on what you don't have. The results will be amazing.




Author Davis Aujourd'hui

"The Misadventures of Sister Mary Olga Fortitude" and "Babes in Bucksnort" are both available in Paperback for $13.95 and Kindle Format for $3.99 at Amazon.com.

Enjoy

ACCEPTANCE

I believe that one of the greatest life challenges for most of us, is to come to a place acceptance. It's a matter of putting our lives into perspective with the greater whole. It's a means of coming to realize that acceptance is the answer to all of your problems or challenges for today.

How many of you tend to blame life's circumstances for your own? This can come in the form of blaming relationships, your job, your geographic location, your lack of money, lack of education, not to mention a host of other situations.

To accept, means to realize that everything in life – good and bad – happens for a reason. Because of this, it's so very important to forgive yourself for anything which you have been holding onto from your past.

Likewise, it is important to forgive others. Otherwise you will simply hold onto a toxic residue which will bring you no happiness. Whatever has happened has brought you to your today. And you're right where you're supposed to be in the cosmic scheme of things.

Life simply is. It's up to you to accept life on life's terms. It is also a matter of realizing that every choice you have made in your life has manifested in your own circumstances. You can't change the past, but you can chart a new course for your future by making right choices.

Amazingly, everything starts at the thought level. Whatever desire you send forth into the universe will necessarily manifest. Like attracts like.

When you put out a negative, it will eventually show up. The same is true for whatever positive energy you send forth. That's why it is so important to remain aware in the present. Even your thoughts are chosen.

Why would anyone choose something negative? What would be the reward? It would only spell out some form of human misery. Life is good and is meant to be about joy. That is a good starting point.


Follow your thoughts that lead to joy and that will become your experience. Take care not to judge yourself if you don't do it perfectly. After all, you're only human. By realizing this, you can give yourself a break.

Accept the grace that flows to you and share it with others. It will only increase your joy.

Author Davis Aujourd'hui

THE JOURNEY TO SANITY - Part 4

The strangest things began to happen. As I was driving, I felt like Snow White. The birds would fly in the direction that they seemed to want me to go. One day, the birds took me to a little hamlet called Cherry Valley. There, I came upon an old parsonage that was up for sale. I decided that I would leave my life behind and buy it, turning it into a bed and breakfast inn. That's when things became truly strange.


When I arrived, a priest seemed to float down the street as he approached me. Then he said, “I'm glad you've finally arrived!” With that said, he gave me a kiss and slid his tongue down my throat. By that time, nothing struck me as unusual. Life was unfolding in the most peculiar ways.

I kept encountering that priest as I traveled around the nearby countryside. Eventually, he walked by the parsonage again and I asked him if he thought the house was holy. He gave me an odd look and I responded by saying, “Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing.” He scampered back up the street like a scared bunny rabbit.

I had reason to be concerned about the house. One of the rooms gave off the strangest vibrations. On subsequent visits, items within the abandoned house continued to be moved around throughout the rooms. I later learned from the town waitress that the man who had previously lived there practiced black magic and performed sacrifices there. Now, I was scared.

Fortunately, the purchase offer was not accepted. As I came out of mania, a tremendous depression kicked in. This happened around the same time that my only sister was pronounced terminally ill. The next year would become an extreme challenge. I became grateful when I was finally diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. Medicine was prescribed that finally brought me into a place of more stability.

Sadly, my sister passed away and I tried to carry on the best I could. I numbed myself with my sexual addiction and continued to practice that behavior for another twelve years. That's when I was finally confronted by my partner who had been previously unaware that the addiction was still thriving. He gave me an ultimatum – either go to couple's therapy with him or he would leave me after twenty-two years.

When we got to therapy, I realized that I needed to work on the sexual addiction. I subsequently returned to Sex Addicts Anonymous where I was able to achieve a measure of sexual sobriety. Unfortunately, the addiction had taken a toll on the relationship. What's more, I began to destabilize as I was headed into another mania. I was the one who ended the relationship and began to make multiple major life changes. This would only invite a mania that made the last one pale in comparison.

Author Davis Aujourd'hui

THE JOURNEY TO SANITY - Part 2

Shortly after I asked my wife for a divorce, I met a beautiful man and began what seemed as if it would be a relationship that would last forever. It did last for a very long time. It's just that nothing in this life is written in stone.

After years of spending my life as a sex addict, I thought the lure of that addiction would finally be broken once I met a man to whom I was attracted. I certainly loved him. Unfortunately, love is never enough when it comes to the void within the addict that nothing outside of him or herself can ever fill.

I pledged to remain monogamous to him, but it was only a matter of time before the spell was broken. After my first few slips, I fell into another suicidal depression. Once again, I weathered it out without reaching out for help. Then, after a few months, it disappeared. I was back on top of the world again. Life seemed absolutely fabulous. The only problem was that I was acting out sexually more than ever. That would remain my dirty little secret.

The following years would unfold in a similar pattern. I would plunge into depressions that would be followed by emotional highs. Fortunately, the depressions were not as devastating as my earlier ones. That was a blessing that would not last. The zinger lay ahead.

On October 19, 1987, I attempted to hang myself. Realizing that I didn't want to have my partner find my body hanging from a noose, I somehow managed to undo the knot as I struggled to keep from dangling from it. Once free, I took an overdose that should have knocked out a horse. As my good fortune would have it, I had developed an amazing tolerance to substances. I had become an active alcoholic in deep denial and I only ended up turning into a zombie.

I spent the next three weeks on a psychiatric ward where I had my first encounter with a psychiatrist. He turned out to be a loser. Every morning, the waiting room would be filled with his patients. One by one, we would be called in to see him where he would spend all of one to two minutes before sending us back to the ward. The medication I had been put on took away my suicidal inclinations, but I still felt miserable.

Finally, I was released to the care of my partner and I soon returned to work. I was ashamed of my hospitalization and kept it a secret. I went into work where I felt totally incompetent to carry out my duties. Somehow, I carried on.

Eventually I came out of my stupor and began to feel as if I was invincible. Once I had reached that point, I began to drink like a fish. The end of my alcoholic career was dramatic. I drank more and more each day until it was an around-the-clock love affair with the bottle. The thing that brought me to my senses was when my partner left me since he couldn't handle watching what I was doing to myself or the damage it was having upon our relationship.

It also opened a door that I was about to walk through that would bring me into the next phase of my journey to sanity. On April 5, 1988 I had my last drunk. The following day I went to my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. That would take care of the drinking problem, but a new problem was about to emerge.

Author Davis Aujourd'hui