by Mei Lai Swan | Jan 27, 2016 | Uncategorized
Being ‘inspired’ is probably one of the moment’s biggest buzz words. For us free-living modern folk, life is all about ‘getting inspired, discovering your purpose, and living your passion.’
It gets bandied about so often and in so many circles, almost as a given, that we seldom stop to really ask what it means. Or worse, I’ve heard people say how much it makes them feel like a failure for not being inspired, not knowing their purpose or their passion. I get it. We don’t feel inspired all the time. Some would probably even say that we can’t feel inspired all the time. And there are necessary periods of life in which we fall apart, lose direction, and seem to flail aimlessly (probably whilst the next wonderful thing is brewing…). These are all part of life and our growing.
But inspiration is important. And what’s more, it is beautiful.
Inspiration is that mysterious awakening that makes our cells tingle and become vibrant with excitement and joy. It is that brilliant stirring force that tugs on the strings that connect us to a sense of something larger than our individual selves, and to that something larger within ourselves.
The word comes from the Latin root ‘spirare’ – spirit, or breathe. Inspirare means ‘to breathe into’, and in Middle English inspiration was synonymous with divine guidance. Inspiration is that sublime feeling that arises when we are in direct connection to spirit. It is our direct connection to the essence of life – to breath – that gives us energy and sustains us. In my experience, you can’t possibly get enough of it. And if you care about living a joyful and meaningful life, it’s vital that you get it.
And it is the creative essence of evolution. It is what makes us human and what continues to unfold us towards greater beauty, love and creativity. Without inspiration, we are merely fighting for survival. What’s more, inspiration is unique for each one of us – what may be dull to one person may completely fire up another’s inspiration, and lead them to the next amazing discovery, project or creation. Inspiration is not just what makes the world go round, but what keeps it evolving. It is the creative force of life itself, bursting forth with astonishing beauty. And it is contagious.
So ‘getting inspired’ is as important as every single breath you take. And it keeps getting better – the more you have, the more you give, and as Joseph Campbell says about love: the more you give, the more you have. Everyone reaps the benefits.
Many people think that getting inspired is something that happens randomly, an accident of fate. But it’s not like that. Just as you can cultivate the breath through pranayama, you can cultivate inspiration – simply by seeking it out.
Seek out things that give you that tingling feeling of excitement. You know when you feel it, it’s fundamental. Read inspiring stories, watch movies and documentaries that move you, visit incredible architecture or wild valleys, seek out great art and music – whatever gets your creative juices flowing.
And if you’re not sure where to start, don’t waste your time wondering about it – start somewhere and just keep looking until you find it. Because you will. It’s as fundamental as your breath and the revolving of the planets around the sun, you just have to cultivate your awareness to know it for yourself. And when you find it, relish it. Roll around in it. Let it tickle your taste buds and draw you onto the next greatest thing. And know that it’s a never-ending spring. There is always more.
Let inspiration be the force that unfolds your life – into beauty and greatness.
Because it’s your own innate creative essence. It’s your birthright.
by Mei Lai Swan | Oct 26, 2015 | Uncategorized
Fire burn and light up this wild, precious life
passion in my heart
desire in my soul
I know to stoke your unforgiving flames
so you will shine as a constant light
when things would
crumble.
Burn away the debris
of what I no longer need –
and never needed.
I know it is you
that stirs forth creation
from beginning to end and beginning
again
so that I rise up renewed
as pure essence
refined like the purest gold
in your searing furnace
nothing less and nothing more
I offer to you my strength and my weakness
my purity, my defilements
the beauty and the ugliness
of my light and my shadow
your brilliance of not discriminating
is the gift of your flame. Take it all.
Sun of my heart
may you turn my offerings to ash
and ash into gold
as phoenix wings rise iridescent
and eternal.
Burn in my heart as fierce, soft love
My love.
Yoga takes us into the essence of life, the essence of self, the essence of creation. Like the sun, fire is at the source – it is the force that transforms, energises, cleanses, ignites, inspires and keeps us going. It is the source of our desire, our will, our determination and dedication, our undying, eternal, essential love. This is tapas.
Genuine tapas makes us shine like the sun. Then we can be a source of warmth, comfort and strength for others. – Georg Feuerstein
Hungry for more?
Here are a few more F-words to add to your yoga lexicon. Let these words take you down the rabbit hole of your own research, exploration, contemplation and experimentation!
Freedom, focus, foundation, faith (shraddha)
by Mei Lai Swan | Apr 12, 2015 | Uncategorized
“Following your bliss is not self-indulgent, but vital; your whole physical system knows that this is how to be alive in this world and how to give to the world the very best you have to offer. There IS a track just waiting for each of us and once on it, doors will open that were not open before and would not open for anyone else.” – Joseph Campbell
‘Doing what you love’ is something everyone dreams of, but how many of us really give ourselves the opportunity, or have the daring to take the leap, potentially giving up financial security, risking the opinions of others, or having to overcome feelings of ‘not being good enough’…
Doing what I love has always been something deeply fundamental to me. It doesn’t mean I haven’t been through the struggles of difficult decisions, others’ opinions, letting go of society’s and my own expectations, the call of responsibilities, or financial sacrifices. It’s just that doing what I love has always been a deeper force, like a silent serpent weaving through my life and again and again shedding whatever doesn’t fit the heart-weave. Sometimes I think it’s because, growing up, I heard umpteen times these words from my beautiful mother: “Whatever you want to do, I’m a hundred percent behind you. If you want to be a doctor or a check-out chick, you have my full support.”
And those words went deep – they followed me through starting a degree in physics (I wanted to be an astrophysicist, ha!), to finishing a degree in environmental studies and international development, canning plans for an honours degree to play music, performing, touring, recording as a violinist in a band, to a cellist/singer with my own band, to work out on Aboriginal communities in the Central Desert, back to Melbourne to work with asylum seekers and embarking on the journey to becoming a full-time yoga teacher, into training as a doula and setting up a non-profit free birth support organisation. And now somehow combining all of these loves and passions into a rich, varied and exceptionally rewarding ‘career’ – and one that gives me the flexibility, freedom and diversity that I love.
Throughout this whole journey, my practice of meditation and yoga, which began in my mid-to-late teens, has been the loving guide back to my heart’s calling – sometimes gentle, and sometimes decidedly fierce. But the more I have trusted and gone with these callings, the more joy, freedom and trust I have found, and the more support I have received from those around me.
Which amounts to two things: 1) GRATITUDE, and 2) continuing to follow my bliss…!
So, my dear friends and fellow yoga adventurers, I’m heading overseas on 16 May for four sweet months of study, adventure, teaching and discovery, with an itinerary that looks something like this:
Bali, 4 weeks: Embodied Flow advanced yoga training
Melbourne, 1 week: I’ll be teaching an Embodied Flow weekend workshop 20-21 June at Gertrude Street Yoga Studio
Peru, 5 weeks: spending time at a friend’s healing centre in the jungle of Peru, teaching yoga, and a few little adventures
Greece, 3 weeks: assisting on the Embodied Flow 200-hr teacher training
Bali, 3 weeks: teaching two retreats: Women’s yoga, ayurveda and bellydance retreat (Aug 29 – Sep 5) and Embodied Flow yoga retreat (Sep 7-14).
If you are in Melbourne, please join me for the Embodied Flow workshop 20-21 June. Otherwise I will be back teaching regular classes again in the last week of September, and I am already excited about the wealth of experience and discovery that I will have to share with you when I return.
In the meantime, I look forward to sharing the next month of classes with you before I leave, and I will keep you up to date on my adventures via my newsletter and blog while I am away.
From one heart to another, I wish so much for you to also experience the joy of following your own bliss, and I would love to hear of your own adventures and breakthroughs as you do this! Please stay in touch – I love receiving your news, discoveries, thoughts, and experiences – we are all in this together!
In love and adventure,
Mei Lai xo
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