Welcome to Cielem’el!

Thank you for coming to Cielem’el. I am Cynthia Swan – founder of Cielem’el, cancer survivor, author, and motivational speaker. I travel throughout North America speaking with a wide variety of groups about survival through inspiration (rather than desperation) when facing severe adversity, challenges, and life trials.

The Cielem’el website exists to help you on your life’s journey by sharing my own life journey and what I’ve learned along the way. Entries span all areas of personal and spiritual development from the unique perspective of someone who has survived many of life’s harshest trials and tribulations while constantly seeking self-understanding and growth as an individual – always seeking to become a better person.

It seems much of my adult life has been rife with challenges that, through survival over time, have given me many, many opportunities to grow. All my life though, I’ve had this mental perspective that “the sky’s the limit,” and our limitations can generally be attributed to our own beliefs about ourselves and what we can or cannot do.

Ten years ago, if you had told me what I would survive between then and now, I would probably have had two reactions: “No way. That would suck!” and “I’m seriously expected to survive all that?”

Yet some of the past trauma was certainly fundamental in developing me into a survivor well before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As you are drawn into the journal entries on this site, you’ll come to understand why I had an “I am a survivor” mentality when faced with cancer. I’ve been through a lot of the difficult individual challenges life has to offer, and if you’ve sought out Cielem’el, then you probably have too. Whether it’s surviving the death of the love of your life, suicidal depression, loss, or multiple life-threatening health issues, I hope that by sharing my experiences with these challenges will help you know that you are not alone and may even inspire you to keep going when you think you have nothing left.

It’s been quite a journey. But it wasn’t until after a lot of contemplation following cancer treatment, after everything else I’d experienced and learned, that an overall understanding of the bigger picture started to form in my heart.  I had all these puzzle pieces that form the portrait of Cynthia Swan, and I thought if I could figure out how all the pieces fit, I may actually know what I am supposed to do with my life and how I am supposed to contribute to the world. With some conscious study of myself, my beliefs, my life experiences, and serious contemplation of what I am, I developed this understanding of my life’s mission:

To be a free and independent spirit sharing positive energy, peace, and strength, inspiring others to grow in courage, love, and serenity on their own inspired and unlimited journey of life.

In this endeavor, I have sought individual growth my entire life and written extensively. My book My Tango with Cancer was published in July 2011, and I’ve been doing public speaking and workshops since 1995. Over time my life contribution evolved and focused in on encouraging others to grow and to survive through inspiration.

Cielem’el means “the sky’s the limit,” which has always been my approach to life. As an organization, Cielem’el was established as a consulting business encompassing my public speaking and private motivational consulting. As a website, Cielem’el has a few different areas that may be of interest to you. One of the main website attractions is The Cielem’el Cancer Survival and Growth Journal.

The Cielem’el Cancer Survival and Growth Journal is the evolution of my former web logs: The Cielem’el Cancer Journal and The Cielem’el Personal & Spiritual Growth Blog.

Begun in 2009 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, The Cielem’el Cancer Journal documented my trials, tribulations, and spiritual growth during breast cancer treatment, with information on the diagnoses, surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, radiation, and hormone therapy treatments, as well as all the personal and professional life stuff that still goes on throughout living a life with cancer. As a breast cancer survivor, I endeavor to inspire other young women like myself to fully engage and manage their cancer and treatments, and know that there are many women out there who are experiencing a similarly challenging emotional journey.  Life doesn’t stop because you have cancer, it just gets more challenging.

About a year after finishing radiation, while still posting to The Cielem’el Cancer Journal, I started posting The Cielem’el Personal & Spiritual Growth Blog, which focused more clearly on areas of personal growth, self-development, and spiritual growth. My life journey and growth as a person neither began nor ended with cancer, and the Personal Growth blog was more of a continual journal of life experiences and learnings along my ongoing life journey beyond cancer. The journey honestly began when I was a newborn, shuffled and abused in multiple foster homes before being adopted by absolutely wonderful parents, and my life journey, consciously and continuously seeking personal growth, self-development, and spiritual growth continues to evolve.

Over time it became clear that these two subjects cannot be divorced and maintained separately, because it is everything together that makes my web log what it is, meaning, an online journal of life experiences, survival, and growth from the perspective of someone who has survived multiple severe life trials and nurtured a conscious approach to personal and spiritual growth and self development.

Thank you for coming to Cielem’el. I hope you will join my on my life journey through Cielem’el, and find within it encouragement and inspiration for self-development and surviving the challenges in your life journey as well.

Cielem’el – Empowering Self-Development for Your Life Journey. The Sky’s the Limit!