by Charles McAlpine | Oct 30, 2016 | Blog
Look around and see what the 3D world is trying to reflect back to you. What is happening in the external world that is trying to inform your inner world. There is always something the Universe is trying to share with us. In my case there is a shit-storm happening! The plaza where Storm Wisdom is located is under siege with major plumbing problems that are part of the original construction. 40+ year old pipes that are disintegrating. Old sewage that is backing up. Restricted flow of water. Stench that seeps up from out of nowhere. The plumbing issues affecting the plaza where Storm Wisdom is located highlight the critical importance of reliable and well-maintained infrastructure. While the plumbing problems are being addressed by commercial plumbers, it is equally crucial to ensure that other essential systems like electrical, grouting, and roofing services are inspected and maintained to prevent any potential complications. Collaborating with reputable service providers in these fields can help mitigate risks and ensure the overall functionality and safety of the plaza. When selecting professionals for these services, it is beneficial to consider the experiences and expertise of companies by checking richtek reviews, which provide valuable insights into the quality of their work. By prioritizing regular maintenance and timely interventions across multiple aspects of the plaza’s infrastructure, a sustainable and efficient environment can be maintained, promoting the well-being of businesses and individuals in the area. This has been going on for a few weeks, but is culminating now. Commercial Plumbers have been onsite for over a week with jackhammers, shovels, temporary pipes or tubes. Blocked off parking. Overflowing...
by Charles McAlpine | Sep 4, 2016 | Blog
This past week I had a dream about the metal sculpture that is right inside our front door at Storm Wisdom. It is a work of kinetic/assemblage art created by an artist out of Utah. If you have been to the center, you have probably noticed it. On the one hand it has a very industrial look because of the 8.5′ collage of found metal, steel and iron that forms the structure of the piece. At the same time, it also has a very light and airy modern feel to it because it hosts an acrylic clear tube. The tube is filled with water which bubbles constantly because of the built-in air pump. The tube is lit by an LED bulb that makes the entire tube radiate at night! About a month before I opened Storm Wisdom (over 7 years ago!) I went to an exhibit at Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale. I wasn’t really in the market for a piece of art, but I have always admired Jason (the owner) and his eye for art. So I was there to support him and the gallery. Of course as soon as I saw this piece, I immediately associated it with the transformation my life was going through at the time. The heavy, intertwined, dense and stable structure of the steel represented the corporate world I had been apart of and was in the process of leaving behind. The radiant bubbling elements of water, air, fire, and earth that was symbolized by the more streamlined and fluid acrylic tube mirrored the new world of spirituality and intentionality I was stepping into....
by Charles McAlpine | Jun 5, 2016 | Blog
A couple of days ago, while doing some writing, I realized there was something I needed to do! I was writing about “Who I am becoming”. There is so much happening right now and many of us are feeling the intensity of all this activity. The world around us is shifting and changing. Some people are adjusting and adapting to these changes. Some are disconnecting and finding new ways of being. Others are still holding on to their old ways and wondering why they are not working like they use. I a lot of what I was reflecting on while writing was about being more intentional about who I am moving forward. If you are like me, you have spent a long time being a student of Life. This means looking deep within to discover your truth. To discover your passion. Even your purpose. I know it seems like we would/should know these things. Aren’t we are the ones who have lived this experience or adventure we call our life? But what many of us don’t realize is how much others have affected our perspective. How our perspective influences how we interpret the events and circumstances we experience. In truth, most of us need to slow down. To become the Observer of our own life. To hear the internal messages from various aspects of ourselves. Then we begin to realize we are running old stories that no longer fit or apply (if they ever did!). So this is where I was in my writing, when I had this thought. “I need to create a meditation/visualization for myself”. To focus...
by Charles McAlpine | May 29, 2016 | Blog
I am obsessing right now with this idea of living as the me I am becoming – not living based on my past! I know there is something powerful here and yet we are so conditioned to use the past as a guide or navigation tool, that it almost feels impossible. When I think about what it would be like to live into who I am becoming, I begin to realize how much we live based on our past. Even sitting down to write this blog, I am aware that 99% of the time I write the article for my newsletter Sunday. It is a routine, a habit, and a structure. It is what I have done. It is based on my past. When I began to think about what I wanted to write about, my first thought was “okay, what happened last week?”. I look to the past to decide what these musings will be about. There are so many ways that we reference the past as a way to navigate the present or to direct us to the future. We are on auto-pilot. And you know what I realize? This is a good thing. It give us structure, safety, routine, even simplicity in our lives. We know the best way for us to do something because we have already figured it out. Our minds help us to establish habits and routine. They maximize our effectiveness in many ways and these habits are inherent. So what I recognize is that “living as the me I am becoming” is less about the routines and habits formed in my past...
by Charles McAlpine | Feb 28, 2016 | Blog
Let’s talk about Energy. I frequently mention that I find myself navigating my day by sensing, feeling, or simply knowing where, what, when, or with whom I have a connection. What feels right.., what resonates. This means I am either drawn to something or I am not. Sometimes I even feel repelled by something or someone. When this happens, I want to move away from it or them. These sensations are all based on energies that either feel harmonious, static, or discordant. Energies that are either bumping up against our own energies or blending with them. Never forgetting that there are significantly more energies that we are oblivious to, simply because they neutral for us. Each one of us has our own energetic field. Everything we do affects this field. The food and exercise choices we make, the people we hang out with, our work environments, our attitude, our behavior, our thoughts and our emotions. As we walk around, people may be drawn to, repelled by or oblivious to us. AND, us to them. Basic and simple to understand.., right? Well here’s the rub. For a long time, most of us suppressed or did not trust our ability to sense or interpret the sensations that we got from the people, places and things around us… Unless it was dramatic or intense. This means that in order for us to reconnect with our ability to sense, feel and trust energies, we had to amplify our awareness of them. We had to turn up the volume. The easiest way to do that in a dualistic world is to divide them into...
by Charles McAlpine | Oct 18, 2015 | Blog
We have movement! I mean that both figuratively and literally! If you have been following along with my journey lately, you know I have been hanging out in the unknown! Passing through one of those thresholds that is a demarcation between “what was” and “what will be”. We all have them.., my latest one just seems to have lasted a LONG time! Personally, it feels like I handled this time of not knowing really well! There were certainly times of confusion, boredom, frustration and even a little bit of worry. But for the most part, what I want to celebrate was that I just stayed in the discomfort of not knowing. For a ‘control-freak’.., that’s a big-darn-deal! I spent plenty of time over the past few months internally observing my own situation. And, I have to say, I have a new appreciation for taking the time to develop “The Observer”. The ability to witness what you are going through (thinking, feeling and experiencing), with detachment and acceptance; knowing and allowing it to be okay. Experiencing your own journey not only from the path you are on, but also from a perch somewhere above. Where the ups and downs are not as dramatic. With a knowing that even though you can’t see what is around the next corner, you know you are right where you are suppose to be! It feels like this past few months (which at times felt like YEARS) of “observing” my own dance with the unknown, has been about ‘trust’. Trusting that everything will work out exactly as it is meant to be. Trusting that my...
by Charles McAlpine | Apr 5, 2015 | Blog
Have you ever felt like you were a fish hooked and fighting for your life? It sounds dramatic, but when you are caught up in the struggle and drama of someone else’s narrative and you are fighting for your own perspective; that is how it feels! This is not my normal way of operating or even the kind of situation I have a lot of experience with… Yet, right now, I have several of them going on all at the same time! So I know it is cosmic or an important opportunity for something new to emerge. Right now, ALL of the situations I am thinking of have to do with money. Investments going south. Situations changing without any input from me or some of the other people involved. Someone else working hard to have things their way, at my expense. It kinda sucks! When we first encounter these disruptions in our world, they feel isolated. Each one is approached, evaluated and addressed as if it is unique. At least that is how it is for me. I become aware that something is happening, I feel threatened, I start to resist and look at how to keep things the way they were before I got hooked. But the more I resist, the deeper the hook goes! Now I am in a fight for my life. Or at least, that is how it feels while I am trying to tug my way to freedom. Then another (similar) situation is added to the mix and it feels overwhelming. My logical mind attempts to figure it out. I spend a lot of...
by Charles McAlpine | Mar 1, 2015 | Blog
Doesn’t it feel as if life is more complex these days? At least compared to how it use to feel. I am not talking about our personal day-to-day activities or circumstances, but the global world we live in. Everywhere you look it seems we are at odds with one another. Many groups of people feel as if they are under attack, and regardless of which side you take, someone feels threatened! If you support marriage equality you feel under attack by right-wing Christians; who feel like their beliefs are being threatened. If your position is gun-rights, you feel under attack by those who want legislation to restrict purchases. And those wanting the controls and limitations feel threatened and unsafe based on the incidents of gun violence around them. There are hundreds of these scenarios. Pick a topic and you will find the for and against. Even something as simple as music. I was watching a video online the other day of a couple of guys singing a mash-up of two songs at the same time. I thought it was well done, so I shared it. Then I went to write a comment on their post saying “thanks”, only do discover a whole thread of comments expressing likes and dislikes. Awful things were said, and complete strangers, whose only connection was a song on the Internet were insulting and demeaning one another. I have to admit I was a bit stunned. How is this something that we would trash or belittle? Why would we insult someone for singing a song? Regardless of how well or how poorly it is done; it...
by Charles McAlpine | Jan 25, 2015 | Blog
Last night, Fito and I had dinner with another couple at their home. And almost immediately, we were talking about our plans for retirement. At one point I told one of our hosts that lately it seems like all of the conversations I am having, have to do with retirement or health! An obvious indicator that I am getting older! Sometimes I wonder how this could have happened so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was immortal! Or at least I walked around feeling as if this life would never end. And of course to top it all off, there is this whole twisted concept of life experience. You know.., “I wish I knew then, what I know now!” It seems as if Life is playing tricks on me! And yet there is beauty to this aging process. It feels like I am just beginning to get a sense of it. Maybe it is how the drive or demand for things to look and feel a certain way begins to diminish. The willingness to accept things as they are versus how we think they should be. It is as if we begin to see how life responds to and for us, based on our thoughts and feelings. When I was younger the world revolved around me, because my ego demanded it. Every situation, challenge or reward was assessed based on whether or not it was aligned with, supported or screwed with my personal plans! My reaction or response was based on how attached I was to either getting or losing that ‘thing’. And of course, it felt like...
by Charles McAlpine | Jan 25, 2015 | Blog
Last night, Fito and I had dinner with another couple at their home. And almost immediately, we were talking about our plans for retirement. At one point I told one of our hosts that lately it seems like all of the conversations I am having, have to do with retirement or health! An obvious indicator that I am getting older! Sometimes I wonder how this could have happened so fast! It seems like just yesterday I was immortal! Or at least I walked around feeling as if this life would never end. And of course to top it all off, there is this whole twisted concept of life experience. You know.., “I wish I knew then, what I know now!” It seems as if Life is playing tricks on me! And yet there is beauty to this aging process. It feels like I am just beginning to get a sense of it. Maybe it is how the drive or demand for things to look and feel a certain way begins to diminish. The willingness to accept things as they are versus how we think they should be. It is as if we begin to see how life responds to and for us, based on our thoughts and feelings. When I was younger the world revolved around me, because my ego demanded it. Every situation, challenge or reward was assessed based on whether or not it was aligned with, supported or screwed with my personal plans! My reaction or response was based on how attached I was to either getting or losing that ‘thing’. And of course, it felt like...
by Charles McAlpine | Nov 2, 2014 | Blog
Sometimes I wonder how I get myself into these situations! I think I know exactly where I’m going and how something will turn out; only to realize I’m not even close! I am in a state of shock (upset, or…). Or at the minimum, feel like a deer in the headlights. I suppose it is one more of those lessons about ‘control’. Note to self: “Oh yeah, that’s right.., control is an illusion!” Recently when this comes up, I have noticed that I have worked out an agreement in my mind. I have an expectation that when ‘Y’ happens, then someone else will do ‘X’. Except that ‘X’ never occurs. The other person is not following my plan or agreement. Of course, I never told the other person what my plan was. They never knew we had a silent agreement. Believe it or not, they are operating by their own plan AND it has nothing to do with mine. And suddenly I realize.., I have been making assumptions! So what do I do with my disappointment, anger or shock? Can I still be angry with someone, when they didn’t know I expected them to behave a certain way or that they would do a particular thing? Suddenly I am painfully aware that there has been no actual communication involved. Any dialog is in my head. I am negotiating, planning or strategizing with myself. I am an island! Damn! Now I have to regroup and start over. I have to ask for what I need. I have to negotiate or finesse. I have to accept that what I imagined and...
by Charles McAlpine | Nov 2, 2014 | Blog
Sometimes I wonder how I get myself into these situations! I think I know exactly where I’m going and how something will turn out; only to realize I’m not even close! I am in a state of shock (upset, or…). Or at the minimum, feel like a deer in the headlights. I suppose it is one more of those lessons about ‘control’. Note to self: “Oh yeah, that’s right.., control is an illusion!” Recently when this comes up, I have noticed that I have worked out an agreement in my mind. I have an expectation that when ‘Y’ happens, then someone else will do ‘X’. Except that ‘X’ never occurs. The other person is not following my plan or agreement. Of course, I never told the other person what my plan was. They never knew we had a silent agreement. Believe it or not, they are operating by their own plan AND it has nothing to do with mine. And suddenly I realize.., I have been making assumptions! So what do I do with my disappointment, anger or shock? Can I still be angry with someone, when they didn’t know I expected them to behave a certain way or that they would do a particular thing? Suddenly I am painfully aware that there has been no actual communication involved. Any dialog is in my head. I am negotiating, planning or strategizing with myself. I am an island! Damn! Now I have to regroup and start over. I have to ask for what I need. I have to negotiate or finesse. I have to accept that what I imagined and...
by Charles McAlpine | Oct 5, 2014 | Blog
Something new is emerging. This chrysalis phase is getting closer to completion. I don’t have fully developed wings yet. However, I know that soon I will be able to fly! I understand why Dr. Joyce Mills uses butterflies as a metaphor for her teachings and even her beautiful card deck ‘Butterfly Wisdom’. It is so fitting for these times of transformation that we all go through. Unlike caterpillars who go through this metamorphosis once, most humans go through this many times in a single life time. Each time the experience of finding new wings feels different than the last. Simply because we are not the same organism that went through the previous experience. We have evolved. By no means am I imagining that this is the final metamorphism! In fact I am sure there are several more. And yet this one feels significant! This one for me, seems like it is happening at a time that will allow the sage within me to emerge. This current transformation is aligned with the 6th Face of the Soul, called the ‘Double’, from the teaching of Lazaris (‘7 Faces of the Soul‘). And the timing of this latest transformation feels as if it is here to usher me into this new phase of life. What I notice about this latest experience of transformation or change is that I have been aware that this is what has been going on! This does not mean it isn’t at times challenging. I have felt the familiar energies of impatience and anxiety. “How long will this last” and “What will it look, feel, or be like...
by Charles McAlpine | Oct 5, 2014 | Blog
Something new is emerging. This chrysalis phase is getting closer to completion. I don’t have fully developed wings yet. However, I know that soon I will be able to fly! I understand why Dr. Joyce Mills uses butterflies as a metaphor for her teachings and even her beautiful card deck ‘Butterfly Wisdom’. It is so fitting for these times of transformation that we all go through. Unlike caterpillars who go through this metamorphosis once, most humans go through this many times in a single life time. Each time the experience of finding new wings feels different than the last. Simply because we are not the same organism that went through the previous experience. We have evolved. By no means am I imagining that this is the final metamorphism! In fact I am sure there are several more. And yet this one feels significant! This one for me, seems like it is happening at a time that will allow the sage within me to emerge. This current transformation is aligned with the 6th Face of the Soul, called the ‘Double’, from the teaching of Lazaris (‘7 Faces of the Soul‘). And the timing of this latest transformation feels as if it is here to usher me into this new phase of life. What I notice about this latest experience of transformation or change is that I have been aware that this is what has been going on! This does not mean it isn’t at times challenging. I have felt the familiar energies of impatience and anxiety. “How long will this last” and “What will it look, feel, or be like...
by Charles McAlpine | Sep 13, 2014 | Blog
Who stole my summer? I can’t believe we are in the month of September already! I don’t remember feeling like this year was flying by.., until I realize fall is almost here! Darn, it sure sneaks up on you! You can feel the change in the air! A few more weeks of these hot days, and suddenly it gives way to cooler evenings, morning coffee on the patio and the pool becomes a water feature in the backyard that you get to enjoy looking at, but swimming becomes a distant memory. I am actually ready for some change. You see, I have been in an odd state for most of the summer. Everything in my external world is fine, but man, internally it seems like constant change; awareness, absorbing, morphing, readjusting, releasing and then starting over. I think I am close to figuring out what is going on inside my head, then boom… Back to square one. I was talking with someone who offers intuitive insights and guidance, and they indicated that I would probably be feeling this way for another 6 – 8 weeks. Then perhaps I could begin to see what is beyond the horizon for me. Even as they were saying this to me, I was thinking… “The way things are going.., I could be a completely different person in 6 weeks!” Sometimes when we have engrained behaviors or established coping mechanisms… It takes time to make adjustments or to integrate whatever is new. I am the type of man that in the past has needed to have something I was working towards. I thrive with...
by Charles McAlpine | Sep 13, 2014 | Blog
Who stole my summer? I can’t believe we are in the month of September already! I don’t remember feeling like this year was flying by.., until I realize fall is almost here! Darn, it sure sneaks up on you! You can feel the change in the air! A few more weeks of these hot days, and suddenly it gives way to cooler evenings, morning coffee on the patio and the pool becomes a water feature in the backyard that you get to enjoy looking at, but swimming becomes a distant memory. I am actually ready for some change. You see, I have been in an odd state for most of the summer. Everything in my external world is fine, but man, internally it seems like constant change; awareness, absorbing, morphing, readjusting, releasing and then starting over. I think I am close to figuring out what is going on inside my head, then boom… Back to square one. I was talking with someone who offers intuitive insights and guidance, and they indicated that I would probably be feeling this way for another 6 – 8 weeks. Then perhaps I could begin to see what is beyond the horizon for me. Even as they were saying this to me, I was thinking… “The way things are going.., I could be a completely different person in 6 weeks!” Sometimes when we have engrained behaviors or established coping mechanisms… It takes time to make adjustments or to integrate whatever is new. I am the type of man that in the past has needed to have something I was working towards. I thrive with...
by Charles McAlpine | Aug 10, 2014 | Blog
It’s time to write about something that can’t be explained. Time to acknowledge our reconnection to SELF even when words seem too limited. Time to celebrate the potency of silence. We are living in a time that is fertile for a giant shift in human and individual evolution. In the movies, this is portrayed as gaining super powers or mutations that affect us physically. Mutations that makes us stronger, faster, resistant to pain or death. And although these aspects may in some ways be a part of the shift, the way they are being portrayed is to limiting. Instead this evolution will be imbedded within our essence. It will shift how we think and feel. It is our thoughts and emotions that distinguish us from the rest of the Animal Kingdom. It is our ability to be self-aware and to choose that make our thoughts and feelings so powerful and important. Our free will. When we harness the incredible resources that reside within our human minds and the emotional responses that our thoughts create, we will know our significance and our super powers.., our Highest Self. You see, this is what we gave up. This is what we let go of, when we chose to live in this illusion that we experience as the physical world. We allowed ourselves to become separate from our Highest Self, which is the part of us that knows we are always connected to All-That-Is, to God, to the Universe. Of course the Highest Self never loses the connection to us; even when we refused to experience or acknowledge them. That connection is and...
by Charles McAlpine | Aug 10, 2014 | Blog
It’s time to write about something that can’t be explained. Time to acknowledge our reconnection to SELF even when words seem too limited. Time to celebrate the potency of silence. We are living in a time that is fertile for a giant shift in human and individual evolution. In the movies, this is portrayed as gaining super powers or mutations that affect us physically. Mutations that makes us stronger, faster, resistant to pain or death. And although these aspects may in some ways be a part of the shift, the way they are being portrayed is to limiting. Instead this evolution will be imbedded within our essence. It will shift how we think and feel. It is our thoughts and emotions that distinguish us from the rest of the Animal Kingdom. It is our ability to be self-aware and to choose that make our thoughts and feelings so powerful and important. Our free will. When we harness the incredible resources that reside within our human minds and the emotional responses that our thoughts create, we will know our significance and our super powers.., our Highest Self. You see, this is what we gave up. This is what we let go of, when we chose to live in this illusion that we experience as the physical world. We allowed ourselves to become separate from our Highest Self, which is the part of us that knows we are always connected to All-That-Is, to God, to the Universe. Of course the Highest Self never loses the connection to us; even when we refused to experience or acknowledge them. That connection is and...
by Charles McAlpine | May 11, 2014 | Blog
My, oh my! The times they are a changing.., again! Can you feel it in the air? I know I do! Right now it feels as if it has to do with my business turning 5 years old. An important milestone, that I wasn’t anticipating the impact of. But each of us has our own unique journey and the milestones that have us look toward the future and know that somehow our lives will be different. I have a sense of anticipation. A new awareness of the patience to allow the shift to unfold rather than to have to influence and control it. Isn’t that a major shift all by itself; the willingness to set down control. There are new things emerging; old ones slipping away. There is an ease and flow that feels accessible. Not something to work towards or try to imagine. Maybe all of those intentions, practices, prayers and meditations have done their work. How fun to be aware that something you have been trying to create is already here. Can you feel it in the air? No surprise that as I write this there is a beautiful breeze blowing outside. The doors are open and the house is full with the sounds of the wind chimes singing their song! A confirmation of our ever shifting and moving lives. We are not stagnant, we are constantly in a state of growth, even those of us whose physical bodies are naturally in decline. We are becoming more of ourselves with each passing moment. Sometimes it is hard to stop telling old stories. They feel comforting; we know...
by Charles McAlpine | Apr 6, 2014 | Blog
Well it has officially started! Last weekend I cleaned my home office to get rid of the clutter. I have known for awhile that there was some shedding and shredding that needed to occur. But boy, was I resisting it! Most of what needed to be attacked was paperwork, bills and documents. I use to be so organized about all of that. Yet now, I can’t find any interest in it. As a matter of fact, I got rid of years of saved utility bills. Who cared what my electric or phone bill was 8 years ago!?! I’ve now started on a couple of other areas… And I think I have projects that could last me a few months. However… There is a metaphoric, as well as energetic purpose to all of this. Letting go of the past. Releasing what no longer serves. Shedding old energies that bind me to a time gone by! No doubt that is why I came across a dozen photo albums. Photos of family, friends, places and events that are long past. Reminders that at one time.., we were younger, thinner, more hair and prone to bad fashion choices! And they were fun times. So I realize that not everything has to “go”. There are memories and keepsakes that are meaningful and cherished. It is knowing where that line is that is important. Our past is part of who we have and will become. Yet it is meant to be the backdrop of our lives. The scenery that we look back at when we want to remember the path we have traveled so far....
by Charles McAlpine | Nov 10, 2013 | Blog
Something is changing, and if you slow down and give yourself some quiet time, you will notice it. We’re changing. Not only that, but the speed at which we are changing is increasing. So a change, shift or transformation that use to take several years is happening in a matter of months. What use to take months is taking days. And many transitions are occurring in an instant. The reason this is on my mind is because if we are not aware that this is what is happening, it is easy to feel out of step with ourselves. We are creatures of habit in many ways, so it is easy to operate on autopilot. We do, say, or think something because it is what we have always done, only to feel off, or disappointed. It no longer feels right, however we are not sure why. We look to external situations or circumstances to see what is different. Yet, that is not where the change is. It is within! All of this internal change can feel like chaos and uncomfortable if we don’t embrace it. Or worse, if you are like me, you can spend a lot of time trying to control it. Trying to keep things the same. We can try to do that, but the reality is we are all rapidly shifting and changing at the same time. So unless you isolate yourself and minimize your exposure to others and the world; you’re fighting a loosing battle. It is time to face it, our lives are changing at an accelerated pace and unless we move into flow with...
