Embracing The Artist Within

This is When Spirit Calls and you on your journey are in the right place. This show is about magic miracles and meaning shared through stories, interviews and channeled messages. We have so much to share about who you are and your divine mission here on the earth. Let's get to it When Spirit Calls is right now.

I am delighted to welcome our guest today Cali Gilbert. Cali Gilbert is the founder and CEO of Tower 15 Productions. She is an international best selling author and an award winning filmmaker. As the creator of the it's simply book series, Cali has published several best selling books of her own and now supports other creatives through navigating the publishing process. Cali is passionate about supporting creative women in transition and starting their own businesses via her Entrepreneurship Academy and manifesting mermaid coaching program. Cali resides in Los Angeles, California. And we are delighted to hear more from Cali today.

Oh, hello, everyone. Welcome back to When Spirit Calls. As you've heard, we have a very special guest on our show. Cali Gilbert is here with us today. And she's going to be sharing a bit more about her story and her journey. And I'm just so excited because Cali and I have been in a group together business group for the last couple of months. And I've just got sprinkled with fairy dust from Cali. I don't know if you know it, but you've been sprinkling fairy dust Cali towards me. So thank you for that. And I can't wait to hear you share more with us today.

Thanks so much for having me. DeeAnne I'm really excited to share and my whole world revolves around spirit calling and just these intuitive soul callings. And really being so strong that I have just, I have to listen, right? And sometimes I have no idea what's coming ahead. But it's like, okay, here we go.

Isn't it a fun ride? You know, oftentimes

A fun ride and ride

Because the ego mind wants to come in and say, Wait a second, that doesn't make any sense, right? And yet, we've kind of have to sometimes just leap blindly. You know, and and really trust in that. And I'm so delighted that you've leaned into that, because I think it's a challenge for many of us as we move through life because, you know, our conscious ego mind wants to come in and say, well, that doesn't make any sense. Or, you know, why would you do that? That's crazy, right? And so the fact that you've been able to really override that I think is a testament to your connection with your intuition.

Yeah. And I think to is not being afraid to ask the questions of spirit right. You know, when you get these callings go, Okay, I hear you but why? I don't really want to do that. But I know there's a reason. So why explain it to me, and then really be still and listen to that intuitive answer. And then say, oh, okay, and that's what recently happened with me moving back to LA. But this has been going on for at least a decade where I've had the callings and been like, okay, here we go.

Well, let's let us hear a bit of those callings. I want to know some of these.

Yeah, Yeah. So

background.

Yeah, the big one, I think was probably 2008. I was I'm a former figure skater. I grew up in Toronto, Canada. And I have traveled all over the world. I had, you know, live this amazing life. And then I decided to go back to school because I put like, a 14 year distance between the first time I went to school and then because I had no idea what I wanted to do, but skate, and then the second time, and so I was graduating from university undergrad, I had received an amazing job, do it with a major nonprofit doing event management, which was my passion. And I was actually offered the job before I even graduated. So I knew what I was going to do. And I was like, Alright, this is the path and ended up in the job and loved it. It was like this is what I'm supposed to do. I love it. This is so great. And but there was something underneath that was just like, this isn't this is a bit you know. And I realized that even though I was in New York, I was in this amazing job. I had this great talent title. I had financial stability. I had great friends, I had the ideal life. I wasn't really feeling fulfilled. And I knew that I wanted to be in San Francisco. I had been going back and forth between New York and San Francisco and specific We Sausalito, California, which is just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. And I had such an incredible experience when I first arrived in Sausalito, back in 2002, that I knew that that's where I was meant to be. And so even though I had this great life, there was this calling that was like, You need to come, you need to come. And so finally, I told my boss, I said, Look, I love my job, I love everything that I'm doing. But I need to go to San Francisco, I just, I need to I need to do this. And so very nice. I worked there for a year. And I thought, Alright, you know, easy transition. It was a major nonprofits. So they're all over the country. So I could just transfer from one to the other. And so that was the plan. So packed everything up in New York, drove across the country found a beautiful home, which was total, my whole world revolves around what I call serendipity.

Yes.

And it was incredible, because I thought, you know, I found I knew it's precisely where I wanted to live in Sausalito. But I couldn't find anything at the time. So I found an apartment, on the other side of the bay, close to the University where I decided to go to grad school. And I thought, Alright, we're set. And then literally two weeks before I was supposed to move. So I had literally told the movers, you're taking my whole world from New York, and you're driving across the country, and this is where you're going to put it. Two weeks before I was supposed to move the job that I thought I was gonna get no longer existed. We're in the midst of the recession here. So this is 22,008 2000 between 2008 and 2010. So the job budget cuts, job gone. Okay, no problem. But I applied to grad school when I got into University of San Francisco. So I figured, alright, well, we're going to grad school, we've got a little bit of a buffer, I'd saved up enough money so that I was literally debt free, and had a nice chunk. That would hold me over for about three to six months. So you have in place smart, I had some buffer in place. Yeah. And so I'm like, Alright, no problem. So I'm like, okay, and then the apartment that I had signed the lease for, tells me, well, we need employment verification. Yeah, like, okay. I'll have no job, and no apartment, and two weeks, right. I'm leaving in two weeks. And I'm thinking, all right, don't panic.

Telling yourself don't panic, inside panic.

Like, oh, my God. And so a friend of mine says, Well, you know, you wanted to be in Sausalito. This was why don't you check places there again. And I did and I ended up it was so funny. The lady says to me, she goes, Well, we have one, one apartment left. She goes, I'm showing it this afternoon. She says, but if you go online and fill out the application, and I told her I was like, Well, what about like employment fair? Oh, no, that doesn't matter. Like, okay. And like, couple hours later, she calls me back and she goes, it's yours. And it was like, Oh, thank you, you know, so I'm like, Alright, I have a home, you know, and it was it was my dream. It was sitting up on the hill overlooking the bay. It was I just like the first two weeks. I'm like, pinching myself going seriously. Is this real? And it was incredible. And yeah, and it was, but it was the, you know, I had this beautiful life in New York that I gave up, right? To come out not knowing what was, you know, what was ahead of me. And yet it worked out in a way that was just so beautifully. I mean, when I arrived, I was just like, Yep, I had found my place. Right? It was an artist's community. And it was really where I for the first time in my life and braced myself as an artist. You know, for me, I had been an artist my dad, my brother artists. And but to me growing up it was never encouraged. It was never it was go to school, get the degrees get the job. Bla bla and I did all that and yet wasn't happy. Right?

Yeah.

So it was the first time that I remember going, Okay, I'm going to do what I'm truly passionate about, which was writing and photography and anything in the arts. And that was Sausalito. It was just a beautiful, welcoming community. And so yeah, what a gift. What a gift.

What a gift. You know, it's funny because as I've gotten older, you know, when I want something to work out in my favor, I am very clear now on my intentions, or at least I tried to be more clear my intentions and so, you know, I always ask this or something better? This lady got her. And I have a I kind of have a similar moving story as well, because, you know, when when I was leaving my husband five years ago, I had two little kids and I wanted to still be fairly close to where he was living. And, you know, I kind of had this idea of this general area, but nothing had come available in that area. And so I set this intention, okay, I want this or something better. I want this or something better. Can I have this or something better this or something better. And so I started to get into that that expression. And sure enough, I ended up finding a beautiful townhouse across the street from the kids school so they could walk to school, it was super easy. We're still really close to their dad's house. And then a couple years later, I'm not in a position. I'm not looking to buy another home at this point. But I'm riding my bike along the trails. And this For Sale sign on a fence on the back of a house jumps out at me. And I was like, I'm not looking for a house. So I kept on going and just let it go. Riding my bike the next day, sure enough, it jumps out at me like I could hear the house calling me saying you must look at me. So I called my realtor I said, I'm not going to buy it. That's the first thing I said right out of my mouth. He said I'm not gonna buy it. But I need to come look at this house. For whatever the reason. And I walk into the house, I had drawn this house out when I was 14 years old. It was in my diary, this sketch of the the the layout, my dad used to buy those magazines with the layouts of all the homes and I love looking at them. And so I had mapped out my own dream house. I walk in this house even has a sunken living room that I designed into my dream house. Like it couldn't get any more like serendipitous than that. So I come into the house and I'm like, Ah, shit. I like oh, this is the house and I could feel the energy of it. And so I'm living in that house right now, by the way, everybody. This, you know, this podcast is is filmed right at this particular house. And so I did end up buying it. And so and this house happens to be in the exact area that I originally had envisioned for the kids and I ended the cul de sac onto the bike trails, you know, they're a block away from their dads. So even closer and only a few blocks from school, you know, all the things. So, you know, something better definitely came along.

Right. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's the thing is, I think, too is we get so focused on trying to control the outcome, that we don't see the potential beyond what our imagination can envision. Right. Yeah. So I mean, some when I was standing for the first time in that home in Sausalito, I was just like, I kidding. I was just like, I thought, you know, and it was just it was perfect. And I remember thinking, all right, I'm never leaving. But now I think after years of moving from different places, I realized that every place has its purpose. Yeah. Right. Every time and, you know, I thought I'd stay in Sausalito for the rest of my life. And then I went to a major major transformation in Sausalito. It was first of all embracing the artist within me. Yeah. And then really going through massive transformation of discovering my authentic self. Right. So it was kind of like the best of times, and the worst of all in one, right. Yeah. And then I remember the second big leap of faith, you know, soul's calling was after in 2013. I had gone through massive 2011. I basically went through my dark night of the soul. So I had graduated from the University of San Francisco at the end of 2010. And I thought, Alright, I'm set. I've got three degrees. I've got all this experience this massive network, I'm just going to write my own. I had started my own event management consulting firm halfway through grad school. This is what I'm going to do. And then the universe went, Oh, let's just stir things up.

Yeah,

And I remember at the beginning of 2011 thinking, and I even said it out loud. This is the thing to help powerful words are. I said, I need to detox my life. And the universe went okay.

Oh, fun. Yes.

And so basically, everything in my world was taken away and I I ended up on New Year's Day of 2012. With no home, no money, no job, no relationship. Nothing. All gone. And going see what just happened? Right? Yeah, just happened.

And they're saying, But you asked for it.

Exactly. Exactly. Right. And so I, I experienced 12 months of homelessness in San Francisco, which was it was twice in two and a half years. And it was fascinating when I can look back on it now, because the first time was, oh, shit, how is this possibly happening to me? Yeah, you know, the total victim, the total survivor, you know, for me, you know, and but I survived it right. And so the second time it happened. I had actually after the first time, I had manifested this amazing new home, this new job, this beautiful life, and I thought everything was great. But I got involved in a very toxic relationship. And the person who basically got me off the street and helped me turn my world around, turned into the devil in disguise, basically, a narcissist. And so my body and my friends were like, you gotta get out of this. And I, and I'm thinking, well, this, this person saved me at my lowest time, right? So I need to stay. And then my body literally started to set to shut down.

Yeah.

And I, I completely believe that the body really tells us when we're out of alignment with life, right, we have our spinal column, which is all about alignment. And when something is out, it tells us and so I used to be I had a severe back injury where I had to compressed discs, and had sciatica for seven months. And I literally thought I was gonna die. I was popping the ibuprofen, like it was candy, and I was basically in tears every day. And finally, it got to the point where I'm like, on my knees in this apartment going, I can't take this anymore, right? And the universe goes, okay. And so the next day, I lost the job, right? Because I couldn't work. I couldn't like sit or stand for more than 30 minutes at a time. And the job that I had was actually connected to where I was living, because I was a caretaker for property management company. And so I was living in the apartment above the office. So when I lost the job, I lost the home. And so and I can't move. So I'm like, Sammy, there's a day with my suitcases again, go like, didn't we do this already?

Yeah.

And oh, by the way, now, I can't even move. Like, let's just see how strong she really is. Right? And but the thing that really saved me was the first time because I figured, well, you know what, I didn't die the first time. So I know, I'm going to be okay. Yeah, not sure how, but I know I'm going to be okay. And so instead of looking at from that survivor, victim mentality, I'm going to look at it as I wanted adventure. Ah, where's life going to take me because I have no clue. Right?

I love that. You just said that. I just want to I just want to let that kind of soak into our listeners, because so often we do get caught up in the Oh, my God, what's going to happen? It's so uncertain, I don't know. And we start to get in that panic rather than saying, I have a free clean slate here. And now I get to go on this adventure of awe and wonder. And exactly, this is so powerful, because you went from experience it once. Maybe there was more still left to learn. And that obviously, and so they gave it to you again. And this time, he looked at it with a whole new lens. So anyway, yeah. Didn't care. Yeah.

And thank you for bringing that up. Because the first time around when I was in that hole, why, right? I literally, why is this happening to me? And the answer that I got, like I said before, you got to ask the questions. Right. So the answer that I got was Cali, you have you've had this, you know, your passion is supporting those that are less fortunate, whether it's youth, whether it's women, you know, and yet you've lived this extraordinary life. You're a former figure skater, you've traveled all over the world you've never wanted for anything. So how can you possibly connect with the ones that you want to serve? If you have no idea what it's like to experience what they've experienced that it was like, Oh, yeah.

You're getting your masters in life, you know?

Right?

Yes, yeah.

And then once that answer came, I was like, Ah, okay, bring it on, and then the second time. But at that point, I had had the answer, because I've asked the question. And so it was like, Alright, I'm on an adventure. And since I can't plan anything, because when you don't have a home, you can't plan anything. You don't know where you're gonna sleep at night.

Yeah,

Where's life gonna take me this week? That's literally how I lived for eight months.

Wow.

And by doing that, it changed everything. Everything I had people I hadn't seen in years, this one woman who had lived in Sausalito, her whole life, the whole family lived there, her mom had died. And they were selling the family home. Now, this is a million dollar house sitting on a hill overlooking the bay. And she's like, well, you know, we sold the house, we're in escrow for 30 days, why don't you just stay at the house?

Wow.

Okay. And then I had another friend or literary manager who was like, well, we're going to Europe for six weeks, why don't you just house at our place on Nob Hill, you know, it was back to back to back for eight months, these incredible adventures of you know, living in all these different places. And by doing so, and being able to stay in a place for more than one night, which was huge. These were weeks, or a couple months at a time, I was able to heal my body, I was able to you know, and I actually wrote my first best selling book, because I couldn't do anything I could just live literally sit and stand for 30 minutes. I'm like, well, I'll just lay in bed, and I'll write about everything that's going on in my life. And publish the book. And so yeah, and that was another thing too, where I had so much to say. And I had so much that I wanted to get out and share with the world. Yet. I wasn't taking the time to sit down and do it.

Right.

So thus the back injury, which forced me to sit down and do it.

You had no choice. Yeah.

And that's the thing is like, sometimes you'd be thinking like the worst possible thing that could happen to you is actually like one of the greatest gifts.

Yeah.

Right.

Yes.

Right. So, yeah.

Yeah, the gifts come in all sorts of disguises. You know, absolutely. It really does. And, and so beautiful that you had people in your life that were like, Oh, well, by the way, I need someone to stay here, you know that. That is that is when spirit is calling, knowing that we're always taken care of in Absolutely. That we make even if we mess it up, now furious, still got our backs in that. And I think that, you know, your stories here and how you responded to them speaks volumes for your character and your ability to adapt to whatever it is that's coming, but also be willing to receive whatever it is that's common.

Exactly. And that's the thing, too, is you've got you know, it takes practice, right. I mean, this didn't happen overnight. This is a decade of learning and experiencing these these, you know, crazy times where you're like, Okay, what you know, and now it's like, I asked myself, if anything, you know, goes wrong, or if I'm in kind of that, you know, transition. Okay. Where's the lesson in this? Yeah. Right. What am I, you know, why is this happening? And so the most recent one was, I had gone to San Diego in June of 2020. And that was another one because I was living in LA, and it was like, Okay, this is great. And went to San Diego and thought I had found the forever home. Right. I had found, like you were saying, envisioning, yeah, this was the one I had envisioned. And I even said to that, God, probably 20 years ago, over 20 years ago. Now. I remember saying, I want to find my home on the beach. By the time I'm 50. Right. And I found it like, four months before before it turned 50. And so I was like, Yeah, it's like that. And it was like everything I had ever dreamed of. It was in a gated community. It was the light the natural light was incredible. And for artists, I was like in lists, right? steps from the ocean, everything I could ever imagine. And it was great for two years, right? It was the perfect spot to write out a pandemic. Yeah, for spot.

Yes.

And then in March, the calling

That dark calling again, right? This is upper comfortable planning

to go back to LA.

Oh my gosh.

Oh, want to go back to LA you know, I'm like, I love being here. I've got this beautiful home. And I realized that even though I was surrounded by so much beauty and I was in a space that I love to where I felt like I could create anything. I was I needed my tribe, I needed my people, I needed to be able to, you know, my partners here in LA, I needed to be able to be with people.

Yeah.

And I remember to saying when I first said, I don't want to go back to LA. It was like, you have to go back to LA, right. And so of course, I said, why? Right? And the answer I got really surprised me, but it also made the decision so easy. It said, la needs your light.

Ah, oh,

Yeah. Talk about powerful.

Right there. I got goosebumps. Yeah.

And I went, okay.

Oh, yeah, it because it's not always about us, either, right. I think we have this tendency of thinking, like, it's all about me and my lessons. And I want to share on that because I tend to be a I wouldn't call it overly self aware. But I tend to blame go after myself. Like if something outside of me is going amiss, then immediately, it's okay, what am I doing? What do I need to learn? And I had a recent experience as well like this. And I was like, Okay, what do I need to fix what I and my spirit team chimed in, they said, this actually isn't about you this time. And I think that's really important for our listeners, because I'm not I'm not saying don't be accountable or responsible for experiences or how you respond to experience is most certainly we have to, you know, be responsible for how we're responding. However, sometimes it's about us being able to teach somebody else or to shine that light, like you said, for somebody else. Yeah. And so just wanting to bring that to the surface for our listeners today. You know, yes, look at yourself and ask the questions. But also be willing to recognize that sometimes it isn't just about us, or sometimes it's not about us, it's about a much bigger picture at hand.

And the thing too, is once you do serve others and do that you're you're supporting yourself anyway. All right. Yeah. So that was that was the thing.

Yeah.

Because I remember thinking that was the reason I left in 2020. Because the energy in LA, especially in Santa Monica, where I was living, had become so dark. Yeah. So and I'm an empath. So I feel Yeah, everything. Right. And I was just like, I felt like I was just getting sucked out there. I gotta get out of here. And so I remember going, I don't want to go back to that. Right. And so when it when I got that answer, though, I was like, Okay, I'll go. I said, but I was very specific to I said, I don't want to go back to Santa Monica. I said, I'll go to Santa Monica. But I don't want to live there.

Yeah,

Right. I said, I want to live, you know, in the marina in this precise, specific place, I'm moving really, really clear. Yeah. And but I will also say, though, that when I first got the calling and decided to go back, I reached out to a friend of mine who lives here, and who's a realtor. And it was fascinating to see all the fears and the limiting beliefs start to pop up again. Because I told her, I said, Here's my budget, and I'm like, maybe I can find a little studio apartment in the valley. And she's like, okay, no problem, right. And then like, two days afterwards, I was like, What am I doing? That is not what I want.

Oh, yeah.

Not what I want. I am settling. I go, you know, like, all these fears and all these limiting beliefs. Yeah. And I was like, crap. That's right. I'm like, I want to live in the marina. I want to live in this Perseids place. And I'm like, there is no backup plan. Like, this is where I'm going to live. And this is where I live. Right. And yeah, it was, it was fascinating to see, you know, how everything started to pop up again. And I was like, you know.

Good for you in catching that? Because I think we get caught up in that hamster wheel. Right? And then we do limit ourselves like, oh, I guess we'll settle for that. But you caught yourself and you readjusted

And there's nothing wrong with the valley

Just to be clear.

But I'm I'm a mermaid I need to be near the sea. Like this was where I thrive you know, and so yeah, but And that happens all the time. You know, it just you know, whenever you're gonna try something new and get out of your comfort zone. Of course, the limiting beliefs or the fear is going to come up because your ego wants consistency. Your ego does its use a weighing change scares your ego to set up, right? Because it's all about protection, right?

Yeah.

And it's like, but leaving our comfort zone is how we grow, right? It's how we learn. It's how we evolve. And so yeah, and now it's just like, alright, you know, what's next?

I love it. I love it. Well, I'm still processing the fact that you said that you turned 50. Because I look at you. And I'm like, There's no way that this woman is 50. So I'm still back there. But. So kudos to you for your genes. And for whatever you're doing, you are shining your light, because it's radiating from you. And so that's a good thing. That's a really good thing. But you know, I just, I love your different messages around moving and recognizing that you can choose what you want to manifest for yourself. You have the power to make that decision. Do not settle people, okay, do not settle it.

Don't be afraid to change your dreams. Yes, I think too, you know, it's like, I just, you know, it was working, we work with the same coach, you know, and I was going over my 90 day thing, and I'm like, Yep, they're not the same anymore.

Changes and what we're changing, so everything changes. And so you might say, Oh, this is my forever home today. But in six months, you know, a year, two years, it might not be, you know, I have a little saying yesterday's triumphant commitment can become today's heavy burden. And what I'm saying when I say that is that, we get so wrapped up in like, Okay, I made a decision, and I'm stuck. And I'm stuck to it. But when that decision is no longer serving us, or we're not serving it, right? It's like we do that in relationships, too. We get into these relationships, and we say, well, no, I committed to this person, but we're both frickin miserable. But I'm going to stay because I committed, right? That's actually not integrity, integrity is being willing to admit the truth in that experience. And so, you know, inviting everybody to recognize that, yes, we can change our mind and it's okay to change our mind. We don't have to stay on the path. You know, another analogy would be like, okay, if I'm traveling to New York or San Francisco, okay, if I'm on the road to San Francisco, but I want to get to New York, no matter how far down that road, I go to San Francisco. I'm never getting to New York, right. And so we do need to sometimes course correct, so that we can stay in alignment. Because when we're in alignment, you know, Cali we manifest.

Oh, and it's an incredible feeling. I say when we are in alignment, everything flows and that's when you know you're in alignment.

Yeah.

When you don't have to try so hard. Yes. Work. You are out of alignment.

Absolutely. Amen. Oh, yeah. I love it. I love it. So Cali, what are you doing now? Can you tell the people

Oh my Gosh, yeah.

Your'e you're producing stuff and you do all this magical creatives? Share people? With the audience what you do? And then how can they reach you find out more about you?

Yeah, absolutely. So CaliGilbert.com is my main website, I run tower 15 Productions and tower 15 Productions is actually a 501 C three nonprofit. So what we do is we produce social impact documentaries, that raise awareness and inspire positive change in the world. And then we also support creative women in transition. So after everything I've been through, now I get to pay it forward. Right? So love creatives. And I feel that so many people that are creative, have a difficult they don't fit into that nine to five node, right?

Yeah.

And so what we do is we teach them how to start their own businesses. So we have an Entrepreneurship Academy it's a 12 week Entrepreneurship Academy which is free of charge to anyone in we're just serving California for now but we're hoping to grow it and then from there we have what is called my mentorship program, which is the manifesting mermaid coaching program. So I do is I take 10 women through six months of mentorship you where we then work one on one with them to support them in making their dreams come true.

Ah, how fun is that? And you know you needed I guess he needed to be homeless to get to this right you know, absolutely are likely part of the journey. It is and our life experiences oftentimes are those directional signposts saying hey, Cali, look here, look here and you've done it so brilliantly. So you are such an inspiration. Thank you for listening to when they hear it called you Cali because now you really are doing such incredible work. And so, we'll put your contact information when we release this very special podcast. Thank you everyone for listening. Thank you Cali for listening to when Spirit calls you and we look forward to being with you again next time. Bye, everybody.