The A-Frame That Watched Me Transform
- Alex Pepn
- Jul 13
- 8 min read
I never thought that building a house would bring deeper meaning into my life or change it entirely. But, what can you expect when the main question is: what makes a cathedral so unique in the peace it brings when you enter, and can I replicate that feeling in a house?
Well, for anyone who's walked in so far, the answer is yes!
This A-frame, with its sharp black lines and dominant glass curtain walls, wasn’t just built by the river—it rebuilt me as I worked through doubt, fatigue, obsession, and purpose, creating something both physical and invisible.
Here are the 12 lessons I’ve learned from this build.
1. The most important lesson would be the Mastery of Will & Action.Without it, nothing happens. You need both will and action to start the process, and friction is essential for growth. By choosing our challenges now, we avoid worse ones later, because the universe will decide and act for you if you don’t.
-Only a warrior choose pacifism, other are condemn to it-
- Unknow -
why doing hard things matters:
2. Once you have the will to move forward and are in action, you can crystallize the Mastery of Desire in Stability. By opening ourselves to the creative power of the universe and aligning it with our will, we should strive to make something beautiful from what we do best. It could be a house, a financial forecast— what matters is the devotion.
-Whatever your hands finds to do, do it with all your might-
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 -
Creation as a sacred act, and daily practice to open the channel:
3. However, creation must come from a place of truth—both to ourselves and to others. This is why we must have complete Mastery over the duality of our Mind & Communication. We need to learn to listen more than we speak, as not every truth is meant to be said; the truth is subject to the observer. Many things in life will try to push you one way or the other. Worse, with the increasing popularity of LLMs like ChatGPT, what you believe will be compounded into infinity by its ego-flattering tendency, designed to please the user rather than confront it with reality. The Roman eagle has two wings for a reason…
-Provided with a cage nice enough, most people will walk in willingly and close the door-
-Alex the builder Philosopher -
why we should always tell the truth:
4. To be fully truthful to ourselves, we need to have Mastery over our Emotion & Ancestry. As much as we love to think we are special, we are, in fact, the sum of those we spend time with, what we read and listen to, our experiences, and generational traumas. Understanding where we came from and honoring those who came before us can help us better understand our emotions. Sometimes they are pathetic and ridiculous; other times, soul-crushing. The simple act of meditation can often reveal deep patterns embedded in our unconscious mind. Once you name these ghosts, they lose much of their power. Sometimes, being acknowledged is all they need to vanish…
-By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures –
-Proverbs 24:3-4-
As we cleanse these demons, we can fully embrace the Mastery of Self-Expression & Ego, without the risk of being tainted by past forces that aren’t truly ours, or the inner pull toward hollow materialistic pursuits. Fulfilling our whims doesn’t make us happier, and the same goes for acquiring more things. To me, the foundation of self-expression and Ego starts with nurturing a healthy body.
A strong soul needs a strong vessel.:
- The temple we build shape the nature of our soul –
- Alex the Builder Philosopher-
Here is a link to my daily routine:
However, the only way to keep this structure going is through the Mastery of Purification & Refinement, discipline, and Service. My mindset is very simple: just show up. It doesn’t matter if you do next to nothing today; by simply being present and disciplined, you’re telling yourself, "I’m not having it, this is what we do." Even if you drive just one nail today, you’ll be in a better position at the end of the day than when it began. And given enough time, the house will be built. I no longer see hardship as I once did, for I now understand that it is when the pressure is most intense that I grow the most. The more I refine and understand myself, the better I can serve others..
- One master oneself through his art.
He must master the techniques,
do the work each day,
and follow the path with sincerity –
-Miyamoto Musashi-
Here is a link to the full article :
This one doesn’t come easily, as our monkey brain is wired to think in tribal groups. It is essential to cultivate the Mastery of Balance & the Laws governing our universe so we can build meaningful relationships. We tend to classify everything as good or evil, but when we contemplate nature, the line blurs. By observing and thinking long enough, I eventually concluded that everything exists for a reason. Again, there is no growth without friction, no life without chaos. By accepting this universal law, and through curiosity, skepticism, and open dialogue, one should aim to attain balance within oneself, like the Yin and the Yang. By being centered and grounded, your relationships will improve, as you will be in a unique position to understand the truth from both sides of the narrative, often concluding that truth lies somewhere in the middle…
- Mental bearing, not skill, is the sign of a mature samurai.
A samurai therefore should neither be pompous, nor arrogant –
- Isukahara Bokuden -
The importance of critical thinking:
8. I believe this lesson has become my favorite of all: the Mastery of Death & Rebirth, as depicted in the Tarot by Death and the Fool! For some people, transformation is achieved by small increments, but for me, I had to endure tremendous physical, mental, and psychological pain to the point where the death of my old self became almost literal. Sometimes, the universe gently pointed out what needed to change; other times, when I ignored or pushed it aside, the pressure kept increasing until my spirit crumbled—especially toward the end of the build, when I was crushed by physical pain, financial pressure, and the stress of being months behind schedule, all while feeling sorrow over my absence in my daughter’s life. There were times when my mind felt like it was teetering on the edge of schizophrenia, and the grind was so hard that I wished I had never been born. But I showed up every day and pushed through, and things became quiet—real quiet.
- Foundations are first laid in the bottom of the pit,
to live forever in darkness,
so a beautiful house can be built on top-
- Alex the Builder Philosopher-
Understanding yourself and the ego death:
9. Mastery of Meaning & Expansion was the funniest lesson of all, as I was able to more fully integrate the visionary ideas that came to me. It’s about being aligned with what you are meant to be while remaining playful in doing so. My best adventure was definitely crafting the three nature-inspired, 150-pound custom doors. My mind constantly worked to solve the puzzle of how to build these doors without warping. The joy of walking in nature in search of the perfect branch to carve, the hard lessons learned with sticky epoxy fingers, and the awe and contemplation of those who viewed the finished product.
- To be a craftsman is to be a channel for something greater than oneself.
An opportunity to shape a sanctuary that resonate with meaning & stand as a pillar of peace -
- Alex the Builder Philosopher-
If ever you seek more on how to open up this channel, here’s the full article:
10. What do you want to do with your life? For some, they choose a path early and stick to it, but for me, it came with the Mastery of Time & Structure. Everyone should, at some point, answer these four questions from the Japanese Ikigai principles with sincerity: What am I good at? What does the world need? What can I be paid for? And what do I love? As the A-frame rose, a testament to endurance and discipline, it helped me incubate ideas for the next chapter in my life.
- A Builder philosopher see not what is,
nor what can be,
but what must become –
- Alex the Builder Philosopher-
Ikigai and 7 rules to find purpose:
11. Now we’re getting into the most interesting stuff, when I was learning about the Mastery of Rebellion & Awakening. By letting go of old patterns and being still in a place of openness, I was eventually confronted with the abrupt reality that the world is not as it seems. In my search for answers about what made temples so "calming and peaceful," I had to go back in time to trace their origins and better understand old myths. At first, it was the recognition of the evolution of symbolic patterns across time and cultures and their interconnectedness. Then, I began to explore the evolution of the psychological profiles of the Gods of the ancient world and how their stories evolved into modern times. Eventually, I uncovered the underlying blueprint of the first written language, where the alphabet and symbols represented the celestial bodies in the night sky, which were also Gods and archetypes within us. When you boil it down, speech formed around the language of the stars, and our brains have built on that for thousands of years. As everything is connected, we are the sum of something more than just our simple thoughts. What is consciousness, anyway?
- Belief should be a raft, not a house,
built with care, sail with purpose,
but don’t mistake it for the shore –
-Aetheria -
How symbols, the stars and you are connected:
This is still the final door I look forward to crossing, where I can gain Mastery of Oneness & Surrender. As a builder, operating in a chaotic environment, I impose my will upon the material world through the sacred act of creation, and surrender doesn’t come easy.
I believed all my life that astrology was for "woo-hoo" and empty people, until I looked into it—not the fluffy stuff shouted by hollow influencer gurus on Instagram, but the study of the psychological archetypes of the ancient Gods across time and culture. Funny enough, I found it to be 80% accurate with my own psychological profile, and it even made me aware of things I had loved and repressed most of my life. For thousands of years, the Chaldean priests of ancient Sumer kept records of celestial patterns and matched these events to societal behaviors. Shall I surrender myself to the path written in the stars? My life sure flows smoothly when I do…
This is why I pushed the envelope further: what if, with your personal horoscope, I could design a house or a space that appeals to your subconscious patterns, so you can say, "I can't tell you why, but this feels like home to me"?I’ll let you be the judge of that.
- What you don’t see doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist –
- Unknow –
Discover stellar architecture tailored for you:
And as I nailed the final board in, aware that this act was the last, I felt grateful for the sublime adventure the A-frame gave me, from without to within.In the end, it brought me, in a way, across the country to continue honing my skills as a builder with the greatest master builder I ever met. As the "For Sale" sign now stands guardian at the gate, I’m faced with another lesson: stillness. How the pause before the sale revealed what was truly important. And maybe my final lesson... the letting go.
Not all temples are meant to be owned.
Some are simply completed.
Some are left behind like shells we’ve outgrown.
But all leave a mark.
-Alex the Builder Philosopher-
If this house speaks to you — if it feels like more than a structure — perhaps it’s been waiting for you.
To view the listing:
