The Advanced Soul

Being Real

If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats. — Richard Bach, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

Most people think they are real, genuine and honest with others, and themselves. I used to until I went through a process which showed me I wasn’t. At birth, we are perfect at self-expression. Then we are taught how to act as we develop, and we lose the ability to express our emotions because society teaches us to hide certain ones.

As I was growing up I heard:

• Don’t cry
• Stop goofing around
• Suck it up
• We don’t talk about that here
• You are wrong
• That’s none of your business
• Don’t talk about that again
• Don’t question me
• And the list goes on and on

All of this stuck in my mind and created a complex set of filters which processed what I did and how I felt. So as a child I saw life through a set of clear glasses, and down the road they changed colors and became darker. But now they are clearing up again as I work on myself. So with all of the work I have done, I know that I am not completely honest and genuine with myself and others. But I have definately improved.

And it seems that I can only be honest and genuine with others who are the same way because I offend those who are stuck in their habitual ruts. I’ve tried explaining this to family and friends and telling them that they are not honest with themselves for starters, and that didn’t work. They believe they are totally honest and real with everything they do. This righteousness is difficult to deal with. So I have to hold back my true feelings to these people because they cannot handle it. But I talk this out with those around me that totally support me and are truthful with me and themselves and I am cleansed.

(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Depression, Relationships, Enlightenment No Comments »
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Doing The Impossible

All big things in this world are done by people who are naive and have an idea that is obviously impossible. — Dr. Frank Richards

Children have a mindset to do the impossible, but as they get older, the world shoots down their dreams and they settle for the ordinary. Think about this idea, because it is pretty important. In the past, people have actually been institutionalized because they wanted to do what seemed impossible to others. Anything that has ever been created, once seemed impossible to the world.

When was the last time you did, or at least tried to do the impossible?

When was the last time you shot down somebody’s seemingly impossible dream?

(2 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Enlightenment, Goals 1 Comment »
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Forgiveness And Karma

Forgiveness can be a divine thing. We all have been wronged in the past and many of us harbor ill feelings about it. And these feelings can actually block us from being happy and cause us to spiral downward into the pit of despair. Once we find it in ourselves to forgive, a weight is lifted off our chest.

“Sincere forgiveness isn’t colored with expectations that the other person apologize or change. Don’t worry whether or not they finally understand you. Love them and release them. Life feeds back truth to people in its own way and time — just like it does for you and me.” — Sara Paddison, The Hidden Power of the Heart

This leads me to karma which is something I believe in. Karma is simply the golden rule: what you give out is what you receive - either in the same or in similar form. You reap what you sow - your actions create that which you do live out now, whether this relates to a past or future life situation or to the present date. So the people that stole my Camaro 3 times when I was 19, I forgive them. And I know that what they did to me came back around to them. The people that broke into my apartment and assaulted me and my friends, well that will come back to them too at some time in their life. And the negative things I’ve done in my life to others will come back around to me.

Yesterday I was at Costco returning a laptop I bought in Alaska. Costco’s return policy is awesome because they take back virtually anything with no time period. The lady was counting out the money and I thought to myself, isn’t that too much? She included sales tax of $70 and I hadn’t paid tax in Alaska since there isn’t any. So I thought that I could use another $70. But then I thought about right and wrong, and my honor, and the laws of karma. I knew that would come back around to bite me in the butt. So I corrected her and felt that I did the right thing.

This leads me back to forgiveness. Karma simply makes forgiveness a little easier for me. Because what they did to me will or already has come back to them. And once I forgive, I am now living in the present, not yesterday’s past.

If you would like help with forgiveness, try reading Dr. John F. Demartini’s book, The Breakthrough Experience. His method is truly unique and I’ve seen it completely turn two peoples lives around. At a seminar, I watch Dr. Demartini take a lady through the process who had been stabbed multiple times by her ex-boyfriend. After less than two hours, she forgave her attacker. It was truly an amazing experience to watch. Dr. Demartini also holds seminars around the world to teach people the process. Click HERE if you are interested in more information.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Depression, Relationships, Enlightenment 7 Comments »
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When People Drive You Crazy

Yesterday I heard some wonderful words of wisdom from my Aunt:

The people that get under your skin, or drive you crazy, are the ones that have the most to teach you.

And I’ve found out, through personal experience, that this is so true. When somebody really gets under my skin, I ask myself, WHY? And eventually, I find something hidden deep inside of me that has been bothering me for a long time. Once I deal with these repressed or buried issues, the people don’t bother me much anymore. And then that opens up a new or deeper issue within myself to deal with.

The universe keeps throwing the same issue at you until you learn from it. Then a new one comes for you to conquer. And each time you go through this cycle, you grow and have more peace within yourself.

For instance, in the past I was trying to get a family member to stop drinking. Alcoholism runs rampant through my family and this person had a big problem. I spent so much energy trying to help, until one day I realized that this situation was out of my control. I surrendered to what was. I cannot make a person stop drinking. This was a big step for me and I felt so much better, even with the thought that this person will probably die from their disease. Then soon after that, I confronted my own problem with alcoholism and have turned my life around.

So the next time somebody really bothers you, instead of feeding the fire, ask yourself “why do they bother me”, and “what are they trying to teach me?”

(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Depression, Relationships, Enlightenment No Comments »
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You Are Either Growing Or Decaying

“All substances are either growing or decaying at any one point in time. Human beings are no exception. If we are not growing, then we are decaying.”– Thomas D. Willhite, Living Synergistically

I had an epiphony about this the other day. I’ve been having the most amazing time since I started this website. I wake up happy, have a wonderful fulfilling day, and go to bed happy. And I figured out why. Everyday I am writing on this blog and discovering new things about myself and others. Everyday I am looking for new material to write about so I am reading, browsing the internet, etc.. I am growing as a person. And this is a KEY element in being happy and attaining enlightenment. I am working on becoming an expert in my life. And let me tell you, I feel WONDERFUL if I hadn’t said that already.

Life throws SO MUCH crap at you everday. And a lot of this crap sticks to you and you lug it around. And eventually you’ll get depressed with this load.

My trip to Alaska with my wife was amazing. We spent 2 months growing together and our relationship grew to a 10. But after we got back, it slipped down a couple notches, and so did my attitude. And this was my epiphony, I came back to reality and life’s crap started to pull me down. But ever since I started focusing on myself and my growth, I’ve got that Alaska feeling back! So now I am cognizant of this decay that will occur if I let it.

Now this wonderful feeling I am talking about, let me describe it a little so there is no confusion. Most of my day I am smiling. I feel like a little kid again with no baggage on my back to weigh me down. A few times a day I am getting butterflies in my stomach. Sometimes this is from pure joy and excitement, other times it’s from nerves because I am pushing through my boundaries and stepping out of my comfort zone. It’s pretty important to be doing new things, even uncomfortable things, to get out of that deep rut and start your growth. I like to drive different roads as much as possible on the way to somewhere because different stuff happens. I like to talk to new people and see where that goes. Every person out there has something to teach you so go find it.

Life is awesome if you let it be. Try starting everyday by working on your growth. It’s a great way to start the day because the happiness carries through to the next.

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Depression, Relationships, Enlightenment 1 Comment »
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Improving Relationships With Children

I’ve always been amazed at how well my wife gets along with teenagers, children and babies. She has a knack for socializing with them on their own level. Every baby I’ve seen her hold just loved her. Every kid I’ve seen her interact with immediately liked her. Sometimes the parents of the kids actually got jealous or asked how she did it. So I thought to myself, I want some of that!

In the past, I’ve never been one to hold babies or talk to kids much. But after realizing the pure goodness and innocence of youth, and working on myself to get that back state, I love being around them. And I want to be a positive influence in their life. I don’t want to be a person telling them to grow up and shut up. So I got a book on the subject called The Key To Your Child’s Heart by Gary Smalley. This book really puts things into perspective for me quickly. The author talks of a childs relationship with you in terms of their spirit. I remember how my spirit as a kid closed up during my teen years with my Father. The way he spoke to me combined with his drinking, helped close my spirit up until I hated him.

I learned how detect a closing spirit in a child and several effective ways to turn that around. A few ways to see how open a child’s spirit is towards you are:

• Does the child spontaneously touch me when I first see him after school or at home?
• Does the child respect what I respect in life?
• Does the child enjoy going places with me?

Did you know that there are 4 basic types of parenting styles each with different results? There’s Dominant, Neglectful, Permissive, and the Loving and Firm Parent. My parents were the Permissive type which is warm and supporting, but weak in establishing and enforcing rules and limits for me as a child. This lead to me having problems following rules, expecting others to clean up after me, and having little self-respect. I’m glad they weren’t Dominant or Neglectful ! One of the reasons parents are permissive is that they feel they will cause the children harm if they are too strict, so they cave. And this can actually do the harm they want to prevent.

So this leads us to the Super Parent, or the Loving and Firm Parent. This parent knows the two most important factors in raising a child which are:

• Establishing clearly defined and understood rules that the children know they cannot break without consequences.
• A commitment to love each child in a warm, affectionate, and supportive way.

So that’s who I want to learn how to be. My wife has it down. And this book has been awesome at defining how to be that person. Right now I don’t have kids, but I probably will in the next couple years. I’ve been spending some time with my neice and God daughter lately. And I want to be as supportive and loving with her as possible because she deserves it. I’m halfway through with the book and already I feel inspired and lifted. I see better how I came to be, I’ve identified the parenting style of several other close people I know and have a better understanding of how to deal with the “situation,” and lots more. I highly recommend this book to any adult who has a pulse, especially those who have teenagers and children and desire a better relationship. And if you think your relationship with your child is perfect, try asking them what they think.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Relationships, Enlightenment No Comments »
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Maldon Sea Salt - The Best Salt In The World

Maldon salt on my favorite entrée can give me a food orgasm! The white flaky pyramid-shaped salt crystals are a flavorful spice which is “salty” therefore I use less. Furthermore, Maldon salt is milder than most common salt without the after taste and underlying bitterness. The salt is fragile making it easy to become fine when crushed between my fingers. Maldon salt is delicious on food, using it for baking and especially orgasmic on salt rimmed lime margarita on a hot summer’s day. After discovering Maldon salt in London, I finally found it online in the states and I will never go back to common salt ever again. Not only am I a food snob, I now have become a salt snob!

Time-honored, salt-making traditions are used to extract fine pyramid-shaped crystals of pure, all-natural Maldon sea salt on the banks of the River Blackwater in Essex, England. Known for its soft texture and delicate, clean taste without chemical overtones, Maldon sea salt is the ideal complement to meat in flavor and in forming the desirable crust on seared cuts. In a taste test conducted by Cook’s Illustrated, Maldon sea salt was “the clear winner” when compared to various brands of table salt, Kosher salt, fleur de sel and other sea salts. “Tasters loved the crunch of the large sea-salt flakes or crystals when sprinkled over slices of roast tenderloin.”

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Sim Hankerson Food 1 Comment »
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Driving To Alaska

This summer my wife and I decided to drive to Alaska from Phoenix. We had just finished remodeling a house and deserved a great vacation. So we packed up the Honda and headed to the California coast, then Oregon, Washington, Canada, and finally arrived in Alaska 8 days later. When I tell people we drove there the typical response is, “you did what? That’s crazy!” For some reason most people think what we did was insane, but it was one of the best vacations of my life! It was only a 4000 mile drive up there. With 2 drivers, it was a piece of cake. And the scenery was gorgeous! We did a lot of camping, and stayed in an occasional hotel.

But I tell you, this was a true test of our relationship. Being stuck together like glue for that long will test any relationship. But we only had a few disagreements on our travels. And we were gone for 70 days. Most people said “you are really lucky to be able to take that much time off.” Well, luck or not, we just decided we deserved it and did it. So many people have dreams, and put everybody and everything else before it. We are on this earth for a limited time, why not live out our dreams before it’s too late? My wife and I do that now and let me tell you, life is good. And when we accomplish one of our dreams, others are sometimes inspired. And others are sometimes envious.

Our destination in Alaska was Raven Acres in Palmer. Our buddy, James T. Kirk, has 80 acres up there with his family. His nutty Uncle Bill was building a log cabin and could use some help. So we worked on the cabin for some of the time up there which was really fun. What could be more fun than building a real log cabin up in the wilderness of Alaska, right? Some highlights of the trip include:

• Gold Bluff’s Beach in northern California was absolutely breathtaking. Camping on the beach with the Redwood Forest right behind you.
• Visiting my Aunt and Uncle in Washington.
• The drive up the coast in the fog.
• Hitting about 7 different animals with the car.
• My wife getting a ticket in California and blaming it on me.
• Catching salmon on the Kenai, and Halibut in the Ocean.
• Building the cabin.
• Taking a float in anchorage at Alaska Float Tank.
• Seeing 7 bears, mostly in Stewart-Hyder Alaska.
• The drive through Canada was absolutely amazing! 7000 foot mountains going straight up, and 1000s of miles of crystal clear blue rivers and stream.  And the people there were so nice! And they all puncuated their sentences with “ehhhh.”
• Catching a 22″ trout on the Kenai and releasing it because it was “too big.”
• Bringing back 60 pounds of Salmon, Halibut, and King Crab!
• Talking with my wife for hours on end and really improving our relationship.
• Listening to hours of motivational tapes on the drive.
• Listening to the Davinci Code audiobook.
• Accomplishing an amazing dream and helping my friend with his.
• Stealing the fishing spot in the Yukon from a bald eagle and catching a bunch of huge spawing trout.
• Only saw 3 or 4 cops during the 3500 miles of driving through Canada.
• The bear viewing area in Stewart Hyder.
• Watching eagles pull fish out of the Kenai.

Overall we drove 12,000 miles on our trip. Our little Honda kicked some serious butt on the drive! We overloaded it with camping gear and it handled the 100s of miles of dirtroads in the Yukon with no problem.

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Relationships, Enlightenment, Goals 3 Comments »
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Some Pictures I took

I recently bought a new digital camera, a Nikon D70s. I’ve been wanting a digital SLR for a long time and this one got great reviews. Plus my brother in-law has had one for a while and has taken some amazing photos. So below are some pictures I took the last few days.

(click on the picture to see a hi-rez one)

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Photos 2 Comments »
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Sponsor A Mustang

I got this email from a friend today and wanted to spread the word. She runs a wonderful non-profit organization called the LUV Shach Ranch Rescue here in Phoenix, Arizona and could use some financial help to save some beautiful Mustangs. If you can help in anyway, give her a call.

Below is here email:

This is VERY difficult to ask you, however I am asking all of my resources to help. In case you don’t remember the picture below is of (in order left to right) Remington, Juliette, Delfica, and Harley. I have them in Prescott on about 1,000 acres living the life of a Mustang, only they are protected and living on a Veterinarian’s property. They have the life! I go up to visit them EVERY week, brush them, LUV on them and watch them be horses! It is amazing!

Now the tough part, I may have to bring them back because September has been a really rough month for the LUV Shack and it costs me $500.00, $125.00 per horse and we don’t have it this month! We thought that a couple of checks were coming this month and they aren’t coming until next month. Okay, my question, do you know of anyone who would help sponsor them? It can be anyone, for example, someone who cannot own a horse and would love to say they Sponsor a Mustang! We can split it up $125.00 per horse or we can split it up more so more people can help. Dr. Teskey has to be paid by the 15th of each month. He is giving me until Oct. 15th and I will owe $1,000.00 or I can just go pick them up. I hope you know of someone who will help, it is tax deductible and more importantly they LUV it up there! I have also filled out many grants again we wont know until January if we have been awarded any monies. I would be happy to send Dr. Teskey’s information to who ever would like to talk with him about the mustangs and why it is so important to their growth and spirit to be up there.

Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you know and understand I ask for them they really LUV it up there!

Joey Ogburn, President/Founder
LUV Shack Ranch Rescue, “changing the world, one horse at a time”
501(c)3 Registered Charity
www.luvshackranchrescue.com
602-400-0826

(2 votes, average: 3.5 out of 5)

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Greg Hankerson Happiness, Goals, Giving Back No Comments »
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