Charles Hanna
Awaken To A More Fulfilling Life
A candid, practical, and inspiring guide to creating a richer and more meaningful life.
The world’s great philosophers and spiritual leaders teach us that happiness depends on how we look at life. In Higher, author Charles Hanna explores why and how we can create the best possible outlook. By finding our Higher Perspective, Higher Power, and Higher Purpose, he demonstrates how we can challenge our demons and become our best selves. His experience of physical, emotional, and spiritual recovery and his applications will resonate powerfully with all readers.
Perceptive, practical and inspiring, Higher is a guide to a better, more connected, and vibrant way of being.
It has been a long time since I have read such an uplifting and inspiring book. Five stars, a definite must read!
Hanna guides us past the thoughts that hold us back from becoming our best, happiest, and most-fulfilled selves.
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I Make Hundreds of Mistakes Every Day
Most of the things I do during the day are routine. Whether it’s personal hygiene, responding to messages, buying or eating food, or scheduling myself. I do these tasks reflexively and as fast as possible, without much thought.
And behold, that is where I am making some of the biggest mistakes of my life.
To illustrate, I started to play this game in which you have to arrange various geometric figures into complete lines so they disappear and make room for more objects that keep coming in. You can take as much time as you want before you place each piece. But you lose the game if an object comes in with no room left on the board for it to fit into. I am very good at this game, but I made an interesting observation. I tend to score highly in this game only when I take my time and think carefully about every piece. And place those pieces in a conservative manner to maximize the use of empty spaces. I can literally go on for hours before making a mistake.
But when I start a new game, sometimes I feel a little impatient. I have to play for an hour or more before I reach the level I normally reach. So I start placing the pieces faster to get to my usual level.
However, no matter how skilled I become at this game, when I don’t take the time, I invariably get a piece that surprises me and I cannot place it anywhere. Then I lose the game early on.
What happens when we pay attention?
It became clear that the only way I could do really well at this game was to take my time and think carefully about where I place each piece. Even when it is early on in the game. Even when I have lots of space and time to be able to make a small mistake or two without much consequence.
I see the same pattern in my life. I don’t take the time to think very carefully about every move I make. Especially when my activities seem mundane, repetitive and inconsequential.
For example, I don’t pay enough attention to the foods I buy or allow into my house. And then I wonder why I snack on unhealthy foods when I don’t want to! I need to pay close attention to make sure that everything in my house is pleasing, satisfying and reflects what I want for myself.
Likewise, I don’t take the time to make sure that I do the most important things that I need for optimal health, mindset and my connections with people. In my haste, I forget to thank people. I don’t remember to wish them well on their birthdays. Or I end up regretting saying or doing hurtful things, even though those things didn’t seem that important at the time.
As a result, just as in the game, I get surprised by mishaps that I wish I could have foreseen and avoided. Or I see them after it is already too late and there is nothing I can do about it.
Success via slowing down
As with that video game, good things happen to me when I have patience and take my time to execute every one of my daily activities with calmness and focus, and without distraction.
That’s a challenge for me. I’m both lazy and impatient and want to just get on with it! But that’s where my failure is. I’m not always calm, patient, careful and deliberate in the way that I live my life, or with every decision that I make.
I’m sure that for many, changing this habit may sound onerous or unnecessary. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Life is not a race. It’s an amazing journey, especially when we slow down and remember, every minute, to give everyone and everything in our lives the attention it deserves.
Why We Struggle to Agree on Loving/Hating Donald Trump
On one side people believe that Donald Trump is the answer to everything, while others believe he will destroy everything. To understand this, let’s take a step backward.
Even though we may have different ideas on how to solve our issues, we are all very similar; we’re fearful about our future and view Trump as either a savior or a destroyer.
What is making us so afraid?
The key point here is that our fear is amplified because of the unprecedented turmoil in our world. We are literally raping the earth’s resources, with consequences that no one understands and everyone fears. Our environment is shifting in dramatic and scary ways, and whether the changes are manmade or not, they are frightening.
Our population is exploding and may overwhelm our resources. Rising political powers in different parts of the world are creating conflicts and dangers that can move quickly in unpredictable and unprecedented ways. Moreover, the turmoil brewing in many parts of the world is seeping through our borders, making matters much more tenuous than they already were.
Technology has permeated every aspect of our society and despite the huge benefits, the resulting risks and dangers are terrifying. Even our huge financial infrastructures are as fragile as a house of cards, as we have already experienced.
We fear new deadly diseases, or re-emergence of old diseases, either of which can spread rapidly and have devastating effects. There is the fear of fanaticism and terrorism, with people holding very different opinions about what is right and what is wrong. Whether those opinions are based on race, religion, geography, economic status, sexual orientation or political differences, all sides feel strongly that it is not fair to them, and that something must be done to makes changes that match their point of view.
All of these threats are moving faster and faster, with less and less control
When we start to see these threats affecting our loved ones, including our children, through violence or mental illness, it makes us even more hypersensitive.
Every twist and turn is like a sudden shriek or thump in a scary movie that keeps us on the edge of our seats. We startle to the point of exhaustion and anger, wondering if we will ever be able to navigate our way safely through these dangerous waters.
So when Trump is as definitive and extreme as he is, right or wrong, people react strongly.
In other words, we are not turning against each other because of Trump, but because of extreme fear and uncertainty about our future.
It helps to remember that we are all on the same side
We all want the world to be a safe place. We all want to live with dignity and respect and provide for our families. We want to be able to control our immediate environment, with opportunities for growth and prosperity. We want to be able to dream and achieve our goals.
But how can we achieve any of these things in the face of the fear and mistrust that is so prevalent in this age?
Let’s stop thinking of each other as the enemy.
I have found that when I trust that we will eventually find the best way forward from these trying times (even if the solution is completely different from what I would have chosen), only then can I let go of my fear and anxiety.
Otherwise, my fear and anxiety will make me react in irrational ways that harm the process and jeopardize the outcome.
Let’s allow the people in charge to work it out and let us accept whatever outcome results, without reacting (or overreacting) to every bit of news and every twist and turn of what is said. The bigger the issues, the bigger the lessons learned in the end. And as in any dispute, matters resolve only after honest communication, resulting in a better understanding of each other’s’ perspective and how to move forward in harmony.
We can harness our ingenuity and enrich our own lives by embracing our diversity rather than by judging the ‘other side’ as being ignorant or misguided.
So, why not express your view as passionately as you want, and vote with your heart, then let it go and trust the process without judgment, fear or animosity?