How much of advanced GoL is intuition and genius you were born with and how much is math/logic anyone can learn with enough time?
Advanced gol is just getting past that first hurdle of understanding the densely compressed info behind the jargon. And it doesn't ever need to be done for all of the concepts. You can be versed in just one. I started out in a super specialized corner in self constructing spaceships. That said I'm a bit of a whiz in other areas so I can't be used as evidence that it works for everyone..
Probably I'm a good case in point. I'm definitely not a particularly clever mathematician, but it seems like it's possible to understand any new Life technology just by tinkering with the pieces for long enough.
If anyone wants to follow along with that kind of learning process, just start working through the Life textbook that kryptiskt mentioned. (Full disclosure, I'm one of the authors.)
Even though in my life, I can't make the time for doing something on the grandiose scale required, I can live vicariously through reading about your sheer dedication and intellectual effort expended.