To Soar Beyond the Stars: The Mystical Journey of One Wing

By Robert A. Sanford

Have you ever had a life-changing, unexplainable spiritual experience? Something that left you puzzled, mystified or in awe? To Soar Beyond the Stars offers insight into the mystery of these experiences, showing how life can be viewed in a bold new way and revealing how to find courage during life’s darkest moments. In author Robert A. Sanford’s inspirational book, the main character is a seagull named One Wing who must learn to cope with life after breaking one of his wings. During the healing process, he questions many aspects of his life. On his journey of self-discovery,
he unravels the riddle of the Law of Attraction, why it works and how to use it.

As One Wing becomes more and more enlightened about his truest identity, he learns ways of reinventing himself to fulfill his highest aspirations. Readers will be mesmerized by One Wing’s adventures, which begin when he awakens one night to the sight of a mystical gull of light. The strange
visitor tells One Wing that the two of them are one and the same. Puzzled by this, One Wing sets out to discover answers to the very questions we all ask: Why am I here? Where am I going?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781669822455

Book preview

To Soar

Beyond the Stars

The Mystical Journey of One Wing

Robert A. Sanford

Copyright © 2011 by Robert A. Sanford.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Spirit Bound Publishing

PO Box 135

Springville, California 93265

www.spiritboundpublishing.com

Illustrations by Jason Waldron.

Rev. date: 04/23/2022

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

578388

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

About the Author

1     Gabriel Alexander the Third

2     Gobblers, Cluckers and Screechers

3     If You Think You Can or Can’t, You’re Right

4     Traveling a Current of Sound

5     The Choice Is Ours to Live Beyond the Stars

6     Beyond Time and Space

7     The Five Passions

8     True Power

9     Love and Abundance

10   Something Marvelous

11   Unconditional Surrender

12   Cosmic City of Light

13   The Quest

14   Tunnel of Fear

15   The Wonder of It All

16   A Simple Plan

17   Right on Time

18   Awareness Shifts

19   Home Again

20   The High Council

21   Festival of Flight

22   The Wager and the Winner

SONGS

1     Just a Little Bit

2     Sing Hu

3     Found Within

4     God Is Waiting for You

5     Flyers of Light

6   I Can See to Eternity

For the child in all of us

who searches for truth

In loving memory of Chase

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, a very special thanks goes to my editor, Laurel Fishman, who took great time and effort to help me express what I wanted to say. Her guidance was invaluable, her patience was exceptional, and her insight was imaginative and wise. Without Laurel’s constructive skills and ever-watchful eye, To Soar Beyond the Stars would be a fraction of the story it has become.

A special thanks to Marilyn Meredith, who has written several novels and teaches a writing class. Her class helped me develop a writing style.

And special thanks also to Peyton Ellas and R. Scott Lemriel, whose contributions added color and vibrancy to the story of One Wing.

INTRODUCTION

In the summer of 1999, I took a position as a camp host at one of the state beaches along the Malibu coastline. I had recently lost my home and my business, and I thought this would be an excellent place to contemplate my present situation.

Free from my everyday routine, I was more deeply able to explore my love of truth and Spirit. In the evening, I often sat quietly and invited Spirit into my consciousness, asking to share love, truth, and expansion of life.

Early one morning, after having made that request on the previous night, I left my motor home to watch the sunrise. As I walked past the van in front of me, I startled a seagull, which limped away, dragging a broken wing. The gull was trying to reach some water in a dirty pan left under the van.

My heart went out to the bird, and so I returned to my motor home to get some food and water. I wanted to give the gull more help than that, but I had no idea how. That evening during my spiritual contemplation, I asked for guidance and surrendered the gull’s plight to Spirit.

When I awoke the following morning, an impression immediately hit me like a slap in the face. Allow the gull to do as it will, and shoot it on video.

How strange, I thought, but did as directed.

The gull returned several times every day, taking its fill of food and water. After three weeks, the broken wing had healed. Without the aid of a splint, the wing had knitted in a deformed position and dragged on the ground wherever the gull walked.

Because it favored its right wing and foot, the bird appeared awkward and clumsy, and it often fell over while running down the beach flapping its wings. On windy days, the gull walked to the rocks by the shoreline, where it would jump into the air and spread open its wings. For a brief moment, it would be airborne before being blown backward onto the rocks. Undeterred, the gull tried over and over again.

As I reviewed the videotapes, I witnessed this half-crippled gull with a deformed wing bravely persisting in its pursuit against all odds to regain flight until it finally succeeded. Its courage was truly extraordinary.

The experience left me with an indisputable message: There’s a story in all of this. And Spirit was prompting me to write it, inspired by this determined gull.

This, then, is the story as it unfolded within my imagination.

Seagull_Chap_1_7.jpg

ONE

Gabriel Alexander the Third

Gabriel Alexander the Third hatched on a small island off the California coast. As a young gull, he was a loner who spent a great deal of his time daydreaming, nestled in the safety of the high rocks above the Pacific Ocean. This was his own special place, where he could dream and imagine. Gazing far out to sea, he pondered what mysteries might lie beyond the horizon. He would close his eyes and enter a silent reverie, imagining himself leading the gulls to victory against the Dark Force.

His father was a renowned flyer, a master of the high-angle dive, able to reach controlled speeds greater than any other gull could. As soon as Gabriel was strong enough, his father took him on long flights, each time reaching a higher altitude than before. As they soared, Gabriel’s dad would teach him new flying techniques and ways of recognizing the swimming patterns of various fish and the best ways to catch them.

There were many superstitious beliefs among the gulls. One of these was that the Dark Force dominated the upper sky. The gulls believed that if a gull flew higher than one thousand feet above the ground, he could be captured or killed by the Dark Force. There were stories of gulls who flew too high and were swallowed by giant flying machines or were battered beyond recognition.

Gabriel’s mother opposed many of these kinds of seagull beliefs and was often outspoken against them. Perhaps that is why she admired and fell in love with Gabriel Alexander the Second, the younger Gabriel’s father. He too fought against many of the seagull superstitions.

By the time Gabriel the Third reached the age of twelve (or the passing of three human years), his brownish gray feathers had started to molt, giving way to the new white and dark feathers of a mature gull. By fourteen, he was soaring higher than most, and he received a scholarship to the Seagull Flying Academy.

His father encouraged him to learn the high-angle dive. It was a dangerous maneuver, requiring tremendous willpower and mental focus. The steeper the angle, the more difficult was the dive. Although Gabriel’s father was capable of making an eighty-five-degree dive look simple, most gulls rarely exceeded seventy.

One day, his father suggested, Start your first dive at fifty degrees. You’ll need to do this in stages so I can show you how to counteract the air pressure.

Air pressure? I don’t understand, Gabriel said.

You soon will, his father said. Remember, fifty degrees.

Gabriel had watched his father do this many times and had no fear. Confident of his success, Gabriel decided to try a steeper angle. Tucking his wings close to his side, he started his descent.

Yahoo! he cried as the rush of speed engulfed him. Before long, he was traveling faster than he had ever imagined possible. It became difficult to control his descent.

I’ll slow down, he thought.

Gabriel tried to open his wings, but the force of the air was too great on them. He rolled to his left, easing the pressure on his right wing. It began to open. This threw him into an uncontrollable spin. Gabriel rushed toward the sea at a speed he had never experienced. Moments later, he plunged into the water. After he floated to the surface, he lay there motionless. His father landed next to him and held Gabriel’s head out of the water with his own beak so his son could breathe.

Other gulls began to land, including a gull from Air-Sea Rescue, who took over for Gabriel’s father.

Gabriel, can you hear me? his father asked repeatedly. There was no reply.

Gabriel had been terrified when he hit the water, and the blow had immediately caused him to lose consciousness. His body had gone limp. Darkness surrounded him. Though he had been knocked unconscious, he became quite aware, as if in a dream.

Gabriel found himself falling toward an expanding pinhole of light. The closer he came to the light, the brighter it became. The light was warm, soft, and inviting. By the time Gabriel stopped falling, he saw before him a Gull of Light with glowing feathers. The gull smiled warmly at Gabriel, with eyes beaming joy, wisdom, and compassion.

Gabriel stared in disbelief, then meekly asked, Who are you?

I’m you, the Gull of Light replied in a soothing tone.

How can that be? Gabriel asked. I’m nothing like you. I’ve never seen anyone so magnificent.

Follow your heart in search of truth, and one day, you will be me, the gull said.

What’s your name?

Hue, the gull replied. It comes from the many colors found within you.

Colors? What colors?

It’s time for you to go back, Hue said.

Go back where? I don’t understand. Please! I want to stay here with you.

Hue’s light intensified, then faded into darkness.

Hearing faint sounds coming from his father, Gabriel began to reawaken in his physical body.

That’s it, Gabriel. You’re doing fine. Come on, open your eyes. You can do it.

Gabriel tried, but everything was spinning.

Are you all right? Can you move?

Gabriel wanted to answer, but he couldn’t. Slowly the spinning subsided. Through half-open eyes, he was able to make out his father and the other gulls who had gathered around.

Where am I? Gabriel asked.

What do you remember, son?

I don’t remember anything. Why am I floating on the water?

Think. Try to remember, his father said.

I don’t know how I got here, Gabriel insisted.

You were doing a high-angle dive.

I was?

Yes.

Suddenly remembering, Gabriel recoiled in fright. I lost control, but it’s blank after that, he said. Except . . . there was a brilliant light . . . and something else too . . . But I don’t remember. Next I heard your voice.

Is anything broken? his father asked.

I don’t think so, but I feel awful. I don’t want to do that again.

Gabriel’s father looked over his son’s body and checked that all of Gabriel’s body parts could move normally. Satisfied that nothing was broken, Gabriel’s father suggested they fly home together.

As they slowly took flight, Gabriel asked his father, What did I do wrong?

You chose far too great an angle for your first dive. It takes time to develop a technique that will work for you. That’s why I wanted you to begin at fifty degrees.

I was traveling so fast that I couldn’t open my wings.

I know, his father answered. The harder you try, the more unstable you become.

But you make it look so easy.

It takes practice, son. To break out of a high-angle dive, you must first learn how to maneuver your wingtip feathers. If you master this, you will have discovered the secret of controlling your dive.

Gabriel spent the next two weeks at Sardine Cove, a special gathering spot for young gulls. Recovering from his accident, he would lie on the horseshoe-shaped sandy white beach for hours. Rocks jutted from the water, and at low tide, small sea creatures became trapped in the tide pools, making for an easy meal.

It was here that Gabriel first noticed Jennifer Lynn. As she walked by, their eyes met for a brief moment. His heart seemed to stop, and time did too! Gabriel wanted to speak, but he was overwhelmed by her beauty. By the time he regained his composure, it was too late. He sadly watched her stroll out of view.

Weeks passed before Gabriel saw Jennifer again. He had just landed on the rocks above Sardine Cove when he caught sight of her, walking on the beach with Big Gull. Big Gull was one of the fastest-flying gulls around, and he was well known for his smooth talk and for always having a pretty girl or two by his side.

What chance do I have against Big Gull? Gabriel wondered.

After his accident, Gabriel had started believing that everyone thought he was a loser, and he gradually withdrew from social activities. At about the same time, he began having nightmares, where he would see himself falling helplessly toward the sea. Gabriel would awaken, shivering with fear.

In a month, he would be sixteen (four human years), and eligible to attend the Seagull Flight Academy. But rather than being excited, he was sad. Gabriel told his mother he didn’t want to go.

What’s wrong? she asked. What’s so terrible that you can’t tell anyone? Nothing can be that bad. Please tell me what’s troubling you.

Gabriel turned his head away from his mother and blurted out, Everyone will find out I’m really a coward.

Gabriel, you are not a coward. You’re a brave young gull, she said tenderly. You’ve just lost sight of who you are and have become the effect of your own negative thinking. At any given time, you’re either cause or effect. To be cause is to be the master of yourself and your destiny. Listen to your inner self, and it will guide the way.

Gabriel knew his mother was right, and he thought about his accident and the high-angle dive.

I’m both the cause and effect of my own action, but if I had followed Dad’s advice, the effect might have been different.

So for the first time in several weeks, Gabriel climbed high in the air to soar again.

As he soared, he thought about the high-angle dive and remembered his father’s instructions to start his first dive at fifty degrees. Just the thought of it was enough to make his pulse race.

I’ve got to get over being afraid. I must try again.

Gabriel took a deep breath and began his descent.

His speed quickly increased, but so did his fear, and he had to pull out of the dive before completing it. Gabriel made several slow circles as he swallowed back his fear.

I can do this, he told himself. I know I can do this.

Again, he attempted a fifty-degree dive. The speed increased his excitement, and for a moment, he teetered between success and failure. Suddenly Gabriel felt exhilarated and burst out, Yahoo! The force of rushing air pinned his wings against his sides, and the water was rapidly approaching, but Gabriel was able to open his wings safely and pull out of his dive.

He remembered his father’s instructions: To break out of a high-angle dive, you must first learn how to maneuver your wingtip feathers. Master this, and you will have discovered the secret of controlling your dive.

Gabriel began by moving each of his wingtip feathers, first one at a time, and then in combination with one another. To his amazement, he