THANKSGIVING...

I have recently just purchased my first Bible, quite something having reached the Beatles classic song age.

No I have not become a 'basher' - more a seeker. So every so often I read a passage from The New Testament as the 5 Books leaves me terribly confused, even though I was brought up as a 'chosen one'...

On Thanksgiving morning I decided to do a random flip hoping to get a revelation, the below title hit my eye and I thought to myself, that doesn't work for today, I'll pick again, a little voice in my head told me not to be such a fake and stay true to my selection AND believe - to say I was blown away when I read on, is to put it extremely mildly!!!

Some Will Depart from the Faith 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

A PRAYER...

The following 'Simple Prayers by Larry Keene' came to me via Religion Outside The Box this morning, it's extremely poignant...

Dear God, I'm not usually at a loss for words but the other day the right words simply would not come.

A dear friend related a personal tragedy to me. It broke my heart to hear her tell her story. The tears welled up in my eyes and I ached for her. I wanted to say something that would take her awful pain away but no perfect words would come out of my mouth. All of my training, all of the books I had ever read, the many life experiences I have had in life, none of it came to my defense, or more importantly, to her aid.

I felt so foolish and helpless.

I had plenty of tears but no words. I didn't want the tears. Lord. I wanted the words. But only tears came. No words came. And then she finally said to me, "Thank you." And I said to her, "But I didn't say anything." She said, "Yes you did." Then she cried and a great peace came over her. I learned in that moment that it was not a time for saying. It was a time for doing. So I did the most eloquent thing I knew how to do. I wept.

Love,

Larry.

Angels are Watching Over All of Us

I post this on September 17th 2009 - having received this lovely e mail prior to an article being published on the amazing union I have forged with a Santa Clarita store. It is written by the owner.

.......................................................................

Some of you may know this already, but last year tragedy struck our lives at Ma Maison and one of the owners lost her 15 year old son, Taylor LaKamp, to a tragic motorcycle accident.

Our lives were forever altered and the grieving process continues, but with all horrific life experiences we have now found that there can be some shining light if you let it in.

Amidst all the ensuing chaos of living life after a sudden death and running a business we were approached by an English Gentleman who claimed he was drawn to the store to show us a product line that he made. Despite our initial reaction of hesitation we agreed to hear him out and view his art. His company is An Englishman in LA and the primary pieces he featured for us were actual photographs of angel statues from the cemetery in Highgate, London England. Jeff, the 'Englishman in LA', took these photos himself of beautiful ornate architectural statues and then reproduced them using a truly unique process of putting the images on a wood tablets that he made and applying a hand aging method to give the appearance of an antique treasure.

After our first glimpse at his inspiring and serene pieces both Katie and I wept, knowing that this artwork was a gift brought to us for comfort and positive energy both for the store and our lives. Jeff too had lost a loved one and was very sympathetic to our emotional state and also the current economic downturn, so a business relationship was started out of odd circumstances.

Ma Maison took hundreds of The 'Englishman in LA' pieces into the store on consignment, ranging from the Angels to Pastorals, to Botanicals and a wide range of Crosses. Jeff was determined to make a peaceful angel available for every household in Santa Clarita and we were grateful that he had trusted us with his products that are sold Nationwide.

Prior to him coming to us, we did not carry inspirational items and did not know how this shift in our product mix would be accepted.

Lo and behold over one year later, in one of the worst economic downturns in our lifetime, The Angels have increased our annual sales by 22%. We have forged a fantastic friendship with Jeff Cane and he calls us his flagship store, bringing us the newest creations and making monthly appearances at the store to meet our customers. Ma Maison now offers custom tablets that can be made in days with a family photograph, custom marriage and birth certificates and a catalog of thousands of images to cover your wall with artwork sure to be a family heirloom.

To this day Jeff does not know what drew him to come into our store, since he lives in the Valley and had never been in to our store before. There is no doubt that throughout the last year and half, the positive energy flow that we have experienced, the amazing people we have support from and the heightened awareness of everyday being a blessing, is from Taylor watching over us, our Angel forever.

To see 'The Englishman in LA' artwork is an experience we invite everyone to enjoy, come by the store anytime wed love to meet you and hear your stories too.

-Ede Eichmann
Owner, Ma Maison
24266 Valencia Blvd.
Valencia, Ca 91355
(661) 799-7983

The Tree That Refused To Die...

Many years ago I purchased a small unusual potted tree. It remained, not doing too well, in a larger pot, for at the time I had no land, only a deck. When I moved to my current house 9 years ago I placed the still small tree, for the first time, in the ground.

Us Brits have a knack for gardening and I am no exception, I have an ability to make things grow - except this time!

Yup, the tree died on me! I didn't figure that it liked the pot and didn't want anything to do with worms or any other earth aerating creatures. The uncanny thing was that I didn't have the heart to throw this 5' piece of dead wood away, "I know, I'll use it's small twisty branches for Morning Glory to grow on."

So that was what I did, I plunged this rootless dead (small) tree into the ground and added a small Morning Glory (my first) next to it, slightly entwining the already growing tentacles up the bark.

Silly me, I should have realized how quickly Morning Glory wants to take over the world! Before no time I was hunting the voracious tentacles everwhere and it was hard to keep them confined to the monument that was my dead tree. So I did the best thing a caring gardener could do, I reversed the scenario and dug up the 'Glory' and put it in a large pot away from anything it could strangle...

My 'tree' was naked once again but somehow the stiff brown wood loooked quite 'arty' and something stopped me from throwing it away, so I didn't...

I suppose a couple of years had elapsed from the time I had replanted 'the tree' when one morning to my utmost shock & surprise I noticed a small bud of green coming from the side of my 'artpiece'!!!

What I write is no word of a lie, that is how it happened - I have absolutely no explanation for the gardening miracle, nor why I didnt throw the tree away. I know any gardner in his right mind would have...

The years have rolled by and my tree has flourished. I never cease to be amazed at this absolute gift of life that might have never been. What I didn't know is that nature had a beautiful and profound surprise in store for me...

Last year I noticed some strange seed pods on the tree, they looked like 12" versions of Elvira's finger nails, beauty in their twisted formation. I took them off and used them in a dried flower arrangement again marvelling at what this tree had given me. There were no seeds, just the empty pods.

Over the last three months I have been acutely aware of the spiritual change & direction that has been given to me, I have had many wonderful signs, including a miracle. About 10 days ago I noticed the most amazing gift this tree has given me, it has white flowers, white flowers I have never ever seen before - and the most astonishing thing was (and still is as I write this) they are pointing from the very top of the tree - TOWARD HEAVEN!!!

Jeff Cane August 2nd 2009

An Angel on Twitter...

The following story has just come to me as a result of my entry into the social media word of Twitter. I feel honored that through this modern vehicle I had been able to reach out to strangers and touch them with a positive spirituality through my Angelic photographic work. Twitter is just another vehicle on a crowded freeway and just like the 4 wheeled kind, if driven correctly, it'll take you to some amazing 140 character destinations...

From my client:

So, Angel story. I was feeling lost--and frustrated, artistically and in life generally. When my father was alive he was the one person who understood me and we could talk for hours about art, history, philosophy, religion and anything else that came to mind. We read the same books often and while we didn't always agree it was nonetheless a lively discussion. We also shared something else. He gave me angels. Since his death five years ago there has been a serious lack of angels as I was not up to purchasing them for myself. Until I happened one day to look up at a twitter response and saw-an angel staring back at me. How funny, I thought-and how funny the man behind the angel turned out to be. After a few exchanges I looked up his website, read his blog-and was moved to tears. Now, here was someone who "got" it. Angels and wit. Then I saw one particular angel, the "Forgiveness" angel and knew that she was the one.

Now, she sits and watches over me in my studio and suddenly things started to change. Now, I realize that it could be read in many different ways, but --. Small things, finding someone to help with my overwhelming technical problems and then to have that same person be moved by my paintings. This same young person turned before he left and told me that I should never give up painting. Silly but this is just what my father would have said and I very much needed to hear right now.

I believe that we are lead to people and places when the time is right. If you listen, if you stop and are still, the path opens up and you find what you need. For me at this time it was an angel, delivered by a funny and kind businessman who believes in angels.

An Angel On My Doorstep

On Friday 22nd of May 2009 an Angel came to me, and rang my doorbell..

To put this true story into perspective I have to take you back to a series of events that led up to the miraculous moment I met my twin soul mate!

DECISIONS & CONSEQUENCES:

About a year ago a colleague of mine was about to have his comfort zone rug yanked from under him. This 'rug' was the house he lived in, in fact it was the house he grew up in. His ailing mother, in a care home, needed to sell the house to pay bills and the nursing home and Tom, without a job, was about to be without a roof!

I was living on my own and had been so for 2 years. The thought that ran though my head of having a 'house mate' was an interesting one, but I wasn't sure on the privacy bit. The more I mulled it around the more it kinda made sense. If he was agreeable I would barter his rent for time spent on my business, a deal that seemingly would work for the both of us.

One one occasion Tom introduced me to Pei Wei restaurant in Valencia (CA), a delicious and extremely well priced offshoot of PF Chang's. After eating we strolled the shopping area (a place I had not been before) and came upon a very nice home accessory & gift store. "You should go in and tell them what you do" he said. Realizing that I had Angel samples in the car and feeling good from a delicious and reasonably priced meal, "why not, we're on a roll..." I replied.

What was to unfold though the choices made that day, would change my life...

We were greeted extremely favorably by the young French lady running the store, especially when she saw my Angel work! She explained that this was great timing as they were looking to give the store a new look along with a new name. We left with her agreeing to call me in a couple of days.

"Yes, we'd love to have your artwork, especially the Angels, BUT, would you be prepared to do it on a concession basis?" was the call I got! I hadn't done this kind of selling since I started some 17 years ago, something told me I should start again...

That decision turned out to be the shrewdest single business move I have made, ever!

Based on doing business this way, the store owner was able to give a lot of wall space to my creations, especially - the Angels...

I have been doing business with Ma Maison extremely successfully, my Angel photography from London & Paris being the biggest sellers, for about 12 months now and our relationship has grown to that of friendship. Boy-oh-boy I was not ready for the phone call that came on Sunday the 17th of May. The lady running the store that day, Linda, called me, all-a-dither, so much so that I thought someone had purchased all my artwork! "Jeff, the strangest thing has just happened" she gushed, 'WHAT' I responded, "this astonishing woman has just come into the store drawn by something she had to see, that something was your Angels! You have to meet her, I think there is something there." As I Drew more information from Linda, the hairs went up on the back of my neck, especially when she told me that 'this lady' had described me - exactly! "That's not all - wait 'til I tell you what she does," 'what there's more,' I yelped - "yes, her work, she's - AN ANGEL THERAPIST!!!"

At that point my raised neck hairs had raised hairs of their own! Linda assured me she had not been imbibing from the wine bar next door, although she was definitely feeling that something magically strange had happened!

'Does this 'Angel Lady' have a name' I asked, "yes Angela" said Linda "and I have her business card and a leaflet, you SHOULD call her, tell me what happens..."

I waited a couple of days and called. The message that picked up told me of Angela's therapeutic services, all delivered in cheery Angelic tones - I decided not to leave a message...

A few days later vocal connection was achieved, "do you know who this is" I asked, not disguising my 'Brit speak.' "Yes, the Angel man" Angela answered. The ensuing conversation was, well let me put it like this, extremely invigorating - I had to meet this lady! We set our 'date' for Friday afternoon, 2pm at my studio.

I was like a little child in anticipation of Angela arriving, the circumstances had honed my 'what if' antenna to electric overload! 2 hours to go, 1 hour, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, what if she doesn't turn up, did I imagine all this... Literally as the hands of my watch showed 2 o' clock, she arrived. The door bell rang. I opened the door and there stood an Angel(a).

She was beaming, I was beaming, the honed antenna were zapping and yours truly KNEW I was about to start to know the most astonishing woman to ever enter my life!

We spent the rest of the day together until the wee hours of the morning. Nothing untoward and un gentlemanly went on, we were exploring the knowing - the knowing of coming home to a person that one is suppose to be with...

I felt more magic than if I was 10 Merlin's and 20 David Copperfield's rolled into one! We discussed everything, agreed so much and stared into each others eyes - yes we kissed, how could we not! And oh we laughed, how did we laugh... I made dinner, the fumblings of a '20 year old' looking for his first utensil is how it felt, I have never ever taken so long to make - A SALAD! I just could not concentrate with this beautiful smiling woman in front of me - oh my, oh my!

I have been around a while, certainly long enough to know 'this' had NEVER happened to me before and the way it happened, connected by Angels, my work, her work - We began to realize very quickly that something very out of the normal was happening here - Angels had brought twin soul mates together, we discussed that very label several times...

CONFIRMATION:

Several weeks before Angela came into my life I had been working on a project concerning my Angels and was having breakfast very close to The Bhodi Tree in LA, a very well regarded spiritual emporium. There were three of us and one of my colleagues asked if we had a set of 'Angel Cards,' both of us said no - "OK time to rectify that" was the order of the morning and with that statement, marched us both off for the purchase. Pack in hand, I wished my colleagues a pleasant LA day and continued on my way.

I have had my Angel cards for several weeks when I met Angela and had followed pretty much the daily morning routine of 'asking the Angels' how to resolve my day to day earthly problems! The process was pretty simple, fan out the pack of 44 cards, shut your eyes and ask the Angels for the answer to a block/question or problem you are having in your life and pull out a card. Each card has a word and once pulled, refer to the small accompanying book for a more detailed explanation.

This time my question was one of desperation, how on earth could this lady have just walked into my life, how was it possible in such a bizarre way, what on 'earth' was going on...

What I am about to tell you, like the rest of this story, IS COMPLETELY TRUE!

The 44 cards were fanned out in my left hand, I repeated my Angelic question re Angela, my right hand started pulling out a card. The card was nearly out of the pack when a voice in my head (?) said NO, put it back, it's the one above! I have never had that happen, I did as instructed, opened my eyes and turned the card over to see what it said...

SOUL MATE:

I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS SEEING, I COULDN'T. I shakily went to read what the books fuller explanation of this card was - 'your prayer for a soul mate relationship is answered - follow the guidance that you receive so that you may enjoy this gift of divine love.' It goes on to say, Your heart yearns for a big love, you desire a partner with a similar philosophy and common interests. Can you have great passion & spiritual companionship with the same person? The card confirms that your answer is "YES!"

The above was so true, I can't remember the amount of times I'd shouted out loud for it and talked to close friends about the elusiveness of this gift - I have indeed witnessed a MIRACLE and been blessed!

As I write this, we are in our fourth week of united bliss and so much has passed between us 'twins' that it's getting hard to remember but a major incident needs to be told.

THE CLEANSING:

Right from the get- go Angela's intuitive powers told her of an energy in my house that wasn't welcoming to her. I asked her as to what this was, "I see a woman around you that is very angry about our connection," she replied. Not freaked by this answer, I enquired as to who this might be, "your girlfriend that passed resents another woman in your life" she replied...

At this point I have to turn the clock back nearly 3 years to the Sunday that Hana, my then girlfriend of 9 years left the house on a sunny Sunday lunchtime, never to return. An extremely uncanny road accident claimed her life.

I have never written about the accident and my journey to hell and back, some of that chapter I now share...

Hana's was a 'life in turmoil', much due to her Korean/Japanese background and the instability that that union carried, it followed her into adulthood. "I will never live to be an old lady" she said on many occasions, she prophesied her demise and at 42 years of age it came true...

Hana was an extremely talented and very personable woman that was never able to let her talents mature and at night she drowned out her demons with alcohol. Our 'relationship' had become one of friends and even that was severely tested by the constant 'binging.' On this particular Sunday I was panic mad trying to get an enormous amount of material together to take up to a new showroom in San Francisco, I had two days to get it all together. When she came down I thought she was going to help me, instead she informed me she was going downtown to practice golf shots & get some Korean food. If Hana could have been a professional golfer she would have been...

As she went out the house, I was fuming - I had no idea it was the last time I would ever see her...

About 3 hours later the door bell rang. I opened it and a sullen lady in a black jacket stood in front of me. My eyes were immediatey drawn to a word sown into the chest of the jacket, as I computed the meaning of the word I started to say "sorry, you must have the..." I was cut short as the woman started to speak - "is this the home of Hana Son" - my heart stopped, the word on the jacket had found the 'right' house - CORONER - my nightmare began...

For many months I lived the worst B movie ever written. In my horror I thanked god that Hana had been spared any of the possible 'other' scenarios that could have resulted from such an accident. According to a policeman on the scene in minutes, she left her body peacefully and very quickly...

There is no doubt in my mind, the way it happened, that she was 'taken out' of her mental turmoil by a higher hand - she put on a brave face but was an unhappy soul whilst on this planet.

THE SIGN:

I had never been aware of anything untoward in the house since Hana's passing. I asked Angela if there was anything to be done that would fully put her to rest. She said there was and the house needed cleansing spiritually and it would take several days possibly weeks. The initial cleansing process took place a few days later.

About 6 days after Angela had worked on the entire house & the cleansing was still in progress, I had reason to put a piece of artwork back on my Welsh Dresser, what I saw totally astonished me...

There are a lot of pieces on the dresser including photos standing on their own without frames, just casually propped upright. I noticed a FRAMED photo had fallen forward onto one of my old English cup and saucer sets, leaving it precariously balanced (view). NOTHING else, nothing had moved. The framed photograph that had inexplicably fallen forward was of Hana, the last ever taken, 3 weeks before her passing...

THE POWER OF ANGELS:

This event, together with how Angela and I met, left me in no doubt, absolutely no doubt whatsoever of her intuitive abilities and the power she has to help people in her chosen field. I am a person, that all my life I have needed some proof of that which I couldn't fathom. In 4 short weeks I have had the proof in bucket loads! You may think I am biased, I assure you I am not. There is no way I would publish this story if I KNEW any of it not to be true - I NOW have as I've always needed, the visual proof of the power of Angels!

The work I have done with 'my Angels' over the past 15 years has moved many people, only since I recently started this blog have I asked for their stories if they have one. In writing 'my' story with Angela (so far), I am without any doubt of the path I am destined to travel. Talk about the destiny of two people, this is 'destiny overload!'

All my adult life I have wanted to share my vision with that of my partners vision, so that I may travel in 'tandem' as one would on bike of the same name. Both pedalling in the same direction to get to the same destination whilst on the same journey.

Angela and I have realised the roads we have taken to get to this point, we are both working with Angels, she with her ASTONISHING therapy and me with my photography and spiritual writings, together, well, 'watch this space folks'...

I joke in earnest with friends that I have told this story to and I say, "if I'd have put a wish list of my perfect partner and sent it to Santa and he decided, 'hey this ones for you', he could not have granted my wish any better that when I opened the door that Friday afternoon to see the wonderful smile that beamed from Angela; I was indeed looking at - An Angel on my doorstep!

To be continued -

The Old Man, The Angels & The Vision

Once upon a time, 1999 to be exact, I went back to Highgate Cemetery in London to shoot again the wonderful angel statues I had previously photographed 5 years earlier in 1994, just in case I’d missed anything...

Highgate Cemetery is unlike any cemetery I have ever seen, it is a very large (37 acres) overgrown yet tended area, with angelic statues hidden behind trees and bushes, pathways that look like they may lead to an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ place and benches scattered at positions of serenity. The Victorians set out to build a peaceful and magical place, they succeeded and 160 years later I was a witness to their creativity and the passing of time.

I had been at the cemetery, for about an hour when I came across a small clearing and an old gentleman sitting on one of the benches, I nodded to him and said good day, he replied in the same manner and asked if I had found everything I wanted to photograph. I remember him saying that it was very hard to capture Highgate as the place does not give up it’s secrets easily... I asked him what he meant by that, he shrugged and said "it’s so big"...

He then asked me what I was going to do with the photographs I was taking, I explained that this was a return visit, I needed to see my family and whilst I was in London I thought I’d take the opportunity to see if I could better the shots that I took in ‘94. I told him that I recreated them onto artifacts that I made that looked very old, extremely realistic "like museum pieces". I also explained that I had created a ’parchment’ that looked uncannily like the real thing without doing any research and I was quite excited about what I could do with it. He asked me where I learned my craft, to which I replied " I had no idea where these talents came from, it’s almost like I’d been reincarnated from the 15th century, I never did anything like it whilst I lived here, I’m totally self taught". I remember seeing this strange look come into his eyes and he muttered "it’s a powerful gift you have, to be able to transport these angels into peoples homes."

I was about to bid him (a slightly unnerved) farewell and move on as it was getting late and the sun (a precious commodity in the UK) would not give me the light I needed for much longer. He beckoned me to sit down for a moment and upon doing so told me that we had met for a reason, one which he couldn’t tell me then, but if I could give him some way of contact, in due time I would understand. I was very intrigued by this strange encounter in a cemetery and at the same time quite wary... I mentioned that I lived "in the city of Angels" in California, "very appropriate, very appropriate" he said, we both laughed and I replied that it was kind of odd...

I got up to go, handing him a card and said that the way to contact me was my e mail if he was able to use a computer, he said that it would not be a problem as his son was a guru in such matters. I bade him farewell and wished him a good remainder of the day and that it was nice to meet, "you will hear from me, nothing happens by chance" was his parting remark...

I remember walking away wondering if I had just made this all up it was so bizarre, I turned my head back to the direction of my new ‘friend’ to reassure myself I hadn’t - the bench was empty...

To say I was spooked was putting it mildly, this was after all a very old cemetery! I never forgot that encounter, which was not the only odd thing to happen that strange day in Highgate (the moon totally eclipsed the sun) and I never saw the need to relate the story of the old man - until now...

In the 8 years that has passed since that odd meeting in Highgate I often wondered about the old man’s ‘reason’ that we had met. I’d certainly been very successful with the angel images and at this point was probably responsible for putting more of them into peoples homes than any one else in America, but I was already on that path before our encounter.

It all became very clear about two weeks ago when I received the following astonishing e mail, which I initially thought was one of these stupid ‘inheritance’ missives from Africa and I nearly deleted it!

Not long before my father passed away he asked me to send this image to you, you may remember you and he met in Highgate some years back. He said that you would know what to do with it. He also wanted me to relate how he came to have this symbol in his possession. He was an avid book collector, especially old books, several from the 16th and 17th centuries, I have inherited hundreds of them. Many years ago when rearranging his library, a small piece of parchment dropped onto the floor from one of the older books. When my father inspected it the symbol on the parchment made no sense, he stared at it for quite a while and when he looked up and away - it happened...

He only shared the above story with me prior to telling me to send it to an e mail address on a business card he had saved for years, he made me promise. He also said that you needed to know that the book it fell from - was an old bible!

That was it, I open the attached image hardly knowing what to expect and there it was, a peculiar set of markings in an odd shaped black circle - ‘what on earth’ I thought... My only reference to what this was to do as my Highgate ‘friend’ had done and stare and look away, this I did and - oh my goodness what a shock I got!! It was unbelievable, how was this possible, who had created this, how was I the recipient of this extraordinary artwork???

I immediately sent the e mail into reply mode with several questions, astonished at the address it came from - within a few minutes I had a response - The following message could not be delivered because the address themessenger@thebible.com was rejected by host...
I began to wonder after several futile attempts over several days to respond to this address,which by the way is legitemate, If this wasn’t some Internet version of Punk’d but that wasn’t possible as I had met with my benefactor all those years ago in Highgate.
I now own this e mail address...

I have stopped questioning the series of events that have led me to this point, my life has been fuelled by others as strange - I have no answers other than to recreate the image he sent me as requested and I have no idea if anybody else has this symbol...

I wrote the poem that tells how to make the symbolic markings work - I hope it inspires you.


Jeff Cane 5/14/2007