What you think upon, grows is a maxim thats been taught since ancient times. Ive read it in different books, stated in various ways. Emmet Fox, in his book The Golden Key, says: Stop thinking about the difficulty, whatever it is, and think about God instead.

I read The Golden Key long ago, and Id tried thinking this way many times, to disregard negative, fearful outcomes and focus on the good I wanted to achieve. But I always found it difficult to do. My mind would invariably turn back to all the difficulties in my way. Recently, however, because my need was so strong, I started employing this technique more forcefully than ever before.

I remembered the words of theologian Paul Tillich, that God is the ground of all being, and my belief that God operates in and through all. Whenever seeds of doubt and worry appeared in my mind, I made myself surrender them to a higher power. Then I thought about the qualities I associate with Godall-powerful, all- loving, all knowing.

As I continued to let my mind relax into that spacious feeling of surrender, I began to notice helpful people cropping up around me, and meaningful coincidences that appeared to be leading me in a more fruitful direction. Instead of thinking about all the problems that needed to be solved, I focused more on the good things that had started happening. Meanwhile, I also started to see more angels in my midst, the kinds with wings and beautiful faces.

Ive always liked to keep images of angels near me. Over the years, Ive acquired a variety of carved and painted angels, purchased in Italy where I frequently travel. In Italian medieval and Renaissance art, angels are ubiquitous. Whenever I go to Italy, I see angels all around. The ones created centuries ago look out from bas-reliefs and carvings in ancient architecture, and from paintings in churches and museums. Newer angels, created by modern-day artists who are keeping alive an old tradition, look out from shop windows.

I realized that visualizing the image of one of these angels seemed to keep my mind steady, and required no thought or effort. This practice had the same effect as using The Golden Key, yet it was easier for me to maintain. I wasnt trying to think of something beyond my comprehension, but picturing something that was right in front of my eyes and in my mind.

Now, as I contemplate the images of the angels, I notice myself softening, feeling more compassion for others as well as for myself.

Ive also begun to feel connected to the people who made the angels. The spirit of the angels had to pass from a mysterious and invisible dimension into the hearts and minds of the artists who carved and painted them over the centuries. Now Im partaking both of that invisible realm from which angels come, as well as of the essence of the people who made them. I feel part of a continuum, more grounded in history, yet freer in spirit.

During the Renaissance, Italian philosopher Pico della Mirandola said, Its not freedom from the body, but spiritual intelligence which makes the angel. It seems that keeping angels in sight is helping me lift myself up and live in a better way.

Julianne Davidow

Julianne Davidow is both a photographer and a writer. She has also been a teacher, editor, and translator.

As a writer, she has worked for the L.A. Weekly, Si Magazine, EdCon Publishing Company, and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. Her essay ?Venice in my Dreams? won second prize in the X.J. Kennedy Non-Fiction contest sponsored by Rosebud Magazine and was published in their July, 2003 issue. An essay and photograph of an angel from her Italian Angels Limited Edition Series appears in the May/June 2006 issue of Angels on Earth magazine.

She travels frequently to Italy and, among other projects, is working on a photographic book about the art and philosophy of the Renaissance.

Her photographic specialties include sculpture, architecture, landscapes, and travel.

Julianne is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She has studied writing at the University of Iowa, Kenyon College, and New York University; Italian and translation at New York University, the New School, and in Rome Italy; photography at New York University and the New School.

She is a member of the Italian Cultural Institute, the Renaissance Society of America, the C.G. Jung Institute, the International Women?s Writing Guild, and an Associate member of the American Society of Media Photographers.