While for many, they may be a fashion statement, the beads you see trending now, most often, worn as a necklace, offer more than a pretty chic fad. They’ve been around for a while.
There are times when we know we should spend time in prayer or meditation more often than we do. There are also times when we want to sit quietly and focus on meaningful intentions but are easily distracted. It’s during these times when we often get discouraged. Periods like this are opportunities to consider using a devotional tool, such as mala bead necklaces, as another way to pray.
All over the world and throughout time, cultures and major religions have a long tradition of using a string of beads as a spiritual tool for personal prayer or meditation. With each bead handled and prayer offered, seekers feel more closely connected to God or the Divine.
Using prayer beads as a spiritual accessory importantly focuses the mind. For many, it better connects us to God or the Divine. When you use beads, you relax into a peaceful place and find more confidence in your ability to feel the presence of God.
How does praying with beads make praying easier?
Beads as a tool for spiritual connection are a way to be more grounded and present in prayer and meditation. As a devotional instrument, beads have been used for centuries worldwide to help individuals concentrate during meditation and prayer. Perhaps most famous in Tibetan and Buddhist rituals as well as Christian Rosaries, prayer beads can be used in any practice as part of religious faith or non-religious spirituality for meditation.
If the idea of having a tangible and mindful way to pray sounds appealing, then praying with beautiful beads may be a good practice for you.
With roots in Hinduism and Buddhism, yogis, monks, and the spiritually minded have used Mala beads during prayer and meditation for many centuries.
Mala, the Sanskrit word for garland, are beads made of a variety of different materials. Often made from rudraksha seeds or wood such as sandalwood or rosewood, many of the mala beads offered today are constructed of precious and semi-precious gemstones with distinct qualities depending upon the chosen stones.
Traditionally, full malas, also worn as necklaces, are designed to have 108 counting beads, plus a sometimes larger guru bead. The guru signifies the beginning and end of the counting beads. Often, there is a tassel at the end. The devoted use beads to focus their mind while saying affirmations, speaking prayers, or chanting mantras.
People who consider themselves religious and spiritually minded are integrating Buddhist prayer or mala beads into contemplative meditation and prayer practices.
Anchoring daily affirmations and repeatedly reciting prayers is always powerful, even without the use of mala beads. However, when we use beads as a devotional tool to help us stay on task, we can create a rhythm where thoughts and feelings are in sync with our prayers and affirmations.
With the increased popularity of yoga over the last twenty years, mala beads have become a fashionable accessory that we find readily available in yoga, spiritual, or wellness shops and abundantly available online.
At the Tibetan Nun’s Project, https://tnp.org/products/long-mala/, you’ll find ready information on some of the most popular mala types and properties along with detailed instructions on how to hold and correctly use malas. Here you will also learn why the number 108 is sacred and the significance of the Guru bead. This site provides ample and concise instruction for what is most important in selecting and caring for your beads.
Before you delve further in selecting your beads, it’s helpful to know a few basics:
- Depending upon where they are created, beads can be made from seeds, wood, bone, or semi-precious gemstones.
- Beads come in varying diameter sizes from 6mm. to 10mm. Today, 8 mm. is often the most popular size for necklaces. Larger beads make it easier to count.
- Selecting your beads is a personal choice. Often when we are drawn to something immediately, it is for a reason. You might be attracted to a particular gemstone for a specific reason like healing, focus, or grounding, as an example. Explore the meanings of gemstones to understand better what each stone represents.
- The Guru Bead is the center and sometimes larger than the counting beads. It may be the one that calls to you. Keep this in mind when selecting your beads.
- Malas have a tassel made of silk, cotton, or pendant on them. Look at this as another factor in deciding if this is the perfect choice for you.
While prayer and meditation are popular ways to use mala beads, repeating mantras, meditations, or simple chants is considered by many the most powerful and impactful way to experience the magic of the mala beads. Simple chants recited repeatedly help us produce strong sound waves with a vibrational effect. The sacred “Om,” one single sound, is familiar to many of us in the West.
Just as it is easy to get overwhelmed by the abundance of information on mala beads, the same is true with the subject of mantras. Mantras have a mystique about them.
What are they, and how do I use them? If written in Sanskrit and unfamiliar with the language or culture, it’s hard to know where to begin.
Learning ancient Sanskrit mantras may appear daunting and especially in understanding the correct pronunciation. You may feel deterred from learning how to chant. But, Thomas Ashley-Farrand, an expert in Sanskrit mantra, wrote several books on how mantras could benefit us in improving all areas of life and especially personal challenges. His audio versions are specifically helpful in hearing the correct pronunciation as you learn each mantra.
For anything that you need support with, be it healing or any life circumstance you would like to change, Ashley-Farrand is one of a select few Western experts who has the answers. He has been able to formally make accessible the way to integrate Eastern prayer life into Western culture. He teaches the ancient, sacred science of sound healing for us in our present day.
Farrand’s book, “Healing Mantras,” now a classic for using mantras for spiritual healing, offers a practical introduction and thorough guide to the use and benefits of “using sound affirmations for personal power, creativity, and healing.” It is both an important introduction and a meaningful reference. If you are interested in using mantras for spiritual transformation and meditation, this is a reliable and information-packed go-to resource.
For some, finding or creating a personal mantra of your own is more comfortable. Consider affirmations, prayers, or spiritual quotes that encourage and inspire you, each one filled with intention and energy.
For affirmations, they should be in the present tense and contain positive words, widely available online and especially on social media. Here are simple ones, all beginning with “I.”
- I am grateful for all of the blessings, people, and things in my life
- I surround myself with people who support and love me
- I am protected by the Divine at all times
A few examples of spiritual quotes to use with your mala beads:
“With the new day comes new strength and thoughts”- Eleanor Roosevelt
“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”- Rabindranath Tagore
Or, consider some lines from your favorite prayers to guide you as you pray and meditate with malas. When using your favorite prayers, think about substituting “you” with “I” or “me” as shown below:
Lines from prayers of Saint Teresa of Ávila:
“May today there be peace within. May you (I) trust God that you are exactly where you (I) are meant to be”
“Let nothing disturb you (me),
Let nothing frighten you (me),
All things are passing away”
Recite your mantra over and over, either to yourself silently or out loud. Pay close attention to breathing in and out with each repetition. Doing this brings inner calm and stops the endless chatter in your mind.
Using Buddhist prayer or mala beads as a devotional tool regularly may positively assist and strengthen your prayer or meditation practice. Both beautiful and tangible, they’re the perfect accessory to help focus your attention on prayer, especially if you are exploring new methods to add to your spiritual practice.
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