Today we’re talking about prayer beads.

I’m so excited about this new process that I have been using, and I’d like to share it with you.

I want to give you just a bit of background, so you know why I started implementing prayer beads into my daily practice. Growing up I was taught to pray which felt very much like a one-way conversation with Source. I would pray for my desires or things I needed help with while it felt like Source was being very quiet on the other end of the line.

Fast forward many years, I eventually learned to meditate. When I began a consistent meditation practice I was able to quiet my human mind, I realized I was getting information, answers, and guidance from Source and my Energy Beings. Meditation feels like a closing of the loop. In prayer, I am asking while in meditation I receive. I love the receiving of answers that’s what hooked me into meditation. The receiving aspect is communication and connection from Source.

Now I am noticing a real yearning for this connection with Source all the time not just in focused meditation.  In my daily life, I sometimes become enamored with my own creation—projects, problems, people, etc.  My connection to Source (although it never goes away) feels like it gets put on the back burner. It feels defused when I focus on the physical.

I wanted a way to refocus myself during my day so that I can reconnect to Source without having to go into deep meditation to quiet my mind completely. Whala! Prayer Beads dropped into my awareness.

I know a lot of people use prayer and mantras that have been given to them. This can be extremely helpful because prayers from a spiritual tradition have specific energy behind them. A cumulation of history and tradition builds focused energy that you can tap into by reciting collective prayers. 

But I don’t operate well following a defined path. I have to make things my own for a process to make sense in my heart and mind.  So I made up my own prayers that would help me to focus when I want to feel a connection to Source.

I have found that using prayer beads helps me to make the jump from being focused solely on the material world to reconnecting with Source. Reciting my prayers distracts me just enough from the physical while still being able to participate in my daily life. It is a natural bridge back to Source while not having to go into meditation to reconnect. I recite my prayers silently in my mind. I can do this process while driving, in a meeting, or on the golf course. Very user-friendly!

Below are practical steps to get you started with your own prayer beads. 

1. Buy or make beads. I bought a prayer bead bracelet. You might want to use a bracelet, necklace or traditional prayer beads that you can hold in your hand. You can use malas, rosary beads or create your own by using certain stones that contain meaning for you. The most important thing is that the prayer beads have a connection to you.
2. Something to consider: I had a few requirements. I wanted to be able to wear my prayer beads, and I wanted them to have beads that I could finger while reciting each prayer. You may have more requirements. Search your heart. You’ll know what type of prayer beads you want. 
3. Next, sit in meditation to quiet the human mind. Ask what wants to be included in your prayers—energies, values, purpose, etc. I asked for direction of what is important to me during this life. I use these reminders in order to connect back to Source.
4. Form your prayers. I uncovered 10 core energies that are really important to me. I contemplated these 10 things and studied my heart to ask what about these 10 things do I really know. Remember when we add words to energies we make them concrete in this physical reality. The words help to ground the energy into this reality. 
5. I wear my bracelet all the time. When I noticed that I’m out on a limb and feeling disconnected from Source, I will quietly recite my prayers. Almost immediately I feel my body fill with energy— that visceral feeling of Source.  Tapping into this connection quiets the physical focus I had going on and helps me to remember the Sacred in my daily life.

If you would like to enhance your connection to the Sacred, try using this process. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to me on the contact page.