Welcome Back to Keep Inspiration Alive
Today we will be discussing Mala Beads. What Do They Do?
I am Mr. Michael Adams
I am a depression and PTSD survivor
Former Addict of narcotics and alcohol
Borderline Atheist
Found God through a spiritual awakening
Now Entrepreneur
Here to serve humanity
Mala beads help us taper down our monkey mind thoughts. Many religions have some form of Mala or Prayer Beads.
Examples:
Yogi
Hindu
Buddhism
Christianity
Catholicism
Islam
Shintoism
Sikhism
Bahai
Each one has its own interpretation and number of beads. Let's stick with the yogic tradition for this example. There are 108 beads, with one guru bead with a tassel at the end.
Drape the beads over your right middle finger, while extending the index finger out and away from the beads. Start with the first bead after the guru bead. Guru bead should be facing towards your front.
Set an intention prior to your mediation
Find Sanskrit words to use. Three that work really well are:
Om Mani Padme Hum - Buddhism
Aum (Om) - Cosmic Sound
Aum Namah Shiva - Hinduism
Use your thumb to pull one bead in, towards you. With each bead, mentally chant to yourself your mantra. After going through the entire thing. You will come back to your Guru bead. This is a time so stop and reflect on your meditation. By the time you reach the end, your mind should be tapered down in thoughts, and putting the nervous system at ease. This helps put us back in the present moment, and seems to have long lasting effects after use.
Monitor your mind, and if it is still racing, you may need to do this one or two more times.
Flip the necklace around. Do not just keep going, as this will disrupt the meditation.
Stop
Reflect
Flip
There is a little bit of an art to flip the beads with one hand, while not touching your index finger.
It is easy to master with just a little practice.
How many times do I need to do this per session?
Depends on your spiritual practice and how deep you want to go within your meditation chant. If just looking to taper the monkey mind down and continue with your day, usually just once is needed. If your mind is very active, it may need a second cycle. Rarely will it need a third cycle.
This is great to start the morning with, as it does have a lasting effect afterwards. The mornings are crucial to prime our day going forward. Find a time to commit to, and turn this into a daily practice. You will notice the results lasting longer and longer, the more daily practice we put into them.
