Mala beads, beautiful and mindful at the same time.

I would call myself a creative person. I have always loved making things, drawing and painting. I've dappled in pottery, glass bead making, I've made plush toys and I have even gone the terrarium route many many times. Recently I've been creatively fueled by a new "old" love of mine that I thought I would never engage in again.  This time around I plan to really fine tune my craft. I am making jewelery!!! But not just any kind of jewelry. I am making Mala beads. Even though no one knows what Mala beads are everyone will be familiar with the look. They are commonly worn by Buddhist monks. Now a days, they are a fashionable piece of jewelery. I got into Mala beads because I have been focusing on increasing spirituality in my life. I have been trying to meditate and wanting to incorporate it in my everyday life to balance my mind.  However, like all those who have tried meditating, it's a struggle to keep focused on the moment. Sometimes sitting there seems like some sort of strange torture you are putting yourself through. Other times something else seems much more tempting, such as watching TV or surfing Facebook. Though working through those tough moments are really rewarding. One of the things I have been asking for while meditating was to find my creative spark again. See... it works!

Some people think that meditation is hogwash. However, there are many scientific studies that support how meditation is beneficial. There are certain areas of my life I would like to improve on and I believe through meditation I can change these areas of my life.  Many times throughout the day people say to me that I am not present, which is very true. I often forget where my car is, I am not always listening when people talk to me and more often than not I don't even know why I walked into a room. Needless to say my mind is easily distracted. Meditation is supposed to increase your attention to all things in the present moment and help you appreciate all the wonderful things that are in your life right now. It can even ease your mind in a heated argument because it will help you regulate and be conscious of your emotions. Many times people are focused on a story that happened before or on the story they want to star in for the future. How much of our time is wasted focused on the past and future? How many of us are missing the wonderful moments of now? Meditation is a tool that helps you take away the mental static and environmental stress. It will get you back to your real state of being, which is the essence of contentment and happiness. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Recently my spiritually inclined friend, Michelle, introduced me to mala beads. She found hers at a yoga studio she frequented. She really liked what she saw and didn't know which necklace to choose. However, she was told not to choose the necklace but to let the necklace choose her. Sounds like crazy talk right? The one she ended up with was a necklace made out of unakite and a seed called rudruksha. After she bought it she did some research on the meaning of those materials and it turned out those were the specific things she needed to work on in her life. The necklace DID choose her.  It was a very enchanting and beautiful necklace (and story!). I bought myself a Mala bead necklace shortly after seeing my friend's necklace and used it for many days. It really did help me focus while meditating.

There are many online sources on  Mala beads but here is a quickie. Mala beads are meditation tools  used to help focus the mind while meditating.  It's a necklace that has a very special relationship with the wearer as it fuses with the user and gives the wearer good energy. While meditating it helps you along the journey by reminding you to focus with each bead and not get distracted. You can use it by going along each bead while repeating a mantra or breathing in and out. My belief system leans towards the Buddhist view point and once I heard that karma is something we collect from all our past lives. It will explain why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. As the karma is collected, it takes time to ripen and it can ripen during your current life time or in another one. This can also be represented in the mala as our past lives are the individual beads on the string, all connected to other another in a loop as a whole. Use those beads to see a bigger picture. We are recycled energy that holds a past and a future. Keep mindful of your actions and try to make good karmic choices.

Each necklace has 108 beads plus one guru bead. As you move across the necklace you repeat your intentions or focus your body in the present moment until you reach the big bead that sits at the beginning and end of the necklace (guru bead). This is the bead that all your intentions are collected in. Sometimes you can also think of the bead as a deity that you are "praying" to (depending if you are religious). Word of caution, you never meditate on this bead. Instead you use this bead as a turning point and rotate your necklace around so you can start meditating back to where you came from. They also say that when you reach the guru bead it's a good time to reflect on your intentions. When you get to the end of your meditation give your efforts to someone in mind. The sacrifice of giving away your generated good karma is a Buddhist tradition. You can give to someone in need or someone who has recently passed away. Don't worry about losing this good karma for yourself because the more you give the more you receive. Keep that in mind.

While making mala beads you can choose whatever materials you want. I chose to use real semi-precious stones, wood and seeds so that my necklace is connected to nature in some way.  Every stone you choose has a specific purpose. They say that the stones generate energy fields that gets in tune with your body's electromagnetic field to help you in some way. The internet is a good source for finding the significance of different stones. For example, rose quartz is for attracting love and making you more able to receive and give love. Jade is good for protection while traveling. Howlite is good for fostering patience. Amazonite is good for aiding in communicating and also to heal issues associated with the throat. You can customize your necklace to suit your needs. I like to use Rudruksha beads as well. They are beads made from the seeds of a berry. The seeds are considered sacred in Hindi and Buddhist religions. They are gifts that the Lord Shiva gave to people to heal humanity, aid them in abundance and also protect the wearer. They are referred to as the tears of Shiva.

I really do love my mala beads. They are special necklaces but also beautiful to wear. If you need a little help focusing on your meditation goals try using one. If you just want to look hip and cool they are nice additions to add to your jewelry collection.

The pictures posted above are the Mala beads I made. The necklace is made using howlite and rudruksha beads. It's hand knotted and also has a yellow jade pendent and a silver charm. I've made several but this one is my favourite. One of the bracelets is made of rose quartz and the other bracelet is a complimentary bracelet to my necklace. They look nice when stacked together or alone! Make your own! They are fun and interesting to assemble and learn about. I plan on opening a store on Etsy to sell the jewelery I am making as I am really enjoying this process. I know I will be making many of them.  I'll put a link on here when I get it up and running. Thanks for looking and may you be present and happy!