Beads!

I have been very surprised to find myself in a bead shop two times in the past week making strings of beads. I have not been into beads, and have never made jewelry. In fact, most of the time I do not wear necklaces, either, but these beads are not just fashion. The reason these strands of beads are so meaningful to me extends beyond the beauty. These beads are a tactile tool that corresponds to a Daily Recollection I learned at the meditation retreat last month. These beads are similar to the Catholic Rosary.

It was a wonderful coincidence (you may have heard the saying that coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous) to find that I knew the manager at the bead shop. Miranda Skibbe, of M's Jemz Bead Shoppe, had previously been personal assistant for a man I did Healing Touch™ with over several years. We already had a very heart-felt connection, so having her help me with the selection and production was pure gift. The first day we made this lovely, light, blue strand, using Czech glass beads. Glass making in the Czech Republic is an age old cottage industry, and the glass beads are still made in small quantities by hand.

Miranda with the Czech glass Daily Recollection Beads.

When I selected the beads, I was making the choices for "feel" as much as for "looks".  It was my intention to be able to close my eyes and to know where I am and what I am recollecting at each point. I imagined coming to know the words and being able to recite the intentions to myself, much in the same easy way a child learns the alphabet by singing, "Now I know my A-B-Cs, next time won't you sing with me." 

I loved the look and feel of the beads, but I soon discovered I had just one bead out of place, and since that threw off the whole prayer, I knew I would go back into the shop to have Miranda help me restring it correctly. 

While Miranda was restringing the blue beads to correct the mistake I had in the pattern, I began to browse. Before I knew what was what, I began to pick out beads for another strand. This strand was not made of glass.... It was made of semi-precious stones, and it was shades of green. Miranda finished the restringing and she enthusiastically joined me in finding just the right combination. 

There are 108 daily recollections, along with section beads, and intention beads, and marker beads. I think we both had our eye on the prices as these were significantly more money than the glass beads, but it was vital that the beads not only looked right, I wanted to be able to feel where I was. Marker beads needed to feel distinctive from intention beads, and the daily recollection beads needed to be unique from the section beads. We finally determined the round beads would best serve for the 108 daily recollection beads. There were four strings of that type of bead, but how many single beads were on each, and were there enough? Most strings had 25.... 

Miranda and I each began to count. She counted the first string and announced, "Twenty seven." I counted the second string and said, "Twenty seven." She grabbed a calculator, hit some buttons, and whispered, "Four times 27 is 108." We each picked up a strand and counted. "Twenty seven," we said together. I took that as a sign, and we designed the strand using the round beads as the 108 daily recollections. 

All endings being new beginnings, you are looking at the "center" bead, which is also the end

This version of the prayer was written by Barbara Brodsky. She and a student of hers designed the first necklace. Here is one of my favorite sections you may also enjoy:

Marker bead:                    I remember the ten perfections and will practice them well

43rd bead:             Generosity

44th bead:              Morality       

45th bead:              Energy

46th bead:              Wisdom

47th bead:              Renunciation

48th bead:              Lovingkindness

49th bead:              Truthfulness

50th bead:              Resolution (clarity)

51st bead:              Equanimity

52nd bead:             Patience

Intention bead:        In this way will I train myself

I am reminded that mistakes can lead to surprising gifts. I am reminded that what we need is already provided. I am reminded that teamwork yields magical results. I am reminded that there is a divine thread holding everything together.

This morning as I wear my beads and head out to share "When Nothing More Can be Done" as guest speaker at the church down the street, I will add these to my daily recollection. I am so thankful for all of this.