Prayer Beads

FEBRUARY 23, 2007

I've mentioned to you before, how important it is to me to have a spiritual practice. There are days, where I don't know what I would do with out having the familiar practice of stepping out of time, touching into the great silence and mystery of the divine. Having a familiar structure, custom made for me, by me, allows me to be supported and carried, on the days when it feels as if I can not carry myself.
I started these weblogs with marking the "Twelve Holy Night's of Inner Christmas " with Lynn Jericho. This deepened my morning meditation where I write, and until recently, walked our backyard labyrinth. The deep space of our labyrinth transforming, is now moving me in different ways...

The wellspring of soul calls...
and taking the time to listen brings such joy and connection in ways I never imagined.

Like the surprise of my dear friend Kimberly Saward, beginning her weblog in England, entitled "[Ariadne's Thread](http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a0ca0df914e6beb5f43d271/5b6e1f401c8655a69cf9259c/5b6e24171c8655a69cf9cd08/1533944855666/?format=original)." Along with her beautiful writing, Kimberly shares recipes for cooking and recipes for the nourishment of the soul. She has invited anyone who wishes to join her and others in marking the forty days of Lent with prayer and prayer beads.

I have never made a mala, or rosary, or prayer beads... Having recently purchased two fat bags of "assorted stone beads" from a local bead store, I became obsessed with sorting them, with the urge to make my own prayer beads for my morning prayers and meditation. I started with shapes, but quickly moved to color. My office floor became the beach at the ocean, searching for gems at the edge of surf and sand...

I chose several beads and laid out a possibility...

and finally settled,
for now, on this configuration of colors...

My own circle of intent,
to join with others, to encourage and be encouraged,
to open to that source of life,
finding my own prayers
and gratitude
that brings me ever more into this amazing
and wondrous path in the labyrinth of life...