I have been reading several mystical texts in addition to True Love. Some are Yoga teachings, one is a Sufi text and still others are of Christian origins. (I will list them another day.) And I have also been working a lot with mantras and malas. Most of the mantras are in Sanskrit but a few are in English. I decided the other day, as my friend Ishtar created a mala as a gift, that I needed to make myself a special mala.
I stopped in my local bead shop with an idea of using the nine chakras colors for each of the 12 rounds, i. e. 9 * 12 = 108. (The seven becomes nine by adding in the white Transpersonal chakra above the head and as Pomegranate Doyle taught me, a black Ancestral chakra below your feet .)
But as I browsed the aisles, another thought came bubbling up from deep within, I had tried on numerous occasions to create a mala based on the chakras. Endless unfinished projects littered my magick cabinet already. So while gently stroking some semi-precious beads, it hit me.
What I really needed was an elemental mala.
So I purchased enough beads to make two malas and home i went the first time, ready to string them in sacred space. After the second visit to purchase an entire spool of wire-- don't ask -- I realized that I wasn't quite sure what pattern to use. So being a card-carrying geek, I pulled up my trusty flow chart program and created pictorial representations of the two candidates. The pattern required was clearly evident on the screen.
So I went to work, returning to the bead store for their help in finishing and to purchase an appropriate "Buddha bead".
So here it is. I love it.
Now all I have to do is to craft an elemental mantra. Hmmmm ... wonder if there is anything in all these Vedic, Sufi and other mystical texts I am reading.
Well for now, I will be satisfied running it through my fingers as I freestyle my devotional prayers. Singing praises to the gods, one bead and one heart beat at a time.
Om.
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sweet! :-)
You are usually able to annunciate what I do not have words for. Thank you!
Much love,
-Eridanus
INTJ here. I hear what you are saying.
"what is remembered, lives". It was with sadness that I read of Wilma Mankiller's passing. She won't be forgotten.
"...Weaver, Weaver weave this thread, whole and strong into your web...Healer, Healer, heal our pain...In love may she return again..."
While student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I became friends with Carl Rogers, who was respected as one of the leading psychotherapists of his time. He taught me much about the art of listening.
Dr. Rogers said that when we listen, and people know we are listening, it shows we truly care about them. In turn, they will respond by caring about you. It opens communication and also opens hearts. When we accept them as a person, unconditionally, they will be more kind to you.
We should listen without preconceptions, without anticipation and without judgement if we want others to portray what they truly feel. We listen with all our senses, not just to the words which are said. Some people cannot fully express themselves while speaking, so we must try to see them as they see themselves. We should watch for non-verbal clues as to what they really mean: facial expressions, body movements, etc.
While we should show positive regard for the other person, we should also demonstrate our own positive self-regard. We do not react to their negative comments, verbally or physically, even when we disagree with them. When they do ask for our opinion, however, we should respond with our true thoughts and in specifics rather than generalities. We offer our own perspective as other options rather than as contradictions.
Listening might seem quite passive as opposed to speaking. It is actually very active. To paraphrase Bobby Kennedy, “I learn while listening. When I talk I don’t learn too much.” If you think talking helps to spread your own wisdom, you are not really wise.