Posts Tagged ‘meditation’

Let Go of the Small Stuff – Focus on the Good Around You.

Tuesday, October 12th, 2021

We just introduced our newest Mala Beads to our online store.  The Moss Agate Mala Necklace is now available for immediate shipping. This beautiful necklace is hand strung with smooth, polished 8mm natural beads. The necklace measures 36″ in circumference and holds 108 mala beads, a 10mm guru bead and is tied with an Endless Knot.  The Endless Knot is symbolic of wisdom and the ultimate unity of everything.  Two complimenting danglers each strung with three beads complete the necklace.

A mala bead necklace can be used in a variety of ways. Some use them for meditation practice, holding the necklace over your palm with the  beads between your thumb and forefinger. As you pass each bead through the fingers, you recite a mantra. By using this meditation technique, you avoid having to count the beads and this helps keep the mind clear and focused on reciting the mantra.

Others wear the beads around their wrists as a bracelet. Since they are strung on a nylon stretchable cord, it can be wrapped around your wrist several times producing a stylish and eye-catching piece of jewelry. Of course, since it is a necklace you can adorn yourself with a gorgeous necklace on your neck, which goes well with most everything.

Moss Agate is not truly from the agate family, but rather chalcedony. It contains a dendritic or branch-like structure inside the stone of chrome, manganese and sometimes iron. This structure produces an alluring combination of light and dark shades of green with delicate hints of blues, blacks, grays and whites. Moss agate is mined mostly in India, and is commonly used in decorative arts and jewelry.

This stone is highly regarded among health and wellness practitioners as a healing tool. This gorgeous stone is believed to bring harmony and clarity to your world, producing confidence and protecting against stress. It encourages grounding and reminds us to let go of the small stuff and focus on all that is good around us. This allows the energy of love to flow freely and to attract the love that you need.

Chopa offers fast shipping and includes a free mala bag to store and protect your beads. As a reminder it is never to early to shop for Christmas. Many insiders and retail experts predict possible shortages this year. We have been working hard to obtain adequate supplies of mala beads and our specialty, Japanese Kimono and Yukata robes. We receive many notes throughout the year from customers that discovered kimonos make wonderful meditation robes. The warmth of the cotton robe helps maintain heat, keeping the body at a steady temperature and providing clarity and focus on the meditation session.

This Moss Agate Mala Necklace is ready to ship. Whether you purchase one for yourself or a gift recipient, everyone will be pleased. Mala beads are what we call “meaningful jewelry” and “gifts with a purpose.” It is something that can be used on a regular basis if meditating and will remind the recipient of you every time it is worn.  This is the last and only shipment of these beads we will receive this year.

SHOP NOW!

        Moss Agate Mala Necklace

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Why does a mala have 108 beads?

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

If you ask several people, you may receive several different answers. The number 108 is significant for several reasons. Some meditation practitioners believe the journey of the human soul has 108 stages, while others associate the possibility taking just 108 breaths in a day, while in a deep meditation state of enlightenment. We would not recommend one try it.

The best theory we discovered is that the 108 beads on your mala is open to your own interpretation. What is important to you is what matters most. Mala beads were created as a practice tool to use during meditation. While you don’t need mala beads to meditate, most people that use them make it part of their ritual. Mala beads help you to manifest and keep you focused on a mantra. A mala allows one to chant their mantra and keep track of where you are. While many mala necklaces have 108 beads, some contain 54, or half of that amount of beads.

Another explanation for the number 108 is based on Chakras. It is believed there are 108 energy lines connecting to the heart. One of these paths is believed to be the path of self-realization. Others state that while chanting your mantra during meditation you are whole when you reach 100 times.  The extra eight beads account for errors or are meant to be an offering to your guru.

Another belief is based on the ancient script of India.  Within the Sanskrit alphabet, there are 54 letters.  Each has a feminine and masculine version adding up to 108. Other theories evolve around desires, lies and delusions. There are said to be 108 earthly desires in mortals. There are said to be 108 lies that humans tell. There are said to be 108 human delusions or forms of ignorance.  Math also points to some theories of the number 108. Nine times twelve; both of these numbers have significance in various traditions, 9 X 12 = 108.  The number 108 is also a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits. Harshad is from Sanskrit and means ‘great joy’.

The more research you perform, the more ideas and theories you will discover. We fall back to our belief

108 bead mala

Mala bead necklace

that whatever is important to you is what matters.  Namaste!

 

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What is a mantra?

Wednesday, April 29th, 2015

A mantra is a tool for protecting the mind from the habitual, unconscious cycles of thought and action we get caught up in. In ancient Vedic philosophy, these imprints on our subconscious mind are known as samskaras.

These impressions that get stored in our mind through cultural conditioning and past experience directly impact how we perceive our conscious experience in the present. Mantras are ancient techniques that we can use to protect our mind from getting stuck in the bottomless well of samskaras. The sounds themselves, even before they are assigned meaning, resonate in different parts of the body and mind, increasing sensory awareness.

The first mantra that you have been exposed to is most likely Om (Aum). It is a universal mantra and the primordial sound of nature. The A (pronounced Ah) resonates in the lower part of the body, the O in the middle part, and the M (pronounced Mmm) in the upper region. The vibrations of OM evoke movements of energy, beginning at the base of the spine and moving upwards to the crown of the head. For the spiritual seeker interested in ancient literature, the Mandukya Upanishad elucidates the syllable of OM and its four states of consciousness.

Mantra recitation guides the practitioner in finding their sacred inner sound – the internal music that has had the volume turned down. Sanskrit scholar Nicolai Bachman explains that Sanskrit originated as the language of mantra and that each mantra has specific or general effects on oneself, others and the world. When pronounced properly, this scared sound energy intimately connects the individual with nature. Swami Sivananda has taught that a mantra practice transforms the mental substance by producing a particular thought movement. According to him, these rhythmical vibrations regulate the unsteady vibrations of the five koshas (sheaths or layers). The koshas are believed to veil our inner Self. Meditation and mantra practice allow the practitioner to peel away the layers, diving deeper into the core of our being.

Daily practice of mantra meditation will make one centered in the core sheath. Developing a japa (mantra repetition) practice with the use of mala beads can take the practitioner into higher states of meditation. As we delve deeper, we use the mantra as a sanctuary that houses the source of power to manifest our intention. When we work with the sound energy of Sanskrit mantras, we tap into an ancient practice that has been performed for thousands of years as an expression of the pattern of nature.

~ Mihir Garudmt

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