Last summer I did some shopping at Bazaar Star Beadery, a local bead store. The trip was meant to buy beads for Thing 2 to make a sun catcher for her window. I found myself drawn to a smoky brown round bead with gold tone etching. At the time I didn’t know what I was looking at and the customer service girl told me that the etching was the “Om Mane Padme Hum” mantra. She explained the mantra was related to the beauty of the Lotus. Intrigued, I bought myself a strand of 8 beads.
I came home asking “What is a mantra?”
Long story short, mantras are used during meditation. My first project with the bead was a mala style meditation bracelet.
Using 108 4mm gemstones and accenting with faceted czech glass beads, and of course the Om Mane Padme Hum bead as the guru bead.
I learned from my friend Christina Collazo, who teaches Yoga with Imagine Yoga in Dallas, that this is the mantra of compassion. Hmmm. That makes this little beauty that much cooler!
Now I’m obsessed and can’t help myself when I see a cool bead that displays the mantra. Since that first trip to the bead store, my collection of Om Mane Padme Hum beads has grown.
