NATURE'S MALA: RUDRAKSHA

rudraksha serenity beads mala ©elizabeth irvine jewelry project

Nature’s Mala: Rudraksha

I’ve been on the move a lot lately, frequently placing my head to sleep in a different spot. I am sensitive in general and particularly to different environments (a blessing and a curse). I’ll be near the mountains or the lake and I sleep like a baby, but I toss and turn in an unfamiliar bed or city. My family and friends know that if I do not feel comfortable in a space, I don’t hesitate to ask to move rooms at check in. When I travel, my “go-to” SERENITY BEADS are the classic prayer mala, my Rudraksha (say rud-rak-sha).

While I have always known this special seed (bead) holds sacredness— I didn’t know it is believed to provide good support for those who are constantly on the move and sleep in a variety of places. This natural bead is claimed to create a cocoon made of your own energy. The belief stems from holy men and women who were constantly moving, traditionally never supposed to rest their heads in the same place twice.

A Sacred Seed Bead

A pyramid shaped evergreen with grayish bark grows in the high altitude of the Himalayas. The  combination of perfect soil and atmosphere creates a seed with a unique vibration. The Rudraksha seed originally looks like a blueberry, with a small opening at the stalk point, that naturally produces the hole. I have always thought this is such a cool part of this bead – the hole is already there. It is almost as if this sacred seed was created so that it could be beaded together and used intentionally as a prayer mala.

AFFIRM: I find the sacredness in my everyday.