Anthropology 232: Make Your Own Magic Mala
Description:
Make your own Magic Mala
Give yourself the gift of taking time to make your own magical Mala.
Remind yourself that even in the excitement and chaos of the playa, it is important to find your way back to yourself and inner peace.
Malas have been used for thousands of years for meditation and prayer and consist of 108 beads, with one “guru” bead.
You can choose between 86 black lava beads from Indonesia, or 86 Rudraksha seeds, the tears of Shiva, from where the Rudraksha tree grew. Plus 23 gemstone beads to complete the holy number 108, (and one “guru” bead).
I will bring a whole range of healing stones from Malachite, Agate, Amazonite, Quartz, Turquoise, just to name a few, and also teach you how to charge them.
Come early to choose your favorite stones, maximum 15 places to keep the class intimate.
Why 108?
A full cycle of 108 repetitions is counted on the Mala so the practitioner can focus on the sounds, vibration, and meaning of what is being said.
The chakras are the intersections of energy lines, and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra.
Sun and Earth: The diameter of the sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth. The distance from the sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the sun.
Moon and Earth: The average distance of the moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the moon.
Planets and houses: In astrology, there are 12 houses and nine planets. Twelve multiplied by nine equals 108.
1, 0, and 8: Some say that one stands for God or higher Truth, zero stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and eight stands for infinity or eternity.
Pranayama: If one is able to be so calm in meditation as to have only 108 breaths in a day, enlightenment will come.
There is a 109th bead that hangs at the bottom of a Mala, called either the sumeru, bindu, stupa, or guru bead.
It is never counted among the repetitions but used as a marker.