Crafting Magickally Column

September 2006 - Make Your Own Meditation Beads, Abundance Beads

Meditation beads are traditionally used to keep your thoughts focused during meditation.  Allowing your fingers to move from bead to bead while reciting a mantra or affirmation, you can prevent scattered thoughts from intruding on your quiet time and generate massive power toward a focused goal at the same time.

Materials Needed:
Wood, stone, or crystal beads with pre-drilled holes (a large array can be found at most craft stores).

A length of strong twine or cord.

Water-based acrylic paints (any colors you choose).

Paint brushes or sponges.

Clear acrylic spray.

How to Make Your Own Meditation beads or Abundance beads:

We found unfinished wood beads at our local craft store, with the holes already pre-drilled.  They were inexpensive, and there were plenty of shapes and sizes to choose from!  However, you could also use crystal or stone beads, which we found plenty of also.

We strung our beads before painting them, but you can paint yours first if you fear smudging the paint between beads.  Since the beads sit very close together on the string, it might be worthwhile to paint first and string later.  (We never do anything the easy way!  :-))

We used simple twine to string our beads, but you can also use a strong cord, or even stretchy elastic.  We then painted our beads with bright colors in a multi-step process:

1) First we used a very soft "wash" process on each bead, using just a dab of acrylic paint heavily watered down so the color was faint.

2) Once that first light coat of paint was dry, we went back with full-strength acrylic paint in the same tones, and used a "streaking" technique to give each bead some depth and texture.  This was done by applying solid color near the top and bottom of each bead, and then only lightly "streaking" some paint along the center of the bead. 

Once our paint was dry, we applied 3 coats of clear acrylic spray to protect the finish and give them a glossy look.

There are endless options for decorating your beads - get creative!

How to Use Your Meditation Beads or Abundance Beads:

Depending on your intention, you can create a string of beads for nearly any purpose.  The beads shown on this page were intended to be used as Abundance Beads - giving the user a focal point to express gratitude for the abundance in her life.  As she meditates upon abundance, she will call to mind one thing she is grateful for, represented by every bead on the strand.  She can go around the strand just once, or as many times as she likes.

You can use this same process by creating beads that correspond to your intentions.  How about Inner Peace beads, Strength beads, Courage beads, Inner Beauty beads, Psychic Awareness beads, and so on?  The sky is the limit!