The Prayer Bead Box

by Manuela Dunn-Mascetti, Priya Hemenway

Beads—round like the Earth—have been a mystical link to the spiritual world in all cultures. For the many who are discovering them as a way to slow down and regain focus, The Prayer Bead Box is an enticing and affordable way to explore this ancient practice. This strikingly designed gift from the packagers of the bestselling Buddha in a Box consists of a full-color keepsake box, a string of 108 fragrant sandalwood beads in a velvet sachet, and a beautiful four-color hardcover book that traces the history and uses of prayer beads in both Eastern and Western traditions—from Buddhism to Catholicism to Judaism. Suggested prayers and meditations help readers create prayer bead rituals of their own.

As an everyday aid to serenity or an adjunct to a spiritual journey, The Prayer Bead Box makes an inspiring gift for spiritual seekers of many faiths.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Onyx · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought the book separate from the actual package at Powell's Books, so I didn't have the pleasure of having the whole thing, but I do have a set of beads given to me from someone else (they are white skull beads). So the commentary is about the book alone and not the whole set.
I just finished reading this book tonight. It was prosaic, to say the least...good for someone who likes a New Age approach. It did give an overview on the background of prayer beads in general (history, religions who use beads, etc.) but one would think I could get through this small hardbound book in a day or two, three days at most; I found myself wanting to fall asleep and not wanting to get through it at all.
But not all is lost, though. The part that did interest me...a small part...was on how to create your own prayer beads should you desire to be adventurous. I mean it, at one point, gives you a recipe on how to whip up your own beads from scratch, which, if you're ever hungry and on your last dollar, you could probably eat as a last resort...jk. But it made the book totally interesting for a hot second.
I guess that if the whole package was included together, it would be a great thing to have for a newbie just starting out in that wonderfully awkward and sometimes crazily mysterious world of metaphysics, no matter if the trail they choose to follow was more on the magical or the spiritual side. I'd say if you're just at the very beginning, give it a shot. Who knows how far the rabbit hole you'll end up going, but at least you have something to hold on to for now.