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Each
month, Dana Reynolds shares her life-transforming
thoughts, ideas, and sacred imagination based around our
"theme of the month." Dana is a visionary Spiritual Midwife, who
devotes herself to helping women birth their creative
gifts into the world.
The Prayer Cord
Throughout time, saying prayers on knots tied on a
cord, or beads arranged on a chain, have held spiritual
significance and an opportunity for deepening meditative
and contemplative practices. Whether these are called
prayer beads, Mala, or the Rosary, they are one in the
same.
As part of this month’s spiritual practice, create
a Mala or Rosary that is unique to your personal
mythology. One way of doing this is to gather beads from
an old necklace or bracelet and string them on beading
cord (available at craft stores). You may choose to
assign each bead a special meditative focus. Your beads
may represent the chakras, individuals in your life you
are making intercessory prayers for, virtues and
qualities you are meditating on, etc. As you sort and
seek the beads that speak to you, do so in a sacred way
with ritual and holiness. Light a candle. Offer prayer
for the process.
The intention is to create something that is deeply
meaningful to you through the selection of the beads and
their arrangement. You may also choose to tie knots
along a length of cord, ribbon, or rope.
Once you have created your prayer cord, Rosary, Mala,
etc., you may wish to bless it with smoke from incense,
holy water, a sprinkling of earth, a tinkling of bells.
Offer your prayers on each knot or bead, trusting the
process with your open heart.
Your prayer cord may be carried in your purse or
pocket. The more you hold it the more it will become a
part of your spiritual practice.
The following is a list of suggestions for
meditation focuses for your prayer cord:
- The chakras: meditate on each chakra, the color, and
the properties
- The cycles of the moon: meditate on lunar mystery,
visualize the phases of the moon, symbol of the Feminine
and Blessed Mother.
- The twelve months of the year: meditate on each
month of the year and its significance to your life.
- The seven days of the week: contemplate the days of
the week and the significance each day holds for you.
- The seasons of the year: meditate on the seasons and
the properties of each one including; animal life,
weather, earth changes, and personal associations
regarding mood changes, diet, energy level, etc.
- The twenty-four hours of the day: contemplate the
hours of the day and the mean time has for you (linear
vs. non-linear).
Suggested repetitive prayer for contemplation with
the prayer cord: Repetition of a word or phrase
assists the deepening of our interior process. An
example of this is the simple Hail Mary prayer used with
the Rosary... Hail Mary full of grace. The Lord is with
you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the
fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us (sinners) now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Other repetitive prayers might be (you are
encouraged to write your own personal prayers into your
prayer journal and allow their words to burn into your
heart):
Come to me Light of Spirit. Open my heart that I
might receive your guidance.
I am ascending with blessing and benediction.
Holy Mother, most tender and beloved, heal me, help
me.
Sophia, Mother Wisdom, bless me with your knowing.
I am opening to the Mystery. I am surrendering to the
journey before me.
Intercessory Prayer: Naturally, each bead or
knot on your prayer cord may be offered as a prayer for
others.
Ecstatic Prayer: In sacred space and silence,
wrapped in your prayer shawl, allow your body to release
the sounds, phrases, words, songs that it wishes to
express. Do not censor. Open the floodgates within your
spirit. Whisper, shout, hum, sign, and trill your
prayers. Grieve, praise, adore, implore, and intercede.
Speak to your God in your language.
You are
invited to submit your story and accompanying
photos to be considered as a feature for the Sacred
Imagination column. E-mail me at dana@sacredimagination.com
for details.
Copyright© 2001 Dana
Reynolds.
Read
Dana's Past "Sacred Imagination" Columns:
November
2001 - "Explore, Express, Imagine"
October
2001 - "Seeking Sacred Alchemy"
September
2001 - "Invoking Your Muse"
August
2001 - "The Blessings of Daily Bread"
July
2001 - "Entertaining the Dream Visitor"
May
2001 - "Embracing the Whole:
Choices for Conscious Living"
April
2001 "Nourishing the Souls of the Children"
March
2001 "Opening the Senses to Beauty"
February
2001 "The Eyes of Love"
January
2001 "Patterns of Authenticity"
December
2000 "Finding Peace in the Fields of Time"
November
2000 "Cultivating Gratitude: Heart-Hugs and Prayer
Leaves"
October
2000 "Journey to the Center - The Sacred Mystery of
the Labyrinth"
September
2000 "The Heart and Craft of Healing"
August
2000 "Transforming Life’s Challenges into Beauty and Story"
July
2000 "Sacred Spaces Invite the
Muses of the Soul"
Read
Dana's Soulful Living Feature Articles:
Visual
Prayers
Intuition
and the Sacred Imagination: The Dance of Co-creation
For ten years, Dana Reynolds has
been facilitating women’s spiritual presentations and
retreats nationwide. Her work as a Spiritual Midwife,
one who assists women as they birth their creative gifts
into the world, is the foundation of all her endeavors.
Her background as a visual artist and writer enriches
her Spiritual Midwifery: Birthing the Feminine Soul
workshops.
As the creator of an art making
process known as visual prayer, Dana teaches
women how to combine ritual with sacred intention to
create altars, collages, spirit dolls, and other
touchstones. The creation of sacred spaces is also
paramount to the Spiritual Midwifery experience. Her
web-site http://www.sacredimagination.com
offers samplings of her visual prayer collages, poetry,
and a workshop catalogue.
Dana is the author of the
whimsical and colorfully illustrated book, Be An
Angel, a co-creation with illustrator and graphic
designer, Karen Blessen, (Simon & Schuster). Her
essay, Visual Prayers is included in the
anthology, Our Turn, Our Time: Women Coming of Age, edited
by Cynthia Black, (Beyond Words Publishing).
A trained labyrinth
facilitator, Dana incorporates the labyrinth and other
spiritual wisdom into her retreats and workshops. She
recently traveled to Chartres and Vezelay Cathedrals in
France to gather information pertaining to ancient
sacred mystical traditions. She currently lectures on
such topics as spiritual midwifery, sacred journal
keeping, feminine spiritual wisdom, and the early
Christian women saints and mystics.
Dana’s life follows the
spiral path from rim to center and back again. She looks
for the sacred in forgotten places and openly embraces
the great Mystery of life. Guiding women to the
discovery of their creative inner gifts is the passion
that fuels her soul.
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