A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads [Paperback]

Eleanor Wiley (Author), Maggie Oman Shannon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

Eleanor Wiley and Maggie Oman Shannon have taken an ancient practice and made it new. A String and a Prayer recounts the history and symbolism of prayer beads, teaches basic techniques for stringing beads and a host of other objects into prayer beads, and offers a variety of prayers and rituals to use those beads on a daily basis. Beads have appeared throughout history. Prayer beads are used in the spiritual practices of cultures as diverse as the African Masai, Native Americans, Greek and Russian Orthodoxy, as well as the religious rituals of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism. But prayer is highly personal. By infusing prayer beads with personal associations, we can keep our spirituality fresh. The beads are a device to help build and rebuild meaningful ritual in our lives. With myriad ideas about what makes objects sacred and where to find sacred objects -- from the personal, perhaps beads from a grandmother's broken rosary, to the unusual, maybe seashells from far away found in a thrift store -- A String and a Prayer offers many suggestions for different ways that beads can be made and used, exploring the creative roles they can play in our relationships, ceremonies, and rituals. "You are the expert, trust yourself. Let the instructions be a guide to your own creativity," write the authors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eleanor Wiley is a former speech pathologist and gerontologist who began her prayer bead practice at age fifty-eight. She teaches workshops on making prayer beads as a spiritual practice all over the world; her pieces have been worn by Ram Dass and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She is the author of A String and a Prayer. Her own spiritual practice includes beading, sitting meditation with both Christian and Buddhist communities, and practicing yoga and the Twelve Steps. Wiley's prayer beads are available through her website.

Maggie Oman Shannon is a spiritual director and writer. She is the author of One God, Shared Hope and The Way We Pray, editor of Prayers for Healing and co-author of A String and a Prayer. She lives in San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590030109
• ISBN-13: 978-1590030103
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I was a little disappointed, August 8, 2003

By 

Karen S D Robinson (Loveland, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads (Paperback)

I found that there were a couple of nice ideas I hadn't seen before: one was the idea of making a string of beads to memorialize some occasion or person. A woman who had lost custody of her children, for example, made a string for each of them and told them when they held them she would be holding their hands. Another woman whose cat had died made a string using the colors of her cat's fur, and little charms that reminded her of her cat.

The other idea I liked was making a strand that was not in the form of a circle, but had a loop on one end and a pendant on the other, rather like a button and buttonhole. The strand could be buttoned into a circle around the wrist as a bracelet or around the neck as a neclace.

But beyond that I was a little disappointed in the book. It seemed mostly to be about prayer beads as an art form, rather like any other book on jewelry art, but there wasn't much about their actual use in prayer. There was a little lip service to prayer beads in world religions (including modern uses), but not much detail on the subject. I've found that sites on the Internet have a lot more information than her book did. There was a nice compilation of prayers at the end, but nothing about how to arrange them for use with prayer beads. The beads shown in the photos were in random arrangements, chosen more for length than number of prayers. The instructions would talk about using enough beads to make the necklace two feet long, for example.

Anyway, just my reaction. I've found so very much great information on the 'Net that the book just seemed to fall short. Actually Basil Pennington's book on the Catholic rosary ("Praying by Hand") had more information on prayer beads in world religions than Wiley's book did.

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little book full of prayerful practices and ideas!, July 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads (Paperback)

I originally bought this book hoping to find new styles, patterns, and detailed instructions to make the traditional Catholic style rosary.....however, what I ended up with was a wonderful tool explaining the meaning of rosaries and the spiritual significance and prayerful practice of making 'non-traditional' rosaries (Malas, Rosary Bracelets, Rosary Shawls, etc.).

Recommended for anyone who loves working with beads and incorporating beadwork into their spiritual practices. Few photographs (black & white only) and some crudely drawn (but user friendly) diagrams scarttered throughout the book. A good book for beginners, but advanced and professional Rosary Artisans may find this reading dreadfully dull.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I paid full price, but would definately recommend buying it 2nd hand or when it is on sale!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the point is the process, October 15, 2005

By 

blank - See all my reviews

This review is from: A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads (Paperback)

I think this book is probably most helpful if you are already familiar with meditative prayer, using beads or not. Selecting the beads and resources (or finding you already have them, as I did today after getting the book as a gift) and making the beaded object are all parts of a prayer in themselves. When you come back to the object you have created, you are aware of the process and the feelings you put into the work and can call these up again--either in actual prayers you have memorized or which come to you at the time *or* simply in holding the beads and moving them through your fingers. If you assign a special prayer purpose to each bead (red bead = pray for your mother or whatever) then you may use the beads with a prayer for each one like a traditional Catholic or Anglican rosary. But making the beaded piece itself creates a prayerful mood you have access to when you use it--or which you can explain to others if the piece is a gift.