If you don’t own mala or rosary prayer beads, and if you sometimes find it difficult to keep track of the mantras you are repeating in meditation, or if you have a friend interested in any of these things, these “Seeds of Kindness” beads (which coordinate with the four wishes of the loving-kindness meditation), strike me as especially good beginning sets for yourself or as gifts. They are the gorgeous wares of three women in Chapel Hill, NC, who share a spiritually-inclined psychotherapy office and have combined their attraction to beads with their experiences with loving-kindness meditations. As a team, they came up with the idea to sell these sweet bead strings out of a “profound desire to contribute positive energy to the world.”

As you meditate, you may touch each bead and repeat the metta meditation: May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be safe.

“We have infused these beads with our compassion and goodwill, and we encourage you to do the same, whether they are for your own use or are to be given as a spiritual gift. Hold them as you meditate or…simply ask from your heart that these beads be a symbol of love and peace. May they help to nurture the loving kindness in your life.”

The $45 bead string seems just about as pretty as the more expensive versions to me. I learned of these products through an ad in Shambhala Sun.