Heretical Handiwork
February 10, 2011 3:18 PM Subscribe
Alternative (non-religious) rosary bead activities?
Like many other people I like to fiddle quietly with things in my hands while doing other activities (listening during lecture, watching tv, studying etc.) Following that thread's advice I've bought some buddhist beads and started playing with poker chips.
However, in my Catholic upbringing I always admired my mother's devotion to her rosary and I think having a similar routine might be calming. That said, I don't really want to repeat Hail Marys ad nauseum...
Have you heard of, or can you think of, alternate mantras / quotes / whatever to replace the components of the standard rosary prayer, minus any overt religious connotations?
Reminder of the (simplified) 'format':
1. Our Father
2. 3x Hail Marys
3. Our Father
4. 10x Hail Marys + 1 Our Father. Repeat #4's pattern 5x
Although, really, any way to pace the bead rotation would be nice.
Like many other people I like to fiddle quietly with things in my hands while doing other activities (listening during lecture, watching tv, studying etc.) Following that thread's advice I've bought some buddhist beads and started playing with poker chips.
However, in my Catholic upbringing I always admired my mother's devotion to her rosary and I think having a similar routine might be calming. That said, I don't really want to repeat Hail Marys ad nauseum...
Have you heard of, or can you think of, alternate mantras / quotes / whatever to replace the components of the standard rosary prayer, minus any overt religious connotations?
Reminder of the (simplified) 'format':
1. Our Father
2. 3x Hail Marys
3. Our Father
4. 10x Hail Marys + 1 Our Father. Repeat #4's pattern 5x
Although, really, any way to pace the bead rotation would be nice.
Response by poster: Bucky balls are awesome! but they kinda click and clack a bit, and I tend to lose them. They're great to have at a desk for sure
posted by MangyCarface at 3:59 PM on February 10, 2011
posted by MangyCarface at 3:59 PM on February 10, 2011
It sort of depends on how many beads/chips you have to count on. If it's say, 12, then we can come up with 12-based lists.
posted by hermitosis at 4:20 PM on February 10, 2011
posted by hermitosis at 4:20 PM on February 10, 2011
Use as an aid to memorize a poem -
repeat a favorite word or phrase in different languages -
recite alphabet of a language you're learning -
breathing - count X beads to inhale, X to hold, X to exhale -
recite names of people you love, or everyone in your first grade class, -
this reminds me of "counting sheep" type exercises for falling asleep - bet you could lots more ideas from "sleep" links.
posted by Corvid at 4:24 PM on February 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
repeat a favorite word or phrase in different languages -
recite alphabet of a language you're learning -
breathing - count X beads to inhale, X to hold, X to exhale -
recite names of people you love, or everyone in your first grade class, -
this reminds me of "counting sheep" type exercises for falling asleep - bet you could lots more ideas from "sleep" links.
posted by Corvid at 4:24 PM on February 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Learn to count to ten in different languages? Zompist has you, uh, more than covered.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:06 PM on February 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:06 PM on February 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
From the NY Times obit of Solzhenitsyn:
At Ekibastuz, any writing would be seized as contraband. So he devised a method that enabled him to retain even long sections of prose. After seeing Lithuanian Catholic prisoners fashion rosaries out of beads made from chewed bread, he asked them to make a similar chain for him, but with more beads. In his hands, each bead came to represent a passage that he would repeat to himself until he could say it without hesitation. Only then would he move on to the next bead. He later wrote that by the end of his prison term, he had committed to memory 12,000 lines in this way.
posted by Jahaza at 6:35 PM on February 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
At Ekibastuz, any writing would be seized as contraband. So he devised a method that enabled him to retain even long sections of prose. After seeing Lithuanian Catholic prisoners fashion rosaries out of beads made from chewed bread, he asked them to make a similar chain for him, but with more beads. In his hands, each bead came to represent a passage that he would repeat to himself until he could say it without hesitation. Only then would he move on to the next bead. He later wrote that by the end of his prison term, he had committed to memory 12,000 lines in this way.
posted by Jahaza at 6:35 PM on February 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: I hadn't thought of the memorization angle! I like the idea of practicing foreign languages using the rosary as a device, but are there poems/the like that would be worthwhile to memorize? (in a socially usable context)
posted by MangyCarface at 6:57 PM on February 10, 2011
posted by MangyCarface at 6:57 PM on February 10, 2011
When I am in a nerve-wracking situation (plane taking off, for example) I repeat the first 18 lines of the prologue to the Canterbury Tales, which is surprisingly easy to memorize, even in its archaic language. I can imagine that making its way into your repetition. Use a video like this to learn the pronunciation.
posted by TrarNoir at 7:03 PM on February 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by TrarNoir at 7:03 PM on February 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
You can get a chaplet, which is a set of beads (but fewer than a rosary) to which a set of prayers is attached. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplet_(prayer)
For example, I have a St. Patrick's chaplet which is four groups of three beads (say one Gloria Patri a.k.a. Glory Be to the Father... each), plus a St. Patrick medal at which you say some variant of the Creed that I can't remember. There's another for St. Benedict which has like five wooden beads, 'cause St. Ben was Seriously Austere.
You could do something similar with a set of Ranger Beads: mentally assign something to each bead, and then slide them along the cord as you recite the thing.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:21 AM on February 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
For example, I have a St. Patrick's chaplet which is four groups of three beads (say one Gloria Patri a.k.a. Glory Be to the Father... each), plus a St. Patrick medal at which you say some variant of the Creed that I can't remember. There's another for St. Benedict which has like five wooden beads, 'cause St. Ben was Seriously Austere.
You could do something similar with a set of Ranger Beads: mentally assign something to each bead, and then slide them along the cord as you recite the thing.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:21 AM on February 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by supercres at 3:33 PM on February 10, 2011