This is long but I wanted to share more writing. Something very interesting happened to me this week. After my mom passed away I had beads made with her ashes for myself and all of my immediate family. During my travels I have been constantly keeping my eyes open for a necklace to put moms bead on and havent found anything that has felt right. Well, a couple of days ago I walked into a shop and was immediately drawn to this necklace that appeared to be made of wooden beads linked by a series of knots between each bead and I knew that this was the one. I really enjoyed the way it looked and the way it hung around my neck. I asked the shop owner how much for the necklace and he told me 300 baht ($10). I replied, absolutely not and offered him 150 baht ($5), to which he scoffed at and said I can do 250 ($8) but no better. I thought about it for a moment and left. I went to 7-11 to grab a bottle of water on my walk back to the hostel and could not stop thinking about how this was the right necklace and that I should just suck it up and go back and buy it because after all, I have been searching for 10 weeks and finally found the one that felt right. I scrounged up some loose change in my pocket and put together 187 baht ($6.25) and went back to the shop. I grabbed the necklace off the wall and handed him my pile of small bills and coins and asked are we good?, he smiled, shook his head and replied, ok. I was thrilled to return to my hostel and finally give my pendant its new home. After one day of wearing it I could feel that something about me was different. I wasnt sure if this was just due to needing a period of time to adjust to my new adornment, like buying a fancy new watch after never wearing one or if there was something else happening here. After the second day I knew that there was something more, I knew that aesthetics played a role in this feeling but this wasnt a material difference. On day three of being alone I my dormitory, I received a new bunk mate, a Hindu man traveling from Mumbai. He introduced himself and seemed to be a pretty laid back and agreeable guy with a sharp wit and sense of humor, which can be very difficult in a second language, so I figured we would get along well. After a short chat and a nap I asked if he would like to go with me to grab lunch, he agreed and so we went. On the walk to find a cheap place to eat he said to me, I really like your Tulsi Mala, it looks cool, where did you get it? I had no idea what he was referring to so I inquired and he pointed to the necklace that peered above the neckline of my tank top. I asked him to repeat what he referred to it as and why it had a special name outside of just beads or necklace. He explained to me that this was not an ordinary necklace that it was worn for spiritual and physical healing and that it is believed to bring good luck to those that wear it. I felt as though he was playing some kind of nasty joke on me at first but I knew this wasnt true, I then began to feel like this all made sense and that everything had came together perfectly, as it was supposed to. After returning to the room I hopped online and looked up the Tulsi Mala and its significance and sure enough he was right. I was overwhelmed by what I was reading and amazed by how life can throw you surprises when you least expect it. Tulsi is thought to be the most sacred of woods in India and Indian worship, and the plant of Tulsi is believed to be the incarnation of the Divine itself. The Tulsi Mala can be worn on the neck or tied around the fist. The benefits of the leaves of Tulsi is well proven, and owing to its spiritual and physical healing powers, the touch of the Tulsi wood acts as a rejuvenator for the stressed mind and brings the spiritual self of a person closer to God. On top of that, wearing the Tulsi Mala is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to the devoted wearer. It is said to balance the kapha and the vata dosha. Tulsi clears the aura, and its subtle smell fills the heart with sensation of the divine.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:23:22 +0000