Overview and Logistics

(An Introduction to the Meditation)

Objective:

• Establish a working knowledge of what Rosary Beads are and how to build or otherwise obtain them.
• Give an overview of the logistics of the Mormon Kabbalah Rosary Meditation and how to begin practicing it.
• Outline the methods that will be followed in this course as we ponder the passages which serve as the source for the phrases which make up the prayer/meditation.

The “Shape” of the Rosary Beads:

The Rosary Beads are a prayer fidget tool. A physical counting device used to walk a person through a sequence of prayers. It is not our purpose to teach the Catholic Rosary Prayer in this course. It is our purpose to use the same Rosary Beads as a meditation tool for walking through a Kabbalistic Meditation/Prayer based on scriptures found within Mormonism.

There are 62 “beads” or “things” in a string of rosary beads. The beads themselves are not as important as the sequence. The beads are just placeholders for steps in the prayer. It would be entirely possible to make a rosary string using knots instead of beads, so long as the knots were easy to distinguish using touch (since many people prefer to pray or meditate with their eyes closed).

The first “bead” is traditionally a crucifix. We will be referring to it as “the Tree,” because it is used to represent the tree of life (the crucifix is the tree of life, together with her fruits). It is perfectly reasonable to use a simple cross, or a Celtic tree or any other “tree” or “cross” motif that you find meaningful.

Above the cross are five beads and then a Triangular connection piece. The outer two of the five beads are larger (depicted in purple) and the inner three beads are smaller (depicted in turquoise).

Above the first five beads are a triangular piece we will call “the Triangle”. The triangle unites the beads below it with the loop of beads above it. In a Catholic Rosary the triangle piece is often a picture of a saint, or a nativity scene, or some other personally meaningful imagery.

The loop above the triangle has five sets of ten small beads (turquoise) separated into groups using four large beads (purple).

The material used for the beads and the string doesn’t matter, unless you decide to make it matter to you symbolically. Some people use wooden beads and cotton thread. Some use leather “thread” and metal beads. Some use plastic beads, others use semi-precious stone. Don’t be ashamed of using stretchy elastic thread or synthetic nylon or plastic beads. Don’t feel like you need to make it yourself, search on line for places where you can get them premade for you. It is not important what you make it from or how you obtain it, so long as what you have does not distract from the meaning you personally wish to place upon it.

The “logistics” of the Meditation:

The meditation is made up of 7 Sections

• The first goes from the cross to the triangle
• The second goes from the triangle to the first large bead in the loop
• The third goes from the first large bead to the second
• The fourth also simply goes to the next large bead
• The fifth also simply goes to the next large bead
• The sixth goes from the fourth large bead in the loop back to the triangle
• The seventh goes from the triangle back down to the cross.

Each section has a theme which explores the meaning of the tree of life from a different angle:

1. Before the Formation (the Beginning)
2. The Divine Council (Ha’Elohim)
3. The Robes of Priesthood / Mantle of Righteousness
4. The Torah as the Seed of the New Creation
5. The Fruits of the Tree of Life
6. Understanding the Mysteries
7. Being One in the Oneness of God (the End)

The prayer is meditated upon as your fingers walk along the path by grasping each “bead” one by one and speaking (or thinking) the phrase or sentence associated with that bead. The tree and the triangle are also “beads” in the sense that they have phrases or ideas associated with them. The first bead in each section is a large bead (or the cross or triangle), and it sets the theme for the beads that follow it within the section.

A Simplified Meditation:

There is a LOT packed into this meditation, so it is recommended that you approach it gradually. Remember the advice of Zenock, that “committing the Word to memory” is NOT the key to unlock the mysteries of Torah. (Zenock 2:4). Also, heed his advice from that same verse “nor from following the blindness of men.” If you feel inspired to “fix” the wording of the meditation to be more meaningful to you … don’t feel like my wording is the “true” wording. Don’t be trapped into dogmatically following a person.

At first, walk your fingers along the path, with the meditation printed off to look at. For the beads that introduce a new section, think through the prayer at the beginning of the section and see how the beads that follow it build out the meaning of the section. As you grasp each bead, find the underlined word connected to it, and thoughtfully associate the idea with its bead. Continue doing it this way until you feel like you have a grasp on the overall flow of the meditation. Don’t get stuck here thinking you have to memorize it before moving on.

Next, try doing the meditation using only the bold words from each bead. The bold words are enough to catch the overall message. Work on memorizing the meditation … only so that you don’t need to be distracted by constantly referring to the printed pages.

Introduce the full wording of each bead one at a time as you study out the passages that explain the wording in more detail. Hopefully by the end of the course, after having done the meditation daily for months, it should be easy enough to focus more on meaning than on words. Don’t feel like the words or path is some rigid thing that must be done quickly or in rapid sequence. Feel free to stop and breathe between beads, and even look at the scenery projected by the imagery of the wording.

However it is that you decide to gradually become acquainted with the meditation, my recommendation is that you introduce the beads immediately, don’t focus on memorizing the words first, focus more on connecting with the meaning than the wording, and don’t force it to have meaning based on whatever tradition you grew up with, or currently subscribe to. If it encourages a different understanding of things, be prayerful and work out the truth in conversation with God, and allow that truth to evolve as you revisit it over time. Recognize that, in order to come to know God better, you must first accept the idea that your current understanding is in some way incomplete and possibly incorrect.

The Method of Learning:

This course will “teach” the meditation one passage at a time. Each week’s “class” time will be dedicated to one of the dozens of passages that teach the ideas that have been assigned to the individual beads.

The passages are not one-to-one with the beads. Some beads are the result of multiple passages. And some passages are the basis for multiple beads. As an example, section 4 dives into the creation. The “Mormon” scriptures contain many accounts of the creation, each with interesting details and word choices that add interesting depth to the narrative. Once you include the new wave of recently revealed accounts of creation there are many many passages to choose from.

The passages do not need to be studied in the order presented in the course. However, they have been ordered intentionally in an order that should be approachable.