The use of prayer beads in psychotherapy
Mental Health, Religion & Culture, Volume 2009,
12(4), 359 – 368
Uri Wernik
Misgav Ladach Hospital, Jerusalem
Abstract
The history and the varieties of positive thinking interventions in
psychotherapy are discussed. It is suggested that the measures used to install
positive self statements are limited. Until now there are no reports of using
prayer beads for this purpose. The use of prayer beads in different cultures and
religions is described and three cases of using prayer beads in therapy are
presented. The promising results are understood in terms of ritual. Further
directions of research are proposed. The very process of preparing prayer beads
benefits the therapeutic relationship, creating an opportunity for playful and
creative interaction between client and therapist.
Keywords: psychotherapy; prayer beads; ritual; positive thinking;
healing.
The pre-historic rock art depictions of healing ceremonies suggest that the art
of healing was known already in the dawn of human history (Clottes &
Lewis-Williams, 1998). It seems that communities, in different cultures and
throughout civilization’s developmental stages, had always allocated to some
members the role of communicating with the spirit world, and treating physical
or mental illnesses (Vitebsky, 1995).
Such healers were known throughout the ages as
shamans, seers, medicine men or women and priests. These forerunners of modern
psychotherapy (Fuller Torrey, 1972) used among others, chanting, dances and
confessionals to help people solve problems in living. Ritual is the common
ground of all these means. The commonalities between ritual healing (also
referred to in the literature as ‘traditional healing’) and psychotherapy were
described by Moore (1983), Frank & Frank, (1991) and Gielen, Fish & Draguns
(2004). Welch (2003), goes further and sees Western medical practice as based to
a large degree on ritual processes.
Some of the shared elements are: an uncommon relationship between client-seeker
and therapist-healer, the prestige and authority of the latter, an explanation
of problems in terms of a shared world view and the prescription of medicine or
action. Not only can ritual healing be reduced to primitive psychotherapy, but
contemporary psychotherapies might be viewed as ritual processes through which a
small segment of modern society receives ritual leadership in times of crisis
(Moore, 1983).
As a result of the growing recognition that racial, religious and ethnic
minority groups have their own illness perceptions and constructions of
treatments to solve physical and mental health issues, there are now more
attempts at integrating traditional healing practices into counseling and
psychotherapy. In addition, the spread of contemporary alternative health care
movements such as paganism, New Age Spirituality and other new religious
movements became an impetus to the development of multicultural counseling or
trans-cultural psychotherapy, in which rituals have a central place (Moodley and
West, 2005).
While more therapists are using rituals to help their clients cope with
transitions and separations (Wyrostok, 1995), there are no reports of using
religious artifacts, and more specifically prayer beads, in contemporary
psychotherapy. There are also no reports of using rituals to treat upsetting
thoughts, sometimes of an obsessive-compulsive nature. The present contribution
describes the use of prayer beads, prevalent in many religions and cultures, to
ameliorate such thoughts. It suggests that this new-old measure is worthy of
additional exploration and empirical investigation.
This article continues in four sections. The first one will discuss negative and
positive thinking. Negative thinking is presumed to be the cause of many
psychological problems. Instituting positive thinking is a central ingredient of
the cognitive-behavioral therapies, or more broadly speaking, of the active
therapies as opposed to insight oriented ones (London, 1969). We will see that
switching from one to the other is not a simple matter. The second section will
review the traditional uses of prayer beads in different religions and cultures.
The third section will present three case studies describing the use of prayer
beads in therapy. We will conclude by understanding the clinical application of
prayer beads in terms of ritual and will propose future research directions.
Positive thinking: from idea to practice
One of the main ingredients of active and cognitive-behavioral therapies is the
identification of negative, non-adaptive, destructive thoughts or
self-statements. After identifying such thought patterns and challenging them,
new corrective and more constructive thoughts are introduced. The identification
of negative thoughts and beliefs is usually credited to the work of Albert Ellis
(1973) and Aaron Beck (1975).
Beck's cognitive theory of depression was later extended to cover a variety of
anxiety related problems. His theory states that depressed or anxious people are
biased towards negative interpretations. They acquire, in particular early life
situations, a negative schema of the world and/or themselves. These schemas are
readily activated in similar situations Beck, Emery & Greenberg, 1985). Beck
uses the term ‘negative triad’ to describe the combination of negative schemas
and cognitive biases and their mutual reinforcement. Among the cognitive biases
he includes the following: arbitrary inference, selective abstraction,
overgeneralization, magnification and minimization.
Positive thinking is also an important tool of intervention in the Ericksonian,
humanist, Gestalt, transpersonal, transactional-analysis, EMDR (Eye Movement and
Reprocessing Desensitization) and recovery-work approaches to psychotherapy.
Since the 1970’s positive thinking became popular in self-help, medicine, sports
and business best-selling books.
Muster (2002) who studied the history of positive thinking, explored its secular
and religious roots. The secular Positive Thinking Movement in America evolved
out of the New Thought Movement, which traces its roots to American
Transcendentalism and started with the publication of How to Win Friends and
Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, and Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill,
both issued in 1936-1937. The writings of Rev. Norman Vincent Peale and Rev.
Fulton Sheen are famous representatives of the religious New Thought. Rev.
Peal’s Power of Positive Thinking, first published in 1952, stayed on the New
York Times bestseller list for 186 consecutive weeks and has sold around 7
million copies (amazon.com).
The source of all these varieties of positive thinking is in Greek Stoic
philosophy and Epictetus (55-135, CA) in particular. He is the one who taught us
in his Manual for Life (Enchiridion) that, “We are disturbed not by events, but
by the views which we take of them” (1995). From this magnum opus stems the
recommendation to carefully examine our own interpretations and in terms of his
lovely simile, choose the right handle (thought, value or statements) of a pot’s
(dilemma) two handles: one suitable, the other detrimental to us.
It is difficult not to accept the rationale of positive thinking. In practical
terms though, we are immediately confronted with a problem: people have a long
history of repeating negative thoughts a few times daily for many years (“I am
ugly and/or no one is going to love me”) and a one time challenge or positive
statement is hardly going to tip the scales and undo the damage accrued. Granted
that therapists and clients alike will author constructive statements, how are
they going to be internalized and rehearsed? Neither Ellis nor Beck, the great
authorities of cognitive-behavioral therapy, has dealt with the question.
Cognitive and behavior therapies are skilled in challenging negative thoughts
and stopping them. Usually noxious stimuli (e.g. shouting ‘No’; and banging ones
hand on the table) or distracting responses (e.g. doing push-ups or listening to
music) are suggested for that purpose. The measures currently in use to promote
positive thoughts originated with Emile Coué (1857-1926), a French pharmacist
who in 1920 at his clinic in Nancy introduced a method of psychotherapy
characterized by frequent repetition of formulas, such as the famous "Every day,
and in every way, I am becoming better and better" (1922). This method of
auto-suggestion came to be called Couéism.
Like many new developments Couéism had its heyday being popular and with reports
of success, but with time it became, rightly so or not, obsolete. Couéism
however, is still the main ingredient in different hypnotic and directed-imagery
techniques, where new positive thoughts are “installed.” Yet, suggestion-base
techniques assume a patient’s suggestibility, and this is often not the case.
Besides, insights tend to wear off and old schemas tend to reawaken in times of
crisis. We are still confronted with the challenge of making new positive
thoughts more deeply rooted.
It is actually surprising that until now there are no reports of trying to
incorporate prayer beads, used in many religions and cultures for the very
purpose of internalizing beliefs and statements, into therapy. Using a medical
analogy, I would say that with good drugs the problem is often finding an
effective delivery method (patch or pill versus injection). This article
suggests that prayer beads can serve as an alternative and effective delivery
method, helping to substitute negative thinking with positive one.
From Japa Mala to Rosary
The history of prayer beads was studied by Dubin (1987). According to him,
prayer beads are used by followers of major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism,
Christianity and Islam. Traditionally they are used to keep count of the
repetitions of prayers, chants or meditations. In earlier periods, knots on a
string were used for this purpose. The etymology of the word bead suggests its
connection to prayer, it being derived from the Anglo-Saxon words bidden (‘to
pray’) and bede (‘prayer’). It is quite probable that the idea of using beads on
a string as counters was derived from the Chinese abacus, where different
colored beads represent the decimal order of numbers.
Prayer beads are sometimes used as an ornamental object in the form of a
necklace, or as a recreational object--merely to keep one hands busy. A secular
derivative of prayer beads are worry beads, popular in Greece and other
Mediterranean countries, and known as Kombolói – practically used as an
instrument of relaxation and stress management. They usually have an odd number
of beads (5, 9, 13, 17, and 21) with one fixed bead serving as ‘head,’ a shield
to separate it from the rest of the beads and tassel. Interestingly, pointing to
its religious origin, the head is popularly known as ‘priest.’
Necklaces of beads were made from wood, stone, gems, ivory, seeds, pits, bone,
shell, berries, and nowadays also from plastic. The number of counters
corresponds to the number of prayers that must be repeated in one sitting or one
day. Prayer beads were already recorded by Marco Polo (1254-1324), describing
the King of Malabar, who wore a fine silk thread strung with one hundred and
four large pearls and rubies, used in prayer to local gods. Alexander Von
Humboldt, the German traveler (1769-1859), reported finding prayer beads, called
Quipos, among the native Peruvians.
Prayer beads are basically a memory aid and as a matter of fact one of the
Arabic names for them is Dhiker or Zikra (remembering). A person begins praying
on a different shaped first bead, and continues grasping each successive bead
while whispering or chanting short prayers or one of God’s names, until the
cycle ends at the last bead.
Volz (1907) in his encyclopedic article reviews the use of beads in the
different religions: The earliest religious use of prayer beads is found in
Hinduism. The Japa Mala has 108 beads. Japa is the repeating of the name of God
or a mantra, while Mala is in Sanskrit 'garland' or 'necklace.’ The Japa Mala is
used for repetition of a mantra, performing Sadhana (spiritual exercise) and as
an aid to meditation. Katch&French (2004) distinguish further between the
Shaivism and Vishnuism, the two modern brunches of Hinduism. The first,
adherents of Siva, use strings of 32 to 108 beads made of seeds of trees growing
in the island of Java; each seed has five sections, representing Siva’s five
personalities. The second branch, devotees of Vishnu employ 108 beads made of
the roots of basil shrubs. The use of beads is also a feature of the best-known
Western version of Hinduism among followers of the International Society for
Krishna Consciousness.
In Buddhism the prayer beads are considered to be a means of helping common
mortals advance in their practice. The basic number of beads is 108, which is
said to represent the number of earthly desires which common mortals have. Often
fewer beads are used, divisors of 108 such as 27 or 36. In China such strings
are named Shu-Zu ("Counting Beads") and in Japan, Juzu.
In Islam a string of ninety-nine (or one hundred) beads called the subha
(blessing) or tasbih (praising), is used to recite the names or attributes of
Allah. It is divided into three equal parts either by a different bead or tassel
made of thread. Often a string of only thirty-three beads is used as it is
handier. In this case the believer will go over them three times.
In Christianity prayer beads went through a long process of evolution. The
Desert Fathers (third to fifth century) already used knotted ropes to count
prayers, typically The Lord’s Prayer. The practice is attributed either to St
Anthony or to St Achromous in the fourth century. In the Roman Catholic Church
the Prayer beads are called Rosary (from the Latin rosarium, meaning "crown of
roses"). It is used for prayer and meditation in sequences of ten Hail Marys,
one Our Father and one Glory Be to the Father, each sequence being termed a
decade. A complete Rosary involves the completion of fifteen or twenty decades.
In Catholicism and Orthodoxy, the beads are often blessed by a priest with
prayer and holy water, thus turning them into a holy artifact.
Mala beads spread beyond religion into popular culture where they are known as
power beads, love, or peace beads and are used together with incense and other
things Indian to create an atmosphere of tranquility and ‘spirituality.’ Beads
can be bought in specialty shops and many artists offer colorful and beautifully
designed beads made to order.
The use of beads in therapy
The equipment used to produce healing beads is elementary: some nylon string, a
pair of scissors and a collection of multi-colored wooden beads purchased in a
handcrafts store. Clients are asked to choose colors to represent an idea or
statement that they wish to internalize. The statements are authored in
collaboration between the therapist and client and times and situations of using
the beads are determined. Some clients preferred to make a necklace; others made
a bracelet or a key holder out of beads. Usually the beads were carried in one’s
pocket or purse. Following are three diverse cases where beads were used:
The penis, my friend: A. is a 24 years old single man who experienced
erectile failure a few times with new sexual partners. A. is a handsome and
athletic instructor in a posh gym and all the encounters were initiated by women
members there. A friend advised him to take Viagra, which he took with good
results. This young man was referred to me by an urologist who after a
comprehensive examination determined that the problem is not organically based
and must be of a psychological nature.
At the end of our first meeting we understood the problem in terms of
performance anxiety and “the wisdom of the penis.” Performance anxiety is
created whenever failure leads to anticipation of failure and heightened
spectatoring, which from a physiological point of view means heightened arousal
as in an emergency state, which cancels non-survival related activities
including erection (Masters & Johnson, 1970). In other words, a vicious cycle
was created where fear of failure led to failure and more fear of failure.
The penis can be seen metaphorically as man’s best friend. Not only does it give
him joy, sometimes it even knows better what is good for the whole person.
Listening to one’s body is of course crucial to women as well as to men. It is
quite possible that in this case, the penis was just trying to ‘say’ that what
was really needed is a loving relationship and not additional random one-night
stands, which have become more of a chore and less of an adventure.
A. agreed to put sex as an athletic activity on hold, and try to find a girl
friend instead. However, he was still anxious and worried about what will happen
once they go to bed together. Although he was rationally convinced that he
didn’t have any problem (which was easily demonstrated in self stimulation in
his privacy), he used to obsess about the possibility that something was
nevertheless medically wrong. A. felt that the Viagra gave him some reassurance
and therefore he needed some replacement for it.
Three constructive statements were identified. A. picked a colored bead for each
of them:
●
Red: My friend (the penis) is independent and not under my control and knows
best what is right for me.
●
Purple: I am healthy and my sexual system functions as it is supposed to.
●
Green: I hope to have emotionally and physically satisfying relationships.
A. was supposed to use beads and repeat the
corresponding statements any time he found himself thinking about sex. At our
follow-up session I was surprised to learn that A. had worn the string as a foot
bracelet, not taking it off for the last two month. He had a successful sexual
encounter without taking any drug, and explained to his partner that the
bracelet was his “good luck” charm. He is still looking for a girl friend, but
has yet to find a suitable candidate. We brought up the possibility that it
would be better if he initiates contacts for a change. This, he admitted was a
big challenge.
I am a murderer: B. is a 29 year old, married mother of a two-year old
daughter. She was in therapy for issues related to her marriage and career. In
one of our sessions she had revealed her terrible secret: She loves her daughter
dearly, but every once in a while she has thoughts of taking a knife and
stabbing her, injuring or killing her. Her concerns became more worrisome as a
few months earlier the newspapers reported a case of a post-partum woman who
killed her two babies.
B. felt that she was abnormal and should be taken away from her daughter. B.
agreed that practically speaking she was a good and loving mother. She takes
good care of her daughter, talks and plays with her with humor and patience.
“How would you understand a dream in which you stab your child?” I asked. B
suggested that it could mean that she was actually very careful not to cause her
any damage, or that she would hate to lose her. Another possible interpretation
she brought up was that she realizes that taking care of a child is a big
responsibility that does not leave her much time for herself.
Understanding the problem as a symbolic message, provided some initial relief,
but B. felt that the thoughts were becoming an obsession and that now she was
worried “what will happen if I’ll have this thought again?” At this point I
suggested a counter-obsession measure and told her about the history of prayer
beads.
B. grew up in a religiously devout family and used to kiss the door’s Mezuzah
(According to www.merriam-webster.com: a small parchment scroll inscribed with
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21 and the name Shaddai and placed in a case fixed
to the doorpost by some Jewish families in order to fulfill an explicit
commandment and as a sign and reminder of their faith) when coming and leaving
her home. I suggested that any time she passes through a door with a Mezuzah she
would have to go over the four appropriate messages, each one with its
corresponding colored bead.
●
I love my daughter very much.
●
The ‘unconscious’ has its own ways of preventing violence against children.
●
My thoughts are not under my control; thoughts and acts are categorically
different.
●
I am a loving, feeling, functioning, social and curious person.
The last statement is an example of a constructive formulation of the idea, as
opposed to the positive “I am normal.” This is an opportunity to suggest that
“positive” statements are not always so positive. A person who says to himself
“I am handsome and people love me” is exposed to two unpleasant consequences:
firstly, not everyone is necessary going to share this view and secondly our
“unconscious” is quite cunning and might figure out that if I am really so
handsome, why do I have to say it to myself? Thus, it is better to be
constructive rather than Pollyanna positive. A much better formulation would be
something like “Handsome or ugly, I have the right and the duty to pursue my
happiness. I’ll try to do what is in my power to look attractive.”
As for B., in two weeks time the frequency and intensity of her negative
thoughts were diminished. A month later, B. was more lax about using the beads
and used them as a decoration for her car’s key chain.
Why did you leave me?: C. is a successful graphic designer. Since his
first love relationship ended, separation was felt as a devastating experience.
He used to be miserable and preoccupied with his former lovers for months. The
only remedy for this condition was a new love, but this was not easy to find in
his gloomy and passive state of mind.
C. was in an ambivalent relationship with a woman who went to school with him
and often deliberated whether or not to put an end to it. Yet, when she decided
to leave, he entered a severe crisis. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and
regretting the separation. When asked to carry out a detailed observation, he
discovered that such “runs” took place between 9 to 14 times per day.
His own attempts to stop this chain of thought did not succeed, and therefore we
decided to ‘over practice’ his jeremiahs. We identified the different elements
and had him go over them with a rosary he had designed, at least once every
hour. Notice that in this case unlike the other two, beads are used in a
paradoxical manner to “prescribe the symptom” (Akillas & Efran, 1995).
●
Red: Remind yourself that D. (his former girl friend) has left him.
●
Green: How good it was while it lasted.
●
Blue: The relationship is over now.
●
Purple: I am miserable.
●
Yellow: She continues with her life as if nothing happened.
●
White: I want to go on with my life and feel well.
The white bead had a twist to it. C. couldn’t start with this wish as it
contradicted his negative feelings, but once giving them their due respect, he
could easily take an additional small step. Yet, being the last statement in a
run, it had a stronger impact, or at least I hoped so.
C. has not found a new love yet and he still thinks occasionally about D.
although in a less sorrowful manner and he can even explain that it happens in
order to remind him that something is still missing in his life.
Prayer beads, rituals and healing
This article demonstrates the integration into psychotherapy of prayer beads.
Now that the challenge of instituting positive self-statements, instead of
negative ones, was clarified; the uses of prayer beads in different religions
and cultures was described; the application of the latter to the former
documented in three case studies, we must suggest how this application fostered
change and how is it different from the customary cognitive-behavioral protocol.
We must start with reservations. The cases presented here must only be
considered as demonstrations of the possible uses of prayer beads in therapy.
Firstly, they are not controlled experiments. Secondly, the beads were only one
element (although a major one in the first case) along with others such as good
client-therapist relationship, encouragement to act differently; and
understanding of the problem in constructive terms. Thus we can not know what
factor or combination of factors enabled amelioration of the presented problems.
These reservations notwithstanding, this work suggests that ritual can best
explain the positive results. The three subjects described, did not just listen
to the therapists’ statements, or repeat them on their own; they did actually
perform a ritual. The literature on rituals is vast, coming from the disciplines
of religion, sociology, anthropology, archeology and psychology. Bell (1997)
offers a current comprehensive review of “perspectives and dimensions” of
ritual. To our purposes however, it will suffice to ponder the definition
supplied by Tambiah (1985). For the sake of discussion, this definition will be
divided into five segments, marked by square brackets, each of them to be
discussed below:
Ritual is [1] a culturally constructed system of symbolic communication. [2] It
is constituted of patterned and ordered sequences of words and acts, often
expressed in the multiple media, whose content and arrangement are characterized
in varying degree by formality (conventionally), stereotypy (rigidity),
condensation (fusion), and redundancy (repetition).[3] Ritual action in its
constitutive features is performative in these three senses: in the Austinian
sense of performative, wherein saying something is also doing something as a
conventional act; [4] in the quite different sense of staged performance that
uses multiple media by which the participants experience the event intensively;
and [5] in the sense of indexical values” (p.128).
In light of this definition it is plausible that the following factors
characterize the ritual use of prayer beads as compared with the current
cognitive-behavioral therapy measures:
[1] The use of prayer beads is culturally associated with religious rituals, and
the latter are associated with supernatural powers. The beads are similar to
amulets worn as protection from evil. The initial tying of a string of beads
around a person’s wrist has a ritualistic character too. Only recently did I
learn that certain Rabbis tie a red string around the wrist of those seeking
their blessing. Kwan (2007) reviewed research findings on the relationship
between ritual and healing, concluding that the clinical efficacy of ritual is
best explained by invoking the concepts of self-healing and placebo. The ritual
itself, combined with faith in the healer and expectations for improvement
stimulate the subjects’ capacity for self-healing. Thus the ritual use of prayer
beads might be more effective than a rational dry explanation at triggering this
capacity.
[2] Hypnosis and self-hypnosis are also based on a repetition of “patterned and
ordered sequences of words,” as in Coué’s famous mantra. The same happens in
using prayer beads with the addition of tactile (grasping of beads) and visual
(their different colors) involvement. Thus, the subject enters a relaxed state
(“worry beads”) of heightened receptiveness to new ideas, similar to what occurs
with meditation mantras.
[3] Interventions in cognitive-behavioral therapy are based on verbal exchanges
between therapist and client, in an analytical-rational mode of information
processing. It could only be hypothesized that the ritual use of beads assists
in rendering a verbalization performative, that is, the client is doing
something with her or his body and grasping something concrete while repeating
the predetermined ideas. This makes a stronger impact, just as in
learning--reading a text aloud and/or copying it in writing is more effective
than reading only.
[4] Lacking an audience, the performance in this case is less of a drama
compared with rituals carried out in public. And yet, it could be viewed as an
intra-personal drama, with the ‘audience’ being the aspect of self characterized
by holding of the negative schema. Often though, when the beads are visible,
when used as a bracelet for example, they turn into a conversation piece--a
“mini-drama” in which the reactions of others to the explanation given reinforce
the positive messages.
[5] Each colored bead serves as an index of a particular statement. Thus complex
statements can be transmitted and remembered. This can also be considered as a
mnemotechnic device, in which messages are anchored or associates with a
specific concrete object.
In addition to the above factors, the very problem a client presents in therapy
is in many cases a ritual. In obsessive-compulsive disorders for example,
thoughts and activities are repeated in a rigid stereotyped manner. The problem
of negative thinking discussed in this article can be understood as detrimental
uncontrollable rituals. It can only be speculated that the ritual of using
prayer beads is effective as it substitutes one ritual with another.
The clinical vignettes and their understanding in terms of ritual point to the
need for additional research: 1. A basic study of the effectiveness of prayer
beads as a memory aid is required, comparing memorization with and without
beads. 2. Comparisons are called for among clients using beads, clients in
standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and clients taught to use self-hypnosis or
guided imagery. 3. To control for the effect of ritual, clients using prayer
beads could be compared with clients listening to taped messages.
It can already be said that beyond the apparent direct effect of fostering
change in the target problem, the whole process of articulation of statements to
rehearse, the choice of beads and stringing them together becomes an opportunity
for joint playfulness and creativity. This experience contributes to the
creation of a good therapy bond and working relationship between therapist and
client, which by itself is an important, if not the most important factor in the
effectiveness of therapy (Wampold, 2001).
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1. The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful
comments of two anonymous reviewers on earlier versions of this manuscript.
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