My miracle prayer beads

A few weeks ago, during that first, awesomely warm Sunday, I went to my local country park to find a place in the woods to pray at. I drove around, looking for walking trails. I found plenty of paved ones, but was having trouble finding the dirt ones that cut through the woods. They didn't seem to be marked, whether via signs or on the park's map.

Well, finally I found a path. But it quickly ended at a road. So I decided to just march into the woods without the benefit of a path.

Well, with some work, I got a bit into the woods, walking up a short rise. Then, I noticed a pair of deer making their way at the top of the rise. I thought, where there's deer, there's gotta be some kind of path. So I headed their way.

But instead of finding one of the well-treaded dirt trails, I found a bit of a clearing. And it seemed to be at the apex of an old dirt access road, which was now covered over with leaves and brush. There was also an old rotted picnic table, with some of it's planks lying on the ground. It was a quaint, quiet spot, so I dropped my backpack and stayed.

I ended up staying about an hour. I prayed a bit, meditated, and did some Om Shanti mantras on my prayer beads. I also set a solar wheel pendant on the ground to soak up the sun. A friend had made it for me out of Sculpy and I now wear it to remind me of this place. I could hear a bit of civilization now and then, but mostly lots of birds, including a number of woodpeckers. It was neat to hear all the different pitches they were sounding, based on the size and type of tree they were pecking into. All in all, it was a lovely outing.

Well, I wanted to return the following Sunday, but it was quite cold and rainy. But I did return this past Sunday, and this time, with my new bike. I sat, prayed, and meditated. Then I took out a pair of binoculars I had brought to look around and maybe catch an interesting bird or two.

While I was scanning the woods, I caught something surprising. There was something hanging on a nearby tree. (See the picture at the top of the article.) And it looked an awful lot like my prayer beads. I got up and retrieved them. They looked like them. But to make sure, I had to smell them. My beads were made of sandalwood and have a wonderful smell. And yes, they smelled the same. They were mine.

I wondered how they had gotten there. I don't remember hanging them there for any reason. Also, I knew I had misplaced them, but didn't know if they had been gone for two whole weeks. So I thought I must have left them there, either hanging in that tree, or somewhere on the ground and someone had found them and hung them.

But then I wondered if something amazing had happened. Had I left them at home somewhere and some deity decided I needed them and hung them there for me. I keep a bit of a diary of events in my Google Calendar, and I do remember specifically using the beads while eating lunch at a park near work. If I returned home and saw that that lunch had happened after my first visit to the county park, then something truly magical would have happened.

But then I thought, even if I had left them two weeks prior, something magical still had happened. I've read from many books and web sites that magic doesn't violate laws of physics. But it may tweak them. If someone had found my beads and hung them instead of leaving them or taking them, that's a tweak. And if I had left them on that branch, the fact that they had stayed there for two weeks, amidst all kind of weather, was a type of a tweak. Plus, I was greatful they were there. They had soaked up a lot of nature energy that whole time and were now set to continue delivering blessings.

I left a note where the beads had hung, thanking whoever may have hung them there. And I did return and discover the lunch I had used the beads happened more then two weeks ago. So no magical teleportation had happened. But I was happy nonetheless. Happy to have my beads back, and happy that the Godess and God had blessed me with a little tweak.