I admit it, my quest for organization and simplicity has even touched my spiritual life.  I like to consolidate all of my "prayers", "healing energies", "well-wishes"... whatever you want to call them...into one daily moment of meditation.  Each evening, I place any new thoughts into my prayer bowl, light the candle and send my thoughts into the beyond to work their magic (or to be worked upon-however you view it).  In my mind, this is similar to uploading all of my files at once instead of one at a time . 

The concept of a prayer bowl came to me through a friend who received it from another friend and I'm sure she came upon the knowledge the same way.  I believe transference of knowledge in this way adds a special layer of love energy with each person who passed it on...so if you like this project, please...pass it on!

Practically speaking, you can make this project for under $10 (and maybe under $5!) and in under 10 minutes.  A prayer bowl is a wonderful gift, too, by the way, regardless of your faith.

Now on to the nitty-gritty details:


Materials: 

1.  A large, flat, glass bowl.  Usually available at craft stores (and very inexpensive at Wal-Mart).  I used one with a stem (see below), but that's not necessary.

2.  A small, glass votive holder, preferably one that's about 2" or slightly taller (see pic above). These are usually less than $1.

3.  Several river rocks of various sizes.  I saw these yesterday at the dollar store for $1/bag!  I believe I bought mine at Target for $2.00.  But if you really want to add some powerful energy to your prayer bowl...go and collect some river rocks yourself (they're free!).

4.  A small tealight candle.  (I know you're using a votive holder, but I feel that a shorter candle is a safer bet to prevent accidents).

5.  A long-handled lighter or long matches.

Tools:

1.  Your heart!

2.  Imagination.

Super Easy How-to:

1.  Use glass cleaner to remove any fingerprints or stickers from your glass pieces.  Place the large bowl on a flat surface. 

2.  Unfurl the wick from your tealight candle (yes, I said unfurl-ha!).  Place your candle in the small votive holder, then place both in the center of the large bowl.  (It's very important that you do this before adding rocks.  If you add the rocks first, you'll be in for a long, frustrating time trying to get the candle holder 'just right'!)

3.  Add the larger river rocks carefully.  Don't just drop them in there; you might crack the glass.



4.  Add the smaller river rocks, arranging them in between and around the larger rocks.

5.  Light the candle with your long handled lighter.  It's important to use the longer lighter or long matches because you can't pick up the votive/candle to light it, or your rocks will slide and you won't be able to put the candle back the way you had it! (Yes, I found out the hard way-ha!)



6.  Write your prayers on small slips of paper, fold them up, and place them on or between the rocks.  Using smaller pieces of paper helps prevent an accidental fire.

7.  Monthly, remove any prayers that no longer need attention.  Feel free to leave some in if you want to work with them a little longer.


And there you have it!  Your very own Prayer Bowl.



Bonus ideas:

*You could write your prayers directly on the rocks with a sharpie.


*You could use other types of rocks, such as crystals, or substitute another material like shells or dried flowers.