The Fear Beads

                                                                                                                                            

John Baptist

21^st February 2022

         Is “practice” good or bad? Well, it depends on why one does it. Practice creates and strengthens certain neural pathways, which make people set in their ways – ways of behaving and thinking. Practice actually creates new responses, which can be either healthy and flexible or unhealthy and rigid. 

        One area where practice is routinely used is in religion or spirituality. People, irrespective of their faith, often use exercises that consist of repetitive words and actions. These exercises can include reciting the rosary, using prayer-beads, attending novenas, saying mantras, burning candles or incense and more. Such religious exercises are neither good nor bad in themselves. It is the intention — the motivational force — that gives meaning, value and efficacy to these exercises. 

Two strong motivational forces are fear and transformation. People can have fears that God might punish them or of befalling misfortunes, among many other fears. Thus some, guided by fear, can engage in a religious ritual, such as reciting beads, to appease God, whom they imagine as angry and punishing. In doing so, individuals intend that God will not punish them or allow harm to come upon them and instead will bring fortunes to their lives. Any mindless and fear-based repetition of any practice can actually keep us quite unconscious (Richard Rohr). Thus the practice of fear beads can make us catatonic and trap us in a repetitive cycle of rigid thinking and behaviour. Catatonic repetition of any religious exercise leads to unconsciousness and ultimately death. Can we take time to reflect on our various religious exercises and unearth the intention(s) behind them? Is it fear or transformation? 

Let us hope that through awareness we break the cycle of catatonically reciting fear beads. 

 

 

Notes

Richard Rohr, The Importance of Practice, https://cac.org/the-importance-of-practice-2021-12-15/