Nearly all the major religions endorse the use of beads for prayer and meditation.... We can use beads to recite a mantra in our native language. For example we might say PEACE AND CLARITY, or BE HERE AND NOW, or ARISING AND PASSING. It is important to say mantras slowly and mindfully. Recite one mantra or prayer for each bead so that the essential truth of the mantra or prayer begins to resonate deep in our being.

Christopher Titmuss in The Little Box of Inner Calm