One distinct skill I learned from my Saudi Arab friends is the making of worry beads. I will never forget how enthusiastic I was making strands of beads (mishaba) of 11, 22, 33, and 99 for my Saudi boss. He said, that my worry beads were better than those sold in the market. He was and probably still collecting different worry beads made of amber, coral, wood, glass, marble, aloe, and other bead materials. I was curious enough to ask him the purpose of the worry beads. He said, they use the string beads in time of stress, to overcome boredom, to meditate, when they are nervous, when impatient, to pacify anger. He said, each bead represents praises to Allah.
A few theories suggest that worry beads were first used on Mt. Athos in northern Greece, where strands of beads made of woolen knots were tied on a string. These knotted prayer strings are called komboskini or komboloi. They are still used to count prayers by the monks in the monasteries of Mount Athos. The monks make worry beads from handy, inexpensive materials, such as wood, shells, hazelnuts and olive pits.
Today throughout Greece these beads are used as a way of taking ones mind away from particularly bad feelings and or habits such as excessive eating, and smoking.
The tradition of carrying beads has gone from history to cultural tradition, and is now being introduced for the first time as simply the best form of helping people all over the world cope with, and change some particularly bad or annoying habits that could ultimately result in high blood pressure and possibly even death.
