create your own prayer flags

Recently, a friend of mine had a party in which all the participants were invited to create their own prayer flags. Although Tibetan Prayer Flags have religious significance, this party was to create flags for "positive reinforcement" of the things which each of us wanted in our lives. The partygoers created flags for love, friendship, wisdom, compassion, and prosperity.

I decided to look into Prayer Flags and learn more about them. I had seen photographs of prayer flags and had been enchanted with their beauty. Prayer flags are flown all over Tibet -- on mountain passes, rooftops, bridges, monasteries, in taxis - anywhere! A typical prayer flag has at a picture or symbol image at the center. Around the image are written mantras - ritual utterances - each dedicated to a particular deity. In addition to the mantras are prayers for long life and good fortune of the person who erects the flags. Prayer flags are printed from wooden blocks on to colored cotton (blue, white, red, yellow and green).

The Tibetans believe as the wind passes over the surface of the flag, the air becomes purified, sanctified and sweetened by the mantras. Prayer flags are said to bring happiness, long life and prosperity to the person that put the flags up and to those around it.

As with painting Icons, the idea of creating prayer flags is one of adapting an idea central to another culture and making it your own. I asked my friend, Linda, who had the party, what the idea behind it was. She said that she came from a Christian background and believed in the power of positive thinking. One of the basic tenets of positive thinking is that what you surround yourself with is what you will be influenced by. So many of her friends were going through difficult times, she thought that creating their own prayer flags surrounded by prayers that they believed in would help to remind them of the good in their lives.

Linda started by providing 10" x 12" pieces of inexpensive, sheer, cotton fabric in bright colors. She folded the top inch over on the long side and created a 1" pocket to string the flag on. Because she did not want the prayer flags to be confused with their Tibetan influences, she used pinks, purples and other bright jewel-toned colors. Next, she chose several large stamps that her guests could use for the central theme if they did not want to draw a design themselves. Among the designs were a sun, moon and stars, a cross, flowers, a $ symbol, a boat, and a heart. She provided permanent fabric markers, acrylic paint and brushes, glitter, ribbon and glue. The finished flags were strung onto long strings of jute and glued into place with "Super glue".

Linda reports to me that the party was a big success and that the flags are "flying" across bedrooms, offices, and living rooms and from the deck of one of the guest's condo balconies. Several of the guests have since come over to make flags for friends and relatives who saw theirs and wanted a set of their own! "The most important thing", says Linda, "is that each time you see the flags that you are reminded of the possibilities, your faith, and the good things in your life."

I asked her what her flags were. She said, "The first flag is FAITH. On it, I have put a cross and around it are my favorite scriptures about salvation and God's promises. Next is FAMILY. I decorated this flag with a house in the center. On each corner is the name of a family member and in between are little stories and 'one liners' that remind me of them. Next is FRIENDS, like the family flag it is decorated with the names of friends, favorite cities, restaurants and places I identify with my friends. The image on that flag is flowers. The fourth flag is PROSPERITY. For that flag, I looked for scriptures about God's promises to take care of us and other favorite quotes about being happy and fulfilled. The final flag is LOVE. This flag has a heart on it and around it is a prayer from me to God about the kind of woman I want to be, and the love I'd like to be able to give to those in my life."

Sounds terrific, doesn't it? I saw the flags and they are beautiful. Linda is a painter and she has decorated the borders with gold paint, used black and silver to write the messages and fabric paint to decorate the designs. They are eye-catching and delightful. Would you like to see examples of real prayer flags? Check out these sites:

http://www.tibetantreasures.com/tthtml/ttmerch/pflags1.htm
http://neelix.ti1.tu-harburg.de/pics/nepal96/html/bodnath-full-view-600.jpg.html
http://neelix.ti1.tu-harburg.de/pics/nepal96/html/bodnath-prayer-flags-600.jpg
http://www.tibetanspirit.com/proof/fabric/html/prayflag.html
http://www.prayerflags.com/list.asp?id=2

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