Even on the net, this spinning prayer wheel produces many spiritual benefits it is powerful in the way it purifies negative karma...... This is strait from Tibetan Buddhism. It means Om Mani Padme Hung. Translated to hail to the jewel in the lotus.

http://dharma-haven.org/tibetan/prwhbl2-.gif

How does it purify karma?

In Solu Kumbu all the old men and women turn prayer wheels every day. When they are at home in the morning and in the evening before they go to bed, they hold a mala in their left hand, a prayer wheel in their right, and recite OM MANI PADME HUNG. And when they walk around, they constantly turn the prayer wheel and recite OM MANI PADME HUNG.

I often used to think, "How does turning of the prayer wheel become Dharma practice?" I had this question in my mind, simply because I was ignorant as to the benefits of the practice. I didn't know what an important practice it is and how beneficial it is in terms of purification. Just touching and turning a prayer wheel brings incredible purification and accumulates unbelievable merit. Simply touching a prayer wheel brings great purification of negative karmas and obscurations.

In Solu Kumbu all the old men and women turn prayer wheels every day. When they are at home in the morning and in the evening before they go to bed, they hold a mala in their left hand, a prayer wheel in their right, and recite OM MANI PADME HUNG. And when they walk around, they constantly turn the prayer wheel and recite OM MANI PADME HUNG.

I often used to think, "How does turning of the prayer wheel become Dharma practice?" I had this question in my mind, simply because I was ignorant as to the benefits of the practice. I didn't know what an important practice it is and how beneficial it is in terms of purification. Just touching and turning a prayer wheel brings incredible purification and accumulates unbelievable merit. Simply touching a prayer wheel brings great purification of negative karmas and obscurations.

If it works for you, cool. I suspect it's more about the attributes of faith in and willingness to seek Truth, expressed in this quirky practice, that bring about the purification of guilt and shame.