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The Mindfulness Bell
A mindfulness bell is a bell that rings during the day as a cue to stop what you are doing, take a few slow breaths and come back to the present moment. The practice is best known from the Plum Village tradition of the Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, where everyone pauses and breathes in and out three times whenever they hear the bell.
A single, slow strike. Let it ring all the way out before you move.
How to practise with a mindfulness bell
- Stop. When you hear the bell, pause whatever you are doing, speaking or thinking, if you safely can.
- Breathe. Breathe in and out slowly, three times, paying attention only to the breath.
- Listen. Let the sound of the bell fade completely before you carry on.
- Return. Go back to what you were doing, a little more awake to it.
That is all there is to it. The point is not the bell itself but the gap it opens: a few seconds of attention, many times a day, with no effort to remember them.
How often should a mindfulness bell ring?
Often enough to catch you in the middle of things, not so often that you learn to ignore it. Many people start with once an hour during the day, which is a gentle rhythm that is hard to tune out. Some prefer every half hour while working. If you notice you have stopped hearing it, ring it less, or change the sound.
A mindfulness bell or a meditation timer?
A meditation timer marks a sitting: a bell to begin, perhaps a bell at intervals, and a bell to end. A mindfulness bell rings through the rest of the day, while you work, cook or walk, so the practice follows you out of the meditation cushion and into ordinary life. Many people use both.
Using BELFRY as a mindfulness bell
- A single toll each hour, free. Set the hourly bell to ring just once on the hour rather than counting the hours, and it becomes a quiet mindfulness bell.
- Half hours too, if you want a shorter rhythm while you work.
- It rings in the background with the app closed and the phone locked, and it mixes with your music instead of stopping it.
- Quiet hours rest the bell overnight, and it can ring on weekdays only.
- Meditation sessions with a bell to begin, at each interval and to end, on a crystal bell, chakra bell, singing bowl or gong, come with the one-time Lifetime Unlock.
Questions people ask
What is a mindfulness bell?
A bell that rings during the day as a reminder to stop, breathe and return your attention to the present moment. The practice is associated with Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village tradition.
What do you do when you hear the mindfulness bell?
Pause what you are doing, breathe in and out slowly three times, listen until the sound fades, then carry on.
How often should a mindfulness bell ring?
Once an hour is a common starting point. Ring it less often if you find yourself ignoring it, or more often during focused work.
Is there a free mindfulness bell app?
Yes. BELFRY is free with no ads and can ring a single bell every hour, or every half hour, in the background on iPhone and Android, with quiet hours overnight.
Does a mindfulness bell app work when the phone is locked?
BELFRY does. It rings with the app closed and the phone locked, and mixes with music and podcasts rather than interrupting them.
A mindfulness bell that rings by itself
BELFRY rings a real bell every hour, or every half hour, with your phone locked: a gentle cue to stop and breathe. Quiet hours overnight. Free to download, no ads, ever.
