Listening to the Bell

On your arrival you might hear a bell sound and suddenly people around you have stopped still, stopped talking, and stopped moving. It might be the telephone ringing or the clock chiming, or the monastery bell sounding. These are our bells of mindfulness. When we hear the sound of the bell we relax our body and become aware of our breathing. We do that naturally, with enjoyment, and without solemnity or being stiffed.

When we hear one of these mindfulness bells ring, we stop all of our conversations and whatever we are doing and bring our awareness to our breathing. The ringing bell has called out to us:

Listen, listen, this wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.

By stopping to breathe and restore our calm and our peace, we become free, our work becomes more enjoyable and the friend in front of us becomes more real. Back home we can use the ringing of our telephone, the local church bells, the cry of a baby, or even the sound of fire engines and ambulances as our bells of mindfulness. With just three conscious breaths we can release the tensions in our body and mind and return to a cool and clear state of being.

Do not miss :

28 March 2024 - 19:00 : Thursday evening meditation
29 March 2024 - 7:30 : Méditation du matin
31 March 2024 - 8:00 : Méditation du dimanche matin
01 April 2024 - 7:30 : Méditation du matin
01 April 2024 - 19:00 : Méditation du lundi soir
02 April 2024 - 7:30 : Méditation du matin
02 April 2024 - 19:00 : MPC Book Club
03 April 2024 - 7:30 : Méditation du matin
03 April 2024 - 14:00 : Groupe de méditation Ste-Mary-IPCAM
03 April 2024 - 19:00 : Méditation du mercredi soir
Just as vegetation is sensible to sunlight, mental formations are sensitive to mindfulness. Mindfulness is the energy that can embrace and transform all mental formations. Mindfulness helps us leave behind "upside-down perceptions" and wakes us up to what is happening.
- Thich Nhat Hanh