Practicing with the bell is a beautiful form of meditation. We can let everything else go and simply be open to the sound, allowing our breathing to be light and calm. This short meditation opens with three sounds of the bell, and there are a couple of bell sounds during it: each sound calls us back to the present moment, to our body, to our breath. The meditation ends with 2 sounds of the bell.

It's easy to 'grip' a sound, particularly an unpleasant or a pleasant sound. I remember during one meditation session, I knew there would be pneumatic drilling going on in the building next door. We practiced a soft receptivity of hearing: aware of silence, of drilling, of gulls, traffic, our breathing, people's voices in the office - each arose, faded, arose again. We aimed to remain aware and open, without any harshness of attention.

We can breathe in and be aware of the bell, and on the out-breath we can expand our awareness to include other sounds that we're experiencing. And we can enjoy how it feels to have a wide, open perspective.

This meditation is freely available for downloading and sharing.