Zen & Buddhism

Mindful Transitions

Bringing awareness to moments of change between activities, using transitions as opportunities for presence.

Most people live on autopilot, rushing from one activity to the next without pause. Mindful transitions transform these in-between moments into opportunities for awareness. Before answering the phone, take one conscious breath. Before entering your home, pause and reset. Research shows that these micro-meditations throughout the day reduce stress and enhance well-being more effectively than a single long meditation. In Zen, the bell signals transitions - from work to meal, from meditation to rest. Each transition is a chance to return home to ourselves.

Written about in

• What Zen says about habit and discipline

  In the monastery a bell marks each change — work to meal, meditation to rest. Transposed to an ordinary life the unit is one conscious breath before answering the phone or entering your house. Zen puts habit in the seams between activities, precisely where most people are on autopilot.