Ringing a small meditation bell before and after a meal can calm and center us before we eat.
I have always found it difficult to pause before eating. Always a little fear pops up–fear I won’t be able to eat as much as I want, or maybe that someone will get more than me. The latter is silly because I eat alone most of the time, but that was my fear as a child: I feared there wouldn’t be enough–and THAT is actually the fear of my parents, who were children of the Depression, and they passed that fear to me.
The clear sweet sound of the bell is immediately focuses my thoughts and the body becomes calm. I also associate the sound of the bell with my formal meditation practice, however, the other day I shared this idea with a client I’m coaching, who is not a meditator (yet:) and she found it very helpful.
It won’t hurt to try. At the very least it will bring a moment of peace into your day. 🙂