Breathing room

In Peace is every step there is a chapter on creating a "breathing room" that is a room that is set aside for meditation. Aside from being a place for meditation this room would be kept free from conflict. The author suggests that no disagreements happen in this room.
It's a nice idea, but what if you live in a small house and don't have an extra room. I have decided that you could still have a breathing room in part of another room.
If you have the money you could by a small screen and divide a bedroom or even your living room. Or if you don't have the screen a rug could be laid out to mark the boundary of your meditation area. I am going to try it and see if it works well. I have a feeling it will work quite nicely. Our living room is very long so dividing a portion of it for a breathing room should be very easy.

A bell of mindfulness

In his book Peace is every step Thich Nhat Hanh talks about how he would use church bells as a reminder to breath and come back to the moment and his true self.
He does not limit this to church bells however, he talks about using any sound as a bell of mindfulness.
I really love this idea and, it seems so easy to do because we are always surrounded by sound.
The other morning I slept in, not a good thing to do. I was glad I did though because I heard the train whistle as it passed through town. I have always loved that sound. That morning it was my bell of mindfulness as I took a moment to breathe and enjoy being in that moment with the song of the trains whistle.