Of course, a large part of the last theme involves mindfulness practice.

The final activity provides an opportunity for participants to share what they have learned and what they plan to take away from the program to use in their daily lives. As with all of the activities, this is an opportunity for mindful listening (that is, to the bell and to others’ comments) and for mindful speaking, and these practices are more formally taught here. Allow sufficient time so that this closing practice is not too rushed.

If possible, ask students to sit in a circle in their chairs or on the floor. Each student should have the image they created for the mindful quilt. Then invite students to share something about their experience of the program with the group. This can be done by asking them to share what they drew on their quilt square. Typically, students share something they learned, liked, noticed about themselves, and so on).

The first student to speak takes the bell from the instructor, then shares their drawing. After this, the student rings the bell, and passes the bell to the next student, who does the same.

Ringing the bell (if this is available) can be done in a special way: students practice mindful listening by waiting for the end of the bell sound before speaking or moving. At the end, the instructor thanks each group member for sharing and for participating and may even choose to give students a small token of participation, like the wallet card or other item. The template for the wallet card is found in the manual. Depending on the size of the group, this can take up most of the session time.