Lightening Up

Gentle interval bells for meditation, on your iPhone and Apple Watch.

Choose how long to sit and how often a bell should sound, then press start. Lightening Up keeps time in the background, so you can lock your phone or lower your wrist and just listen for the bell, whether you're sitting still or going about your day. Set it up once, and it's ready whenever you are.

I made Lightening Up because I couldn't find a meditation timer that ran reliably on my Apple Watch and kept going in the background. I wanted something simple I could have with me all day, on my phone or my wrist, with a bell every so often to bring me back to the present, whatever I'm doing. Staying mindful between sittings is hard, and a gentle reminder helps.

• A complete Apple Watch app that runs on its own, with a watch face complication • A simple, uncluttered design with warm painted scenes for day and night • Keeps running in the background. On iPhone, bells play right alongside your music or podcasts. • Five clean, carefully chosen sounds at a matched volume: Cymbal, Bell, Bowl, Gong, and Wood • Random intervals and Random sounds, for a less predictable practice • A gentle two-strike ending to close each session • An adjustable session start countdown, screen auto-dim, a Lock Screen timer on iPhone, and optional Apple Health Mindful Minutes • No account, ads, or tracking

Use it for seated meditation, mindful pauses through the day, breathing practice, yoga, or any time you'd like a bell to mark the time.

The name comes from something I heard from a meditation teacher: enlightenment can feel like a lofty, far-off goal, but lightening up a little, taking your practice and yourself less seriously, is something you can do today.

Every feature is free for sessions up to 15 minutes, as many as you like. Premium is a one-time purchase that extends sessions up to eight hours. No subscription, and Family Sharing is included.

Discovery signals