Welcome to this brief but effective mindfulness practice incorporating elements of noting.
Hi,
My name is Trish.
Noting is a useful and functional technique by practicing tuning into and becoming aware of stimuli impacting your current state.
Noting can be used as an efficient technique to sharpen awareness through labeling either thoughts,
Feelings,
Or sensations as they arise in the present moment.
And it is also a very versatile mindfulness exercise in that you can practice this technique in just about any situation while seated or walking,
Alone or with others,
Indoor or outside,
Eyes open or closed.
For our meditation today,
We will sit comfortably with a tall spine,
Chin parallel to the floor,
And ears aligned over our shoulders.
You are welcome to hold a soft gaze or close your eyes,
Whichever feels more comfortable for you at this time.
Let's begin by taking three deep cleansing breaths,
Allowing the exhale to be a little longer than the inhale.
Now allow your breathing to return back to its normal rhythm.
As an example of noting,
I notice that I'm remembering something that happened at work this week,
And I simply label it thinking,
Without the need to build a story around it.
And then I tune back in,
And in the next moment,
I notice that I can still taste the tea that I had been drinking earlier,
And so I name tasting in this moment,
And so on.
I now invite you to practice noting what arises as most present for you,
Whether it be sensing something on your skin,
Hearing something around you,
Feeling an emotion,
Name it,
And allow your attention to flow to the next thing that becomes most present for you.
There'll be a few minutes of silence,
And the invitation is every few seconds or so to continue the practice of returning your awareness to what arises next,
And labeling it.
As we gently widen our awareness back to our environment,
You're welcome to take a few deep breaths or stretch,
Whatever feels good to you.
As Bhunte Gunaratana,
In his book,
Mindfulness in Plain English,
Explains,
Developing acute awareness of our current state can increase our capacity while leading to a calmer mind and nervous system.
Thank you for sharing your time and attention with me today.
