Noting Practice For this Noting Practice meditation,
You can be seated,
Lying down,
Or standing.
Taking a comfortable posture,
Allowing the attention to drop into the body,
Feeling into the sensations of this posture,
Perhaps noticing sensations of pressure,
Where the body makes contact with the surface you're resting on,
Sensations of hardness or softness,
Feeling the support of the chair or the bed or the earth beneath you.
You might notice where the body lets go into the support.
As you're ready,
Becoming aware of the fact that breathing is happening.
Following the wave of breath as the air comes in,
Flows through the front body,
And moves up and out again.
Front body rising and falling like ocean waves.
It's the natural tendency of the mind to wander.
So when you notice that your mind has wandered,
It's not a problem.
Gently guide the attention back to the sensations of breath,
Back to the present moment.
Breathing in,
Knowing that you're breathing in.
And breathing out,
Knowing that you're breathing out.
And now letting go of the focus on the breath and shifting to exploring the senses.
Opening to the sights around you.
Or if your eyes are closed,
Opening to whatever you see behind closed eyes.
If the eyes are open,
Letting them roam,
Taking in colors,
Shapes,
Seeing the objects and the space between the objects.
If your eyes are closed,
Noticing what you see behind closed eyes,
Maybe images or colors or patterns of lightness and darkness.
Taking it all in,
Letting it all be.
And letting go of seeing and opening to sounds now.
Noticing sounds that are nearby.
And sounds in the distance.
Noticing the volume,
The duration.
Letting the sounds come and go all on their own.
Letting go of sounds and opening to sensations.
Noticing any sensations that you feel in your body.
Perhaps a sense of temperature,
Warmth or coolness.
Noticing the different qualities of sensation.
Tightness,
Tingling,
Softening.
Some sensations come and go quickly while others linger.
And letting go of sensations now and shifting to scents.
What do you smell?
Is there a strong scent in the air?
Or maybe something more subtle?
Or maybe no scent at all?
Being interested and curious.
And letting go of scents now and shifting to tastes.
Bringing the focus of attention into your mouth.
Feeling the tongue and the palate.
What taste do you notice?
Perhaps a strong sensation of taste.
Or perhaps a fading impression of a previous taste.
Just noticing.
Letting go of taste and turning your attention to thoughts.
Observing thoughts in the mind.
Observing thoughts in the same way you'd observe clouds moving through the sky.
Or leaves floating down a stream.
Are they moving quickly or slowly?
Are there many thoughts close together?
Or do you notice space between the thoughts?
Observing thoughts as mental events in the mind.
Letting go of the focus on thoughts.
And opening to whatever arises in the field of your awareness.
And adding a quiet mental note in the back of the mind.
Labeling whatever is most prominent.
So when you hear a sound,
You'll note hearing.
If you have a thought about the sound,
You'll note thinking.
It might sound something like this.
Hearing.
Thinking.
Thinking.
Feeling.
So moment by moment,
Making a quiet mental note of whatever sense is most active.
Whatever is most prominent in your experience.
Noticing whatever arises and letting it all come and go.
With an open and balanced attitude,
Simply noting moment by moment.
Being fully present to your experience.
So every couple seconds,
Adding a note and feeling how this helps you stay in contact with your direct experience.
Letting it all rise and pass.
Bringing an attitude of allowing to whatever is happening.
And then letting go of the noting.
You might continue to be aware of whatever arises in the field of your awareness.
And checking in.
What are you feeling in your body right now?
What's the quality of your mind state?
And as this practice comes to a close,
Reflecting how noting helps us to stay in the present moment and connected to our direct experience.
Knowing too that you can practice noting anytime and anywhere.
