"Noting" 'til Death Do Us Part or the $25,000 Pyramid

Imagine these words being spoken by Jean Shepard:

Just a little background info:
So, for the past couple of years my wife has been having some medical issues which only until the past year and half have now been discovered as having to due with the thyroid. Symptoms have resulted in tachycardia (extremely high pulse rate), palpatations, anxiety, no sense of hunger, and the list can go on. However, we have decided to include Chinese Medicine to also be a part of the treatment.

So, my wife recently stopped one of the thyroid medications due to the doctor realizing it was too strong when my wife started having worse symptoms and the doctor stated that at her next visit he would prescribe a smaller dose and see what happens from there.

Present day. On Saturday (8-21-10), my wife had an acupuncture appointment to treat the thyroid condition. Everything went great. Tina (my wife) never felt better. So, I offer to take us to lunch. We go to this pizzeria and I order a slice and she orders a salad. Ooh, I have to mention that for some bizarre reason we ended up sitting in the back of the restaurant (practically in the kitchen). I am starving so I am 3/4 of the the way done by the time her salad gets to the table. The salad finally comes and Tina starts eating. I am now completely done and Tina is three bites into her salad. All of a sudden something tells me to turn my head because there seems to be no movement from Tina. I turn to her and see that Tina has this "far away" gaze in her eyes and her face resembling concern. I ask, "what's going on?" She says, "my pulse has taken off (translation tachycardia)". For some crazy reason I blurt out "why don't you try noting". Tina isn't new to noting so she knew what to do. Clearly, I should have stated note to yourself and not to the entire pizzeria. It went something like this:

Tina: "pounding, pounding, pounding, pounding, tingling, tingling, axiety, unpleasant, unpleasant, hearing, hearing, unpleasant, seeing, tingling, pressure, pressure, pounding, pounding, sitting, touching, coolness, pulsing, beating, pounding, unpleasant, tingling, pressure, fear, fear, unpleasant, anger, anger, fear, unpleasant, pounding, and so forth. Tina's noting of course now caused me to note (to myself so that I wouldn't add to her anxiety). The noting was audible enough for our waitress who was now on break and sitting at the other table in the back of the restaurant to look over and wonder what type of food god or goddess were we chanting to exactly. Our noting, however, took on a rapid fire of ping pong. I had a flash of thought that we would be a great team for the $25,000 pyramid with Dick Clark.
Me: "anxiety, sadness, sadness, worry, worry, fear, fear, unpleasant, unpleasant, coolness, pressure, worry, worry, anxiety, worry, fear, fear, fear, unpleasant, unpleasant, irritation, irritation, anger, anger, anger, coolness, coolness, anxiety, anxiety, and so it went." I was trying to not think about how this would be the place Tina would die in a pizzeria and noting until the last breath. So, I ever so gently mentioned that maybe we should try to get up and leave. Tina was either so immersed in noting or didn't hear what I said and paid me no mind. So, after some more time had painfully passed, I mentioned leaving again. I somehow broke through the intensity of noting and Tina slowly looked at me and said OK. I took her hand and every so carefully walked her down the long hallway to the door leading outside.
Once outside and heading toward the car, I looked at Tina and said "how are you doing?" Tina then says, " I feel like a totally different person because the noting didn't allow me to follow any negative train of thoughts that would have led to a full blown panic attack."

I had to stop where I was and look at her as she spoke because I couldn't believe this was the same woman I just saw in the restaurant. It blew me away!!

So, to sum up: Noting totally rocks. My wife didn't die. I love my wife and I love noting. We would consider trying out for the $25,000 Pyramid only if Dick Clark was there.
Thanks to Kenneth and everyone on this website for all your insight and guidance on this path.

Awesome! Just awesome! I'm glad your wife is ok. But also it shows how awesome noting can be. Awesomeness!

Thanks Nick. The other thing I meant to add which is also huge was that when I heard the noting taking place from Tina I realized that without noting, experience could feel like it's dominated by one thing. Noting shows how varied experience is at any one moment. How cool is that!?!?!

Wow, this is a great story. I am also glad you wife is OK, and that you were able to share this. Thank you for taking the time to type it up!

Wow. Thanks, Nyingje, for that sensational post. Wow.