Basic noting instructions

Dear Kenneth or anybody who might help,

what is meant by (desciption of the first gear):
"If you are able to notice the sensations while maintaining the mental note, "Rising, Falling," do that"?

Should I not NOTE the sensations like softness, warmth, clothes rubbing against my abdomen, but just noTICE them and keep noting "rising/falling"?
And then:
"However, keep in mind that eventually you would like to be able to stay with the rise and fall without being called away, noticing sensations as they occur, but using the rise and fall as an anchor, and noting "rising, falling."

And when, if at all, is noting these sensations appropriate?
Is there anything like the right noting technique?

Regards and thanks for any feedback
Matts

Matts,

Note at a constant rate - once every second or two
When possible note out loud (if you don't hear yourself noting, you've gone off track)

Start with noting physical sensations as they arise in the body (pressure, warmth, coolness, softness, hardness, tightness, pain, bliss, vibrating, etc.)

Once you develop some proficiency with that notice the same sensations as before (pressure, warmth, pain, etc.). This time simply note whether the sensation is painful, pleasant or neutral.

Once you get good at that, begin to practice noting mindstates as well.
Some examples would be happiness, sadness, irritation, uncertain, searching, aversion, dullness, anger, hate, jealousy, etc.

And finally, get proficient at noting thoughts (image thought, remembering thought, work thought, meditation thought, etc.)

When each of these is clear you can either note them in a choiceless way (pain, unpleasant, itching, aversion, remembering thought, coolness), or note them each in sequence for a period of time (note 1st foundation for 5 minutes, then second, etc.) You can also try noting in pairs (pain-unpleasant, coolness-pleasant), triads (pain-unpleasant-aversion) or quads (pain-unpleasant-aversion-practice thought).

Hope that helps.

Thanks mumuwu,

yes that helps.
Should I stay with one sensation as long as it is predominant (maybe vibrating for 30 secconds until I´d notice pain, then pain for maybe a minute etc.) or should I switch from one sensation to another as fast as possible?

Kind regards

Its best to just note whatever is most compelling for as long as it is the most compelling thing. Eg itching, itching, itching, pressure, practice thought, itching, practice thought, pain, vibrating, itching.

In this example theres a compelling itch with momentary distractions by thought and other sensations.

You can also sit for, say, 20 minutes and describe your present experience in as much detail as possible, as it is occurring for the whole 20 minutes. Using a tape recorder helps.

Doing this for longer and longer periods is recommended.

Thank you very much.
I find this VERY valuable!

No problem at all. Keep us posted on what you discover!