How quickly do you note?

I used to think it was important to note sensations really quickly - probably because I was inspired by MCTB which places emphasis on speed.

I'm not as hung up on speed anymore. I'll note a sensation maybe once every second and a half now, sometimes aloud if I find my mind is wandering a lot.

The trap I fall into with noting (which can happen with any technique) is that I'm just chanting the notes like a mantra rather than really paying attention to what's going on. So I'll be saying "thinking ... hearing ... seeing" etc., but that's a background process while in the foreground I'm thinking about dinner or something.

So to get around that, I switch up the speed of noting. "Seeing" wait 1.5 secs "hearing" wait 1 sec "tasting" wait 1 sec "pressure" wait 2 secs, etc. And I'll make sure I'm paying attention to every sensation that's happening between the notes, so this way I'm not just "turning on" mindfulness when it comes time to note.

I think the really important thing is being aware of the sensations as they're happening. The noting is just a feedback system to let you know you're doing it. How fast you note doesn't matter much.

"I think the really important thing is being aware of the sensations as they're happening. The noting is just a feedback system to let you know you're doing it. How fast you note doesn't matter much."

Agreed!

Does anyone ever note in a way where they don't say the name of the sensation but say something else?

This past retreat I got to a point in low equanimity where every time a painful fantasy arose, I would say, "That's the way the mind is," or "That's what the heart wants."

It was soothing, and the general way I stated it ("the mind" rather than "my mind") helped my awareness start to disidentify with the relative mind.

I completed a retreat with Shinzen Young at the beginning of May. His instructions are to note (he uses the term label) every four to five seconds. During meditation I find that the noting/labeling starts to accelerate so that I'm noting about once per second. This acceleration seems to be the result of the mind becoming more precise about what it's experiencing.

Shinzen has also created a closed vocabulary for noting. Everything a meditator can experience can be labeled using these terms: see, hear, feel, in, out, rest, flow and gone. One of the great benefits of this innovation is that this closed and neutral vocabulary takes the emotional charge out of the language we use for doing vipassana. For instance if while sitting you notice pain in your knees instead of noting, "pain, pain..." you would note it as '"feel out, feel out..."

You can learn more about it here: www.shinzen.org/index.htm

BTW, if you ever get the chance to go on retreat with Shinzen Young you should go. He's an amazing teacher.

"The trap I fall into with noting (which can happen with any technique) is that I'm just chanting the notes like a mantra rather than really paying attention to what's going on. So I'll be saying "thinking ... hearing ... seeing" etc., but that's a background process while in the foreground I'm thinking about dinner or something."

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I can be all like "pressure, tension, coolness, aversion" and thinking about something else entirely

I still note outloud whenever I'm practicing in the privacy of my own home. And I do it pretty slowly compared to the MCTB method - once a second or so, like you. Noting quickly makes me tight and edgy, full of worry and doubt, and not really pay attention to what's going on. Noting slowly makes me really pay attention, and brings a sense of equanimity and acceptance.

"Does anyone ever note in a way where they don't say the name of the sensation but say something else?"

I sometimes use "see how it feels pain", "see how it worries" etc for distance and self-compassion.

"Does anyone ever note in a way where they don't say the name of the sensation but say something else?"

I've had a lot of success following Rob Burbea's advice from his 2010 Emptiness Retreat ( www.dharmaseed.org/retreats/1044/ ). In particular his talk on the 'Three Characteristics' describes his approach. I think of it as sort of the 1 and a 1/2 gear in Kenneths model. :)

In particular I found noting 'this is not me' or 'it's just happening' to be a pretty effective technique in equanimity for solidifying insight into no-self. I've also practiced just noting 'empty' or 'just a perception'. I've also sometimes found phrases which resonate with phases of my practice. One that comes to mind is Adyashanti's book title 'Emptiness Dancing', which I'll sometimes just notice that, hey, that's what my moment to moment experience seems to be--so I'll lightly use that phrase as a note to keep on track.

In my experience there was a phase in equanimity where four foundation noting seemed to be unnecessary, but I didn't yet have the concentration to drop noting completely. I found these transitionary, more general labels to be really helpful in keeping me from floundering while still allowing for the expansive quality of attention that seems to be what EQ needs to ripen.