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It is commonly called “noting”, and has its origins in Sutta 111 of the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (or Majjhima Nikaya [MN], very worthwhile reading), usually referred to as MN 111, called “One by One as They Occurred”, and in MN 10, Satipatthana Sutta (variously translated as “Four Foundations of Mindfulness”, or “Frames of Reference”, etc.), as well as Sutta 22, Mahasatipatthana Sutta (“Greater Discourse on Mindfulness”) of the Long Discourses of the Buddha (or Digha Nikaya [DN]), usually referred to as DN 22. Noting is used primarily in the Mahasi Sayadaw insight tradition from Burma, though related exercises can be found in various Zen traditions, notably Soto Zen and Korean Chan, such as repeatedly asking, “What is this?”
Noting is the exercise that gained for me the most breaks and insights in my early practice, particularly when done on retreats, and because of that my enthusiasm for it is extreme. I still consider it the core foundation of my early to middle practice, the technique that I fell back on when things turned difficult or when I really wanted to push deep into new insight territory.
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The practice is this: make a quiet, mental one-word note of whatever you experience in each moment. Try to stay with the sensations of breathing, which may occur in many places, noting these quickly as “rising” (as many times as the sensations of the breath rising are experienced) and then “falling” in the same way. These are the fundamental insight practice instructions. When the mind wanders, notes might include “thinking”, “feeling”, “pressure”, “tension”, “wandering”, “anticipating”, “seeing”, “hearing”, “cold”, “hot”, “pain”, “pleasure”, etc.
Note these sensations one by one as they occur and then return to the sensations of breathing. When walking, note the feet moving as “lifting” and “placing”, or as “lifting”, “moving”, and “placing” as you perceive each of the many sensations of all those processes, noticing other sensations as they arise and returning simply to the sensations of the feet walking.
The details of this practice can be found in such books as Practical Insight Meditation, by Mahasi Sayadaw, which I highly recommend, available free online in various places and in book form. This is my all-time favorite dharma book. It is short and to the point. Its instructions work and the promised effects are reproducible. The first forty-two pages are total gold. There is no need for me to repeat much of the useful information found there, as it is pithy and now readily available online.
I just did this for a whole bike ride, noting everything that caught my attention. It’s far from “focused” but I remained aware the entire during, while losing track of time and thus impatience. Usually I get lost in thought when I try to be mindful, but I was able to simply label a thought or perception and move on. There are a lot of sensations if you pay attention so it will be challenging but that’s what keeps the mind engaged. You don’t need to be aware of everything at once, just wherever your attention is at a given moment. As well as other benefits, I feel like being aware of how everything is constantly changing helps one perceive life as more novel and thus less boring and miserable.
I’m sure it’s great if you’re not ADHD as well, as that’s the case with the author.
In my search for good meditation tools I’ve come across alot of bunk, and a handful of really useful ones. ‘Noting’ is absolutely fundamental, but I just want to drop 2 other simple thoughts that my practice center around. Also, i have ADHD, so I can tell from experience the days I meditate are very different from the days I don’t.
Yoga. If you can’t ‘get out of your head’, it’s because you’re ‘stuck in your body’. Yoga as USians call it is just the exercise portion of meditation training… yoga as a tradition literally means union. Some people legit CANNNOT get out of their heads, until they get some kind of somatic relaxing goin on.
This one is deceptively simple, but i swear by it. Any meditation follows 2 rules (the 2nd of which is pm ‘noting’ like op is about)
I think a lot of people try their hand at meditating without being told that first rule, including myself for a long time. I used to just sit there while my mind wandered, which simply isn’t meditating correctly. The proper state is cultivated by ‘noting’ (a la OP) all the thoughts that interfere with your ‘rule #1’ repetitive task. Eventually after enough practice, the mind becomes fully focused on the chosen #1, and you find yourself in a pecuilar state of identifying yourself in new and sometimes powerful ways (choose your own metaphysics)… and if your ego doesn’t start reshaping automatically you’re either already perfect, a narcissist, or meditating wrong, imho.
This! My absolute favourite time to meditate is immediately following a yoga practice. I’ve been practicing seriously for about 5 years now and I’ve got very good at maintaining my focus throughout the entire practice. This focus on, well, being focused along with the physical challenge is all in preparation to be able to sit or lay with yourself, in silence, and without thought. Does my mind still wander? Of course! But I find it easier to focus on one thing, usually my breath, and recognize when I’ve become distracted.