Mike John D:
I have always opperated under Suzuki Roshi's principal that meditation is not something you do, rather meditation is something that you are. It's an expression of what you are, in form and sensation. I have defintely had some great experiences with this approach, but not much insight per se.
For me the problem with noting is that I feel that as soon as I look at meditaiton as something that sets up a "do'er" and a "doing" I am essentially driving a wedge into the practice.
I went to the source and read PRACTICAL INSIGHT MEDITATION, by Mahasi Sayadaw, it explained the process very well, but I am still stuck with this question about "doing vs being". It seems like the noting practice will require a big shift in the way I look at things. Maybe that's a good thing. But I'd really like to know: how is bringing a "do'er" into the picture going to help; especially when experiencially it feels so counterintuitive and awkward?
This may seem artificial, or it might be helpful to you.
You already believe that noting can be useful for making rapid progress in meditation. Part of insight is seeing that there isn't really a doer, but the entire universe is simply being, with no other process occurring. So, if you use the tool of noting to supercharge your practice, you will get to a place where your sense of a self that "does" something goes away. Then you won't be fooled by any illusory duality between "being" and "doing." There is no duality. Consider the sentence "The universe is." The subject (note that there is no distinct object) is "the universe." The verb is "is." which is a form of the verb "to be." What is a verb? It's something that's done. So what is the universe doing? The universe is being. The thing that is "done" is "being." So, you can see that "being" and "doing" are not truly distinct. The illusory distinction probably comes from the nature of human language. Languages have different verbs for attributing qualities to things and for attributing actions to things. (Linking verbs versus action verbs.) This distinction creates, in the human mind, a duality between actions and qualities. But there is truly no difference.
At any rate, whether or not any of the above is helpful, try noting. If it makes your practice more effective, and you come to a realization that there is no doing, then the problem is solved. Skillful means seem counterintuitive sometimes, but that doesn't make them any less skillful.