Preface: I never really practiced noting coming up through the ranks in meditation practice. I tried it a few times, but it just got in the way of my contemplation.
Gerry T:
I have some questions about noting.
When I am doing the concentration meditation and notice that my attention was captured by a thought or sensation and I bring my attention back to my breath, that is a sort of noting. Or when I am fairly well focused on the breath I can see the thought or sensation but I don't get caught up in it and can stay with my breath, that is a sort of noting.
Yes. It is an exercise in
being in the present moment and
being aware of phenomena when it is being presented. In other words, not ignoring or missing (i.e. being aware of) the arising of phenomena.
Gerry T:
But when I am doing regular stuff during the day how does that work? When I am up and doing things I am actively doing something. Any sense of being "present" comes and goes depending on how involved I am in what I am doing.
Quite true.
Gerry T:
If I am mentally working on solving some kind of problem or fixing something it can take a lot of attention to do it. How would I note and still have attention to get the task accomplished?
You don't necessarily need to note when engaged in some activity. Just remaining mindful of what you are doing in each moment will be fine. This is what I meant about about "noting getting in the way" of contemplation or whatever other activity one is performing. Noting is meant to help one increase their sense of concentration on any object that arises. If you use it in the sense of mindfulness (
sati), it will help you to increase your ability to remain mindful. Then you can stop noting and just be mindful of phenomena as it arises.