Thank you Tommy, i really appreciate this.
You're welcome, I'm happy to help 'cause I know what it's like to be stuck!
So suppose I do noting. What practice do i do while noting?
for example, would i note while watching the breath. or is it better to note while in a state of more general awareness?
The best way to start is to just follow the rise and fall of the abdomen while you sit, all you're doing is watching the sensations of the breath as it happens and staying with it; you just note "rising" and "falling", it's that simple and there's nothing more complicated required at this point. If you find it difficult to stay with the breath consistently, try breath counting in cycles from 1-10 'cause that's the business when it comes to getting your concentration together.
The noting can be done audibly or silently, whichever you find most comfortable although silently does help your ability to concentrate better. In terms of how to note, just stick to simple labels, don't get hung up on finding specific names. I'll give you a few examples and stick a few links to some useful stuff later in the post. Some people find verbally noting out loud makes it easier at first, it's not something I made a lot of use of to be honest but I know some skilled yogis who started out with that technique.
Once you're happy that you can do this, start noting anything else you notice; if you hear a sound, note "hearing", if you notice your foot or your bum touching the floor, note "contact", if you hear your kids fighting in the background, note "irritation" or whatever, just keep it simple and keep coming back to the breath if you wander off.
The speed at which you note will change as you go through the ñanas but your perceptual threshold will increase with practice, go for consistency and precision over speed at first, see as much of the entire arising and passing of each object regardless of what it is. At times it'll be harder to see the whole thing, at other times it'll be easy so work with what feels natural and go with the flow. Start with one sensation every two seconds and go from there, whatever works for you.
Observing the three characteristics is really important too, but it's as easy as seeing that all objects in awareness will arise and pass away (impermanence), that there is no "you" to be found in any of them (no-self), and that because of their transient, empty nature nothing in manifest existence will ever provide fundamental satisfaction and will instead lead to more stress due to the inherent craving/aversion we mentally create. These things need to be experienced and understood to make a real difference, no amount of words can express what is learned when they're comprehended directly.
Any more useful?
The Benefits of NotingDetailed NotingThese are two good Hamilton Project links on noting, I'll add some more as I remember them.