Boy, this is getting really funny.
For example,
while doing noting practice crossing the street earlier today, I had a somewhat close call with a car that I don't think would have happened if I was not noting. I've decided not to engage in this practice while crossing streets!
[. . .]
I noticed the same thing when I first brought noting practice to my every day activities. For instance,
I left the house without my keys, because I was more focused on noting sensations than paying attention to the macro-level activities I was doing. I can imagine that would be a problem. Doesn't sound anything like
sati, now does it. The practice of
sati in waking life is what the Buddha emphasized over and over. And here somebody comes along in the modern age and shows people how to become distracted from their mindfulness. Or at least that's the way some people are understanding the practice. What a laugh! I can only imagine Gotama rolling over in his grave (if he had one).
Fitter Stoke:
But I got over that quickly. Start with less demanding things like washing dishes or showering, and then move on to things that require more concentration. You'll find that noting eventually makes you more connected with what's going on in the sense of really paying attention to things.
Now
that is actually sound advice. Whether one is practicing noting during waking life, or attempting to build up their
sati.
Better yet, if you're going to practice noting during waking life, just note by silent recognition of events without the mental verbalization activity. You know what that is? It's mindfulness practice. Pure and simple. Without the mental distraction of verbal noting. Noting in this way is akin to the instruction in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta: "Mindfully he breaths in [noting the in breath], mindfully he breaths out [noting the out breath]. Breathing in a long breath,
he knows that he breathes in a long breath, and breathing out a long breath,
he knows that he breathes out a long breath."
Mindfulness
is the practice. Being mindfully present in each discrete event. It doesn't mean you have to verbalize that presence. Just BE THERE! Period! In each moment of your life. Be aware.