Daniel, thank you for recommending the book, it basically answered all my questions.
If anybody’s interested, here are my observations, comparing Mahasi to Shinzen, summary of book’s basic exercises and quotes that answered my dilemmas.
So, MCTB doesn’t instruct just one specific approach, such as totally freestyle/choiceless noting (although advanced practice tends to go in that direction), instead it gives many options, but especially recommends Mahasi Sayadaw’s approach, which has a specifics structure.
Comparing Mahasi to Shinzen’s terminology: There’s a combination of active contact stance (breath as the anchor) and passive contact stance (other bodily and mental activities). So, attention is not moving completely freely. Focus range is relatively open, but it seems that the emphasis is put on arising of mental and physical activities, and not on trying to discover all the other minor details that exist in experience. For example, it is important to note your emotions, pain or physical movement, but you don’t actively “search” trying to discover all subtle sounds in the room or scan your body to find the feeling of warmth in your feet (although it may have been vaguely present in the peripheral awareness). It seems that focus stance is passive (sensations “are always present and therefore there is no need to look for them”). Shinzen's noting consists of two phases: 1. "clearly acknowledging" and 2. "intently focusing" for a few seconds. I would say that in Mahasi noting just the first phase is dominant; however, when we, for example, note itching multiple times until it passes, it could be said that both phases are implemented.
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Practical Insight Meditation presents four basic exercises:
1. Noting the rising and falling of the abdomen.
2. Also noting mental activities that occur between the noting of each rising and falling, as well as body movements.
3. Noting unpleasant or unusual bodily experiences when they occur (when they disappear, returning to the abdomen); instructions for different postures are also given here.
Advancement: when you note (just) the breath, if there is a long pause in between breaths, you note “sitting” (erect position of the upper body) during the pause(s). If noting multiple objects becomes difficult, return to just rising and falling. If breath becomes unperceivable, note “sitting” and “touching” instead of in-breath and out-breath (each “touching” should refer to different spot, for example: lips touching, hands etc.) Seeing and hearing are generally not noted, but if some external object has already drawn your attention, note it a few times and return to basic practice.
4. Noting mental attitudes in regard to the practice itself (lazy, doubt, anticipating, wishing, recollecting, examining, regret, happy…).
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So, here are questions I posed before, along with answers found in the book:
1) It feels like just saying words without any mindfulness
Book: “In view of this difficulty, you may be inclined to think, “I just don’t know how to keep my mind on each of these movements.” Then simply remember that this is a learning process. The rising and falling movements of the abdomen are always present and therefore there is no need to look for them.”
That makes me doubt whether this technique works for me at all
Note the doubt. Book: “Before you gain sufficient strength in attention, concentration, and insight, you may doubt the correctness or usefulness of this method of training. In such a case turn to contemplation of the thought, ‘doubtful’.”
2) I often feel like attention is not spontaneously directed to anything (no sensation is predominating) so I don’t know what to label
Book: “If there is nothing in particular to note, put the mind on the rising and falling of the abdomen.”
3) Usual advice would be “note the confusion/doubt” – however, if the feeling of confusion is constant, do I just spend all time noting “confusion” (that kind of mantra-like repetition would make the level of mindfulness very low), or start noting other things (and in that case I am ignoring an important part of my experience, and there is this feeling like I am doing it wrong).
Note having this dilemma. Note the feeling that you are “doing it wrong”. However, if all this feels overwhelming, return to more basic exercises until you stabilize your attention. (not a quote from the book)