Hey everyone, I have been on this site for a few years now, and I have been meditating consistently since 2020 (roughly 1-2 hours a day of shamatha/vipassana)

Anyways, I have a quick question for you all as I am quite doubtful about my current practice. So far my sessions are around 50 minutes long, the first 20 minutes just being your basic shamatha practice, and then I follow up with 30 minutes of noting (I prefer doing this aloud as to not lose the stream of conciousness). However, when I am noting (aroud 2-3 sensations a second) it feels quite superficial and just dull. I am aware of the three characteristics and have been told by various people to not really worry about them too much, this seems to be a big question of which the answers differ quite drastically depending on who you talk to, some say just note sensations and the three characteristics show themselves naturally, and others say you really need to pay attention to how sensations are changing and dissappearing (and thus unsatisfactory) and are also not a solid/permanent "self". I have been noting for two years as of now, and I have had some insights here and there, but nothing like the descriptions I have seen, I just feel like I am noting and nothing is coming out of it. I could really do with some advice here, do I just keep noting until some shit happens, or do I have to really pay attention to the 3C's, or do I do something else? Thanks lads and laddets  

Try noticing (nonverbal noting).

Use the same degree of intent to perceive your senses, as if you were looking at something very far away, trying to capture as many details as you can.

If you have a teacher you have faith in, then you might follow instructions blindly and just do what they say.

I never met anyone who inspired faith in me.

So I try to figure out what I want from meditation and try to understand how different techniques work and then select a technique to do what I want.

So first off what do you want? To realize anatta? To end suffering? To have a cessation? To be an arhat? To cope with stress?
https://inquiringmind.com/article/2701_w_kornfield-enlightenments/

If you want to feel like you don't have a self, find a technique that quiets the mental chatter. Then when your mind is quiet, look in your mind for a self, particularly when you are noticing a sensation like sight or sound (who is seeing? Who is hearing?). You won't find anything solid, continuous, unchanging like a self, (in other language you might find your true self which is impersonal awareness impersonal perception) anywhere and eventually this will gradually or suddenly morph into feeling like you don't have a self.

If you want to end suffering, observe dukkha in meditation and in daily life. Notice how it arises (notice the activity of the mind, thoughts, emotions, impulses, sensory experience and sense of self, particularly emotions and the physical sensations in your body - these are all tangled up in dukkha), how it fades, how ego is involved, try to learn how to let go by relaxing. When you do this you are observing the three characteristics and interrupting the chain of dependent origination. If you want to end suffering as much as possible you have to practice in daily life even if/after you get enlightenment, it's not something you realize that does it, what does it is mindfulness and constantly letting go.

If you want to get high on your own brain chemicals try this:
https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-quick-guide-to-producing-bliss-with.html
According to Leigh Brasington it's better than LSD.
https://youtu.be/RCLT64SLYZk?t=2571
For me it's like this:
https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2015/02/joy-during-meditation.html#joy_trip

If you want something to follow blindly and not worry about philosophy or theory I recommend this:
https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/08/preparing-for-meditation-with.html
When I do this, nothing bothers me, I don't want anything. I don't care about philosophies. It doesn't necessarily end physical or psychological pain, but it reduces the mental angush so what remains of physical pain is much easier to bear. With psychological pain what remains is less like a cloud over reality and more like a physical sensation (an imperfect analogy) so even though it's still there there is also a quiet, contented aspect that you can dwell in, in which you are not attached to pleasant feelings or averse to unpleasant feelings. To keep it going after a session you have to try to stay relaxed and mindful and not just jump back into all the stressful activities and attitudes that created "confusion" in the first place.