Hello!

I think the description tells it all ^^ If I remember correctly shinzen said that one should keep with a certain sensation (touch, sight, sound,...) for a few seconds before noting another one. Daniel Ingram said in his book, that he noted very fast and that its more productive.

And is there a difference if I even label with words(touch, sight, sound,...), or if I just "note"

If I just note sensations, like open awareness, I easily drift off in thought.

Some sensations are hard to hold on... for example feel sensations. In my experience they end abrupt and most of the time they are a lil bit ruff but not really a problem. like a little punch. Mental images and mental talks are also more unstable than touchsightsound sensations.

What's your experience?

peace

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thx

I guess it sort of depends on what you want to use the noting for.

To gain real insight, you have to have the mind's speed of receptivity be on par with how fast reality is arising, to use relative terms. Reality arises pretty fast.

So, if you do slow noting, you are sort of using it as a very general frame, a frame within which much fine and important detail occurs. If you are very mindful of what occurs in that big frame, all the little details, but without using noting to get to that level, ok.

If, on the other hand, you do slow noting and are keeping to that level of resolution, meaning not really noticing the fine detail, the richness, all the little sensations, all the little back and forth interplay of sensation and mental impression, of intention and action, of memory and physical response, of the complex interplay of what makes up emotions, of the little interspersed sensations that make up what appears to be some self or observer or doer or controller, well then, you will be missing much.

It is not that you have to note fast, but eventually you do have to comprehend fast. It is not that you have to note everything, but finally you do have to comprehend everything.

I found fast noting of everything made for really fast progress in the early stages. Beyond that, I found chasing every little vibrating anything really fast and game-changing. I didn't note much in Equanimity, preferring something much more direct, full-field, and rich.

To each their own,

Daniel

In my experience, when I note/label concentrated (feel,image,talk.sight,sound,touch) there's three qualities which stand out: visual, auditve, and somatic. (all three are the "inner" and "outer" world -> shinzen stlye noting), these are melted in some way to eachother and when I note I take out one certain aspect. The aspect changes about every second, every half second. I think it's a limit, because I note with words and words take time. When I try to note faster, theres just trying and no "seeing", no "recognicing", no "checking". and when I don't use mental labels the mind loses its "nowness" and wanders off.




I'm really not trained in dharmatalk, I thought equanimity was the state before achieving stream entry? I am kind of balanced during noting, although there are often feel "punches" mostly in the chest area, but they pass very quickly.

Equanimity is the stage before stream entry (not counting the brief stages of Conformity, Change of Lineage...), so you are correct.