Noting Meditation Technique: How to Practice Mental Noting

Noting meditation, or mental noting, is a technique meditation practitioners use to acknowledge and release lingering thoughts during a meditation session. When meditating, it’s normal for thoughts to appear, especially for beginners. Noting meditation works by applying a label to thoughts that interrupt your concentration. By giving these thoughts a name or label, the meditator can more easily let go of them and practice detachment. Mental noting is common in Burmese Buddhism and various types of meditation, including the vipassanā tradition.

Jon Kabat-Zinn is a professor, writer, scientist, and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work in the study of mindfulness has changed the landscape and understanding of physical and mental wellness across the globe. He argues the thoughts and feelings a person experiences while meditating are key elements of the practice.

“Meditation practice is not about the objects of attention. It's about the attending itself,” Jon says. We're utilizing the breath as a way to ride, herd on, lasso in, and befriend and familiarize ourselves with the nature of what the mind and the body are doing in the world. So it's a very broad palette. And the objects of attention are vehicles or pathways or, you know, sort of conduits by which we can actually learn how to attend. That's the function of awareness.”

Noting meditation can be a great addition to your mindfulness practice. There are several benefits to incorporating this technique into your mindfulness meditation, including:

1. 1. Better mental focus: Meditation is about focusing the mind on an object, such as the breath, and keeping it there. Giving a name to the thoughts and physical sensations that inevitably arise can help train the mind to focus on the meditation object and let the thoughts go.
2. 2. Deeper awareness: When you practice mental noting, you can gain a deeper self-awareness about how your mind works. The mental activity behind ordinary consciousness can be surprising for beginners. The more aware you are of this background noise, the more you will be able to let go of it.
3. 3. Desirable detachment: One of the ways meditation works is to generally lessen your identification with your thoughts, emotions, and mental states. Giving a name to the mental phenomena helps you detach from them and recognize they’re simply passing thoughts and feelings and not fundamental to your essential nature.

Including a mental noting practice in mindfulness meditation can bring clarity to your practice. Follow these steps to try it yourself:

1. 1. Begin your meditation practice. It’s good to have some familiarity with a meditation practice before incorporating mental noting. Sit down in your meditation space in a comfortable posture and begin your meditation. The best time to meditate—the morning, afternoon, or evening—will be personal to you.
2. 2. Observe thoughts that arise. You will likely begin to experience the awareness of mental and physical phenomena. Acknowledge any distractions or thoughts by giving them a name as they appear. For example, if you feel an itch on your arm, you can simply think of the word “itch” and let it go. If you think about work, you can label it “work” or “job” and let it go.
3. 3. Play with your noting. You can start very simply and name any thought that arises as a “thought” and any feeling as a “feeling” or “emotion.” The practice of naming can help you focus, even if it feels silly or repetitive. Additionally, you can try to label the type of sensations thoughts carry with them by thinking “unpleasant,” “pleasant,” or “neutral.”
4. 4. Treat yourself with kindness. As you deepen your noting practice, keep track of your progress but always remember to treat yourself with patience and kindness. When you note your thoughts and physical sensations, be nonjudgmental about them. This allows you to fully appreciate the self-care benefits of meditation.

Find something comfortable to sit or lie on, grab a MasterClass Annual Membership, and dial into the present moment with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of the Western mindfulness movement. From formal meditation exercises to examinations of the science behind mindfulness, Jon will prepare you for the most important practice of them all: life itself.