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Zen Noting

Becoming one with what we want to notice as.

Core Instructions:

Additional Notes:

Zen Noting is an example of a practice that has two different blanks to fill in, the first one is the Subject Blank (As ______) and the 2nd one is the Object Blank (______). The Subject blank is filled in with what we're identifying as, and the Object blank is filled in by what we're noticing.
This practice is itself an inspirational mash-up of the Voice Dialogue method, especially as its taught by Diane "Musho" Hamilton, and Kenneth Folk's Social Noting approach, specifically with the I Am Noting method. This is a uniquely Zen-Vipassana hybrid practice.

Zen Noting Practices:

Zen Relay Noting

In Zen Relay Noting we take the note ‘handed to us’ by the previous person in the sequence, inhabit it, and then note our experience as it.

Core Instructions:

Additional Notes:

One person starts the relay with a simple There is ______ note.

The usual Safety Release Valve (“Pass”) applies in this practice, but there is also an additional option - The Reset Button. This allows a person to choose not to inhabit the previous person’s note, but instead to ‘drop the baton’ and start again using a fresh "There is" note. The person following them in the sequence would then take their fresh note as the basis for Zen Noting, and the Relay would begin again. The reason for adding this additional option is threefold:

To prevent harm or trauma triggering if a person is uncomfortable with inhabiting the previous person’s note.
To prevent the group from getting locked into one experiential direction of noting.
Tech problems: a person has difficulty hearing the previous person’s note due to technical issues.

Using just the normal safety release valve only allows two options: either inhabiting the previous person’s note, and noting as it, or passing. This means that the chain of notes will tend to be steered in one direction (based on the preceding notes). Bringing in a third option of noting a fresh "There is" note allows for an intentional reset of the direction of the noting chain. It also allows for times when tech issues prevent clear hearing of the preceding person’s note.

This practice arose for Lisa and Ryan in the context of the Integral Dharma Training as a way to work with perspective-taking and increasing flexibility with subject-object boundaries, both of which are core techniques in integral practice.

There is Zen Noting

A slight variation on the Zen Noting technique, adding "there is noting" to the mix.

I Am Zen Noting

A slight variation on the Zen Noting technique, adding "I am noting" to the mix.

Zen Noting

Becoming one with what we want to notice as.

Core Instructions:

Additional Notes:

Zen Noting is an example of a practice that has two different blanks to fill in, the first one is the Subject Blank (As ______) and the 2nd one is the Object Blank (______). The Subject blank is filled in with what we're identifying as, and the Object blank is filled in by what we're noticing.
This practice is itself an inspirational mash-up of the Voice Dialogue method, especially as its taught by Diane "Musho" Hamilton, and Kenneth Folk's Social Noting approach, specifically with the I Am Noting method. This is a uniquely Zen-Vipassana hybrid practice.

Zen Noting Practices:

Zen Relay Noting

In Zen Relay Noting we take the note ‘handed to us’ by the previous person in the sequence, inhabit it, and then note our experience as it.

Core Instructions:

Additional Notes:

One person starts the relay with a simple There is ______ note.

To prevent harm or trauma triggering if a person is uncomfortable with inhabiting the previous person’s note.
To prevent the group from getting locked into one experiential direction of noting.
Tech problems: a person has difficulty hearing the previous person’s note due to technical issues.

This practice arose for Lisa and Ryan in the context of the Integral Dharma Training as a way to work with perspective-taking and increasing flexibility with subject-object boundaries, both of which are core techniques in integral practice.