Noticing notes is an occasional series on this blog where I discuss the mindful writing practice of ‘noticing’ and encourage you to join in. What’s noticing? Well it’s basically just writing down the word ‘noticing’ followed by what’s happening for you in the present moment. When you get stuck, write the word ‘noticing’ again and keep going’
This post has more information on noticing
The first thing that fascinated me about noticing when I began was how it seemed to ground me.
I took up noticing as a way of writing through the feelings that overwhelm me when I write. All I asked of it was that I could just get some momentum going so that the anxiety wouldn’t keep me completely blocked.
What I found was that ‘noticing’ seemed to make me more aware of the anxiety and tension I was feeling.
I would start noticing the specific sensations related to my anxiety (and other feelings too) and move on to something else, then I would come back to those feelings and notice they had lessened. As I went through this process a number of times, I started to see that there was a link to noticing the physical sensations I was feeling, and how they would change as I noticed them.
This is the single biggest gift I’ve got from noticing so far.
Here’s one of the ways I’m working with that at the moment.
the exercise
When I’m noticing, at some point I’ll often focus attention on the points where my body comes into contact with other things: a chair, the floor, the edge of the desk, keyboard, clothing. Simply noticing anything that is making contact with me and what my experience of that is.
What I find is that I become more aware of points of comfort and discomfort in my body, and either rest into those points, or adjust the points where I am uncomfortable.
I’ll usually do this exercise and make any adjustments I need to get more comfortable, then move on to some other kind of noticing, what’s around me, or thoughts that may come up, then after a while I will often come back and do another sweep of the points of contact to see if anything has shifted.
Here’s an exerpt from one of my noticing sessions where I spent a few minutes noticing while sitting on the stairs in my home:
‘noticing the hard line of pressure against my back where the step is digging in, the sensation is solid, and it feels like the step is pushing forward into me rather than me pushing into it. Like there’s movement there, or something. Now I’m shifting my back forward a little to lessen the pressure.
Noticing the warmth of the wood beneath thesoles of my feet, this step feels soft and yeilding. Another step presses lightly against the mid-point of my calves. It’s stronger against my right calf, barely noticeable against my left.
My notebook rests on the top of my thighs, it’s light except for where my hand rests as I’m writing. I can feel that pressure moving as my hand shifts across the page. noticing the thumb on my left hand pressing down on the page, holding my notebook steady, and how the opposite corner of my notebook shudders lightly as I write, I feel the stuttering contact up near my right knee.’
This went on for a while and there was a bit of shifting around to get comfortable and I noticed some subtler things (like the movement of the notebook as I was writing ) that I would normally never be aware of.
Focusing awareness on my body has a grounding effect, and it’s something that I forget too easily when I write.
I’ve found noticing the points of contact an interesting exercise because it gets my awareness focused on my body in a way that is different each time–noticing my posture, what I’m sitting on and how I’m sitting on it, what I might be leaning against, or holding–the experience is always different.
This is a really useful exercise to incorporate into whatever writing practice you might have whether it’s noticing, or morning pages, or a regular journalling practice. If you give it a go, I’d love to hear about your experience.
*****
Neat excersize to increase awareness. I’m going to put it into practice NOW!
Thanks
Dan @ ZenPresence
Hi Dan,
Wow, you’re fast! Good luck with the exercise, I’d love to hear how it goes for you.
That’s interesting that you would use ‘noticing’ as a writing exercise, Dave. We use it in therapy as a way to help people feel grounded and in the present moment. It’s very helpful for anxiety and trauma issues.
Thanks for the spin on it!
Hi Bobbi,
It’s a great technique for getting into our body/mind rather than simply being stuck in thought, isn’t it. I originally got the idea from a meditation instruction years ago. I also used to be a Drug and Alcohol worker and we borrowed from mindfulness techniques when running our recovery groups.
Great idea, Dave!
I’d never heard of this before, but I’m giving this a shot. Thanks!
Glad you’re giving it a shot, Gary! I’d love to hear how it goes for you.
I am noticing that there is an unsettling in my stomach. Part excitement, part anxiety.
This was a reminder to me the second I started doing it that I need to get back to meditating more regularly. Thank you
Hi James,
Noticing and meditation complement each other nicely. Noticing, like meditation, has a nice spillover effect where you become more attentive even when you’re not dong the actual practice.
Hey Dave,
I just tried a noticing exercise and realized something I’ve experienced over and over again. My feet never know where to rest underneath my chair/desk and are constantly shifting all over the place.
This sends yet another strong signal that I need to get an adjustable work space situation. A straight standing desk won’t work as my wife needs to be able to sit at a desk. So once again I find myself noticing that the solutions where you rest something on top of your sitting desk aren’t built for someone who is 6’6″ (unless you have a grand to spare).
Thanks for the mindfulness lesson today. I can see myself doing this more often.
Hi Joel,
Wow, 6′ 6″ means a lot of leg to fit under a desk! That must be really hard. I don’t see how putting something on top of the desk would help your poor legs. I hope you find a solution to that.
About the shifting–noticing is a useful tool for picking up feelings of discomfort that we might habitually screen out of awareness. I often pick up feelings of restlessness in my feet and how connected they are to the floor, it tells me how settled, or unsettled, I am in that moment and has become one of the first things I check when I’m noticing.
I like this! I’m a fan of journaling and I think this would be great to add to it. Thanks!
Thanks Kim, and I’m a fan of journalling too!
Great mindful practice! I’ve been working on being more present (and less lost in thought) and this is a wonderful exercise to help with that.
Hi Patti,
I’m glad you like it. It’s interesting that you brought up presence and being less lost in thought, I’ve been experimenting with ways of using noticing to be more aware of my thinking and tracking thinking patterns. I’ll post about that later, I’m sure! Cheers.
A wonderful practice, a beautiful way to be more present. An added bonus for me after the noticing session was that I became more observant which helped my writing. It opened me up to so many colors, shapes feelings and sounds, adding another dimension to my writing.
Hi Ciara,
That’s so good to hear! Noticing as a practice has transformed my relationship to writing in many ways, but that increase in ability to notice details is my favourite!
Thank you for this noticing reminder! I loved your previous post about it and then promptly (and quite unmindfully) forgot all about it. It fits right in with the work I am doing with myself this week. Noticing the signals my body is giving me, and instead of ignoring and pushing through, actually stopping to listen and respond.
Yet, this idea of noticing every little sensation, even to the way my clothes feel when they touch my body… I love this! That is really getting in touch. Will give it some practice today. Thank you Dave
You’re welcome, Sarah!
I love that you include the sensation of your clothes as one of the points of contact, it’s so great to notice details at that subtle level, it’s like discovering new worlds, except they’ve always existed right here!
Really enjoyed reading this blog and all the comments as I sat in my Yogibo… have you heard of this? I had been wishing to have an ergonomic writing environment and would play with inventions in my mind every so often. One day while running an errand at the Mall I walked by a store I had never seen before – filled with a variety of colorful overstuffed beanbag “chairs.” Overstuffed being the operative word, because that was the answer to my dream — and I’m realizing now that in a harried frame of mind I could easily have missed this store that was tucked away in a corner of the Mall.. lucky me, it happened to be a time I was feeling more playful and carefree, enjoying the moment with no big agenda in mind, just a gentle errand running sort of day. Your blog, Dave – also reminded me of Natalie Goldberg’s 10 minute writing technique that is similar to morning pages that you mention at the end.
Hi Lori,
A Yogibo! sounds like the Best Thing Ever!
Here’s my horrible secret … I suck at morning pages!
But in an odd way, this failure was the seed for my noticing practice. I love Natalie Goldberg, and dip into ‘Writing Down The Bones’ all the time.
This is fantastic advice!
I’ve been practicing mindfulness meditation for over a year now… and like you said, it comes with many gifts.
For me, the biggest gift has been noticing that certain environmental factors trigger headaches and anxiety.
I’ve never done this while writing though. Hm…
Hi Amit,
“For me, the biggest gift has been noticing that certain environmental factors trigger headaches and anxiety.” That’s great. It’s amazing how much is going on just below the surface, waiting for us to notice it. Practicing meditation for a year–that’s a good solid practice, I bet you’re getting a lot of benefit from that.
Yes, I’ve definitely noticed that focusing on the sensations in my body is a great way to bring my mind out of distracting thoughts of the past and future and onto the task that is in front of me in this moment. It might even be considered a “productivity tool” that is more effective than, say, having lots of color-coded folders.
Hi Chris,
I’m with you! I love color-coded folders, but they don’t help if you’re not in the right frame of mind. Presence can definitely be a precursor to productivity.