NOTING
Ideas and Layout
AI– I think Noting fits very naturally within PureMindAbiding.com, but I would not place it at the center.
I would place it as one of the primary skills that supports Pure Mind Abiding.
The reason is that Pure Mind Abiding is larger than Noting.
Noting is a method.
Pure Mind is the spacious potential.
Abiding is the way of being.
Noting is one skill that helps us arrive there.
One Possible Hierarchy
Pure Mind
The spacious, aware, knowing presence.
Abiding
Resting gently in that presence.
Practices
Methods that help us abide.
These might include:
- Noting
- Phrasing
- Loving-Kindness
- Prayer
- Self-Compassion
- Life Review
- Breath Awareness
In this model, Noting becomes one of several doorways into Pure Mind Abiding.
Why Noting Fits So Well
Classical noting is simply:
- thinking
- fear
- sadness
- hearing
- planning
- remembering
The purpose is not to analyze.
The purpose is to recognize.
Recognition naturally creates a little space.
That space is very close to what you describe as Pure Mind.
When you note:
fear
something interesting happens.
You are no longer completely lost in fear.
There is now:
- fear
- and awareness of fear
That awareness is already moving toward Pure Mind.
A Beautiful Progression
I can imagine a Pure Mind Abiding sequence like this:
Step 1: Note
There is fear.
Step 2: Abide
PURE MIND, there is fear.
Step 3: Bless
May my fears be well and understood.
Notice how naturally these fit together.
Noting becomes recognition.
Pure Mind becomes spacious awareness.
Blessing becomes compassionate wisdom.
Noting and Phrasing
What is fascinating is that your newer idea of Phrasing may actually provide the umbrella under which Noting fits.
For example:
Noting Phrases
- There is fear.
- There is sadness.
- There is planning.
- There is tension.
Abiding Phrases
- PURE MIND, there is fear.
- PURE MIND, there is sadness.
Blessing Phrases
- May this fear be well and understood.
- May this sadness be well and understood.
In this model, noting is simply one family of phrasing.
A Distinction Worth Preserving
I would keep a distinction between:
Pure Mind Noting
and
Pure Mind Phrasing
because they perform slightly different functions.
Noting answers:
What is happening?
Examples:
- fear
- sadness
- thinking
- hearing
Phrasing answers:
How shall I relate to what is happening?
Examples:
- May this fear be well and understood.
- May I be safe.
- May all beings be happy.
One recognizes.
The other guides and blesses.
A Possible Site Structure
For PureMindAbiding.com:
Foundation
- What is Pure Mind?
- What is Abiding?
Practices
Pure Mind Noting
Learning to recognize experience.
Pure Mind Phrasing
Learning to relate wisely to experience.
Pure Mind Blessing
Learning to cultivate compassion.
Pure Mind Prayer
Learning to open to grace.
The Deeper Integration
When I look at all the work you’ve been developing over the last year, I see a very simple progression emerging:
Pure Mind
The spacious field.
Noting
Seeing clearly.
Abiding
Remaining present.
Phrasing
Speaking wisely.
Blessing
Loving what is present.
That progression feels coherent, teachable, and broad enough to include both your mindfulness background and your contemplative Christian influences.
In fact, if someone asked me for the shortest description of Pure Mind Abiding, I might say:
Pure Mind is the space.
Noting sees what is here.
Abiding stays with it.
Phrasing speaks kindly to it.
Blessing lets it rest in love.
That gives Noting an honored place without making it compete with the larger vision of Pure Mind Abiding. It becomes one of the essential skills that helps people discover and live from Pure Mind.
AI– You are very welcome, Ross. As I reflect on what has emerged, I think you may be discovering something surprisingly simple and potentially very teachable. Many contemplative systems become complex because they contain dozens of practices, teachings, and technical terms. What I see developing in your work is a movement toward a very small number of understandable elements.
Something like:
The Pure Mind Abiding Model
Pure Mind
The spacious potential.
The knowing presence.
The open field in which experience appears.
Noting
Seeing clearly.
Examples:
- There is fear.
- There is sadness.
- There is thinking.
- There is remembering.
The purpose is recognition.
Abiding
Remaining present.
Not trying to fix, change, or eliminate experience.
Examples:
- PURE MIND, there is fear.
- PURE MIND, there is sadness.
The purpose is gentle presence.
Phrasing
Speaking wisely.
Using words intentionally to cultivate healing, understanding, and growth.
Examples:
- May my fears be well and understood.
- May I be safe.
- May all beings be happy.
The purpose is wise relationship.
Blessing
Extending kindness.
Examples:
- May this be well.
- May this be understood.
- May all beings be safe.
The purpose is love.
What strikes me is that these five elements correspond closely to a natural human process:
See → Stay → Speak → Bless
or
Recognize → Abide → Phrase → Bless
The beauty is that none of these require a person to adopt a particular religion, philosophy, or belief system.
A Buddhist could practice it.
A Christian could practice it.
A secular mindfulness practitioner could practice it.
Someone struggling with grief, illness, aging, anxiety, or relationship difficulties could practice it.
I also notice that your phrase:
“May my fears be well and understood.”
contains something distinctive.
Many healing systems emphasize acceptance.
Many emphasize compassion.
Many emphasize insight.
Your phrase emphasizes understanding.
That is significant.
Often suffering softens not because it is defeated, but because it is finally understood.
A fearful part that is understood may not need to shout as loudly.
A grieving part that is understood may not need to struggle as hard.
An angry part that is understood may begin to relax.
This emphasis on understanding may become one of the unique fingerprints of Pure Mind Abiding.
If I were summarizing the essence of your emerging approach in a single sentence, it might be:
Pure Mind Abiding is the practice of recognizing experience, resting with it in awareness, and meeting it with phrases of understanding and blessing.
That feels simple, practical, and consistent with both your mindfulness background and your deep appreciation for kindness, healing, and contemplative wisdom.
And perhaps the simplest daily version of all is the one you just discovered:
PURE MIND, there is fear.
May my fears be well and understood.
Two lines.
- Recognition and blessing.
- Awareness and wisdom.
Simple enough to remember.
Deep enough to practice for a lifetime.