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Jon's avatar

"Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out." - Thich Nhat Hanh

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Notice and Return's avatar

Wonderful quote. I find myself re-visiting his writing on a weekly basis. RIP, Thay.

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Alex Greenwood's avatar

Brilliant post, thank you for sharing. Such a great exercise - I have just grabbed a sticky note to create the constant reminder that these stories are just stories!

I am a big fan of this topic and like you say - awareness, letting go and coming back to self is one of the most important things we can ever do in our lives.

Looking forward to reading more from you!

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Notice and Return's avatar

Thank you for the comment, Alex! I'm glad you found it useful, and I appreciate the support.

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Alexander Granath's avatar

Interesting piece! Totally reminded me of the value of remembering to remember. “Notice and return”, such an accurate and inviting way also to frame meditative practice in a way that might make more people open to giving it a go.

Looking forward to the next piece!

Subscribed ✅

By the way, I just launched my weekly newsletter called Mindful Monday. Reflections and insights for a more inspired start to the week. Would love some feedback and support.

All the best!

/Alexander

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Notice and Return's avatar

Thank you for your comment and feedback, Alexander - it’s much appreciated. I will check out Mindful Monday later today. Best wishes!

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Ian DM Taniels's avatar

Thank you. I have a pretty positive and motivated inner monologue, but some of your paragraphs are very very valuable advice that many people sorely need.

What do you think of the studies suggesting that some percentage of people do not have an inner monologue? Just a thought that crossed my mind.

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Notice and Return's avatar

Ian, thank you for reading, and thank you for the comment. I've only met a few people who have an overly positive inner monologue, and I am happy to meet another! Was it this way your entire life, or did you have to work at it?

As far as people who have no inner monologue - I've heard stories, but I've never met one. I have been told a funny story by a friend who, while attending a retreat, witnessed the teacher dissect (with questions) a fellow participant's claim that they had no inner narrative. Long story short, it turned out this wasn't the case - they were just so identified with the voice in their head, they didn't realize it was always going! I may write about it in a future article because it's quite entertaining.

Thanks again for reading!

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