Noticing without identifying
On sensing inner experience without getting lost in it
Many people arrive at this work with a familiar tension.
They’re aware that something is happening inside them—sensations, emotions, impulses, moods—but they’re not quite sure how to stay with it without getting pulled into it.
They might wonder:
Am I supposed to feel calm?
Am I overthinking this?
If I notice something difficult, will it overwhelm me?
If I feel something strongly, does that mean I need to act on it?
These are reasonable questions.
They usually arise not because something is wrong, but because an important capacity is beginning to come online.
A capacity for inner sensing
In psychology and neuroscience, the ability to sense what’s happening inside us is often called interoception.
It refers to our capacity to notice and differentiate internal experience—sensations, emotions, impulses, levels of activation—without needing to immediately explain, fix, or act on them.
You don’t need to remember the word.
This capacity is also closely related to what’s often called mindfulness—especially when mindfulness is understood not as calming the mind or managing attention, but as the ability to be present with experience as it is.
Different traditions emphasize different aspects. In scientific language, interoception highlights sensing what’s happening inside the body. In contemplative language, mindfulness emphasizes awareness and relationship. In practice, they often converge.
What matters is what you can actually notice: being able to sense what’s happening inside you, as it’s happening, with some degree of space.
Noticing is different from identifying
One of the most important—and often relieving—distinctions in this work is this:
Noticing something doesn’t mean becoming it.
Feeling sadness doesn’t mean you are sad.
Sensing tension doesn’t mean something is wrong.
Noticing desire doesn’t mean you have to act on it.
Awareness creates relationship.
When we can notice experience without immediately identifying with it, something subtle but important shifts. There is more room. More choice. More responsiveness.
This isn’t about distancing yourself from experience.
It’s about being with it, rather than being inside it.
Why this matters for aliveness
Aliveness speaks in many ways.
Sometimes it feels like warmth, curiosity, or ease.
Sometimes it shows up as resistance, numbness, or agitation.
Sometimes it’s quiet, ambiguous, or hard to name.
If we don’t have the capacity to notice these signals without getting overwhelmed or reactive, we tend to either:
push them away
override them
analyze them endlessly
or act on them prematurely
Over time, this can dull our sensitivity and erode trust in our inner sensing.
This isn’t about doing it “right”
It’s important to say this plainly:
There is no correct way to notice.
Noticing can feel clear or vague.
It can be calm or charged.
You might notice something distinctly—or simply sense that something is there.
All of that counts.
The capacity to notice without identifying isn’t something we force or perfect. It develops gradually through gentle attention, safety, and relationship.
Much of this work—whether through writing, invitations, or conversation—is oriented toward creating the right conditions for that capacity to grow naturally.
A small, optional experiment
If you’re curious, you might try this sometime:
When you notice a sensation, feeling, or impulse arising, see if you can simply acknowledge it: Something is happening here.
You don’t need to name it precisely.
You don’t need to understand it.
You don’t need to act on it.
Just notice what it’s like to stay present with experience for a few moments longer than usual.
And then return to your day, noticing what stays with you.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
— Viktor Frankl
