While meditating, I start noting the rising and falling like you teach.
But when I completely follow noting the mind, I usually never go back to the noting rising and falling during the 10 to 20 minute meditation.
Do I have to force my way back at some point?
Well, no, but I think what you do have to consider is whether you are prompting.
This is a common problem for meditators.
That makes us prescribe a specific technique of returning to the rising and falling every time you finish noting something.
So you make a kind of a conscious decision
whether or not you'll actually be able to carry it out, to return to the rising and falling.
If you're not able to, if there's more experiences to be noted, then you can note them.
There's no need, absolutely you shouldn't force your way back.
But the problem is that some people actually prompt the next one.
In a sense they're asking the question,
What else?
What's there?
They're actually looking to find something as opposed to simply responding to something that is distracting them from the stomach, from the rising and falling.
So you should look at it that way.
If it's not distracting you,
from the rising and falling but the only reason you would acknowledge it is if it's distracted you if it's already captured your attention you shouldn't be hopping from one experience to another
in the sense of looking for the next one.
To avoid this, after you've acknowledged thinking, thinking, your next move should be to return to the rising and falling.
The only reason you wouldn't is if you were in a sense interrupted, noting thinking, thinking, by pain, for example, or by an emotion, for example.
if something else catches your attention while you are in the process of acknowledging the thought or the experience.
Otherwise, the prompting will lead to increased distraction, increased restlessness.
It's not actually conducive to insight.
It's certainly not inclusive to concentration, which is an important part of the practice.
So no forcing, but intentional returning whenever possible, just to keep yourself focused and keep yourself from prompting, from jumping, intentionally.