"the central obstacle to higher levels of consciousness is a phenomenon known as 'identification'…In this state man has no separate awareness. He is lost in whatever he happens to be doing, feeling, thinking. Because he is lost, immersed, not present to himself, this condition is known as a state of 'waking sleep.' When we are identified, our attention is directed outward and we are lost to ourselves. Self-awareness is then a state in which we become aware of ourselves and are no longer hypnotized by the external event before us."
http://archive.fo/poo8W