What are the benefits of self-awareness?

There are a few. But the most important ones are those who let you gain some control of your reactions toward an unpleasant situation. Being self-aware in those situations allows you to (reSelf awareness has the potential to act as a feedback mechanism within a stream of consciousness that can, if applied properly, lead to a happier existence for both the individual, and betterment of his or her society. Happiness means many different things to people, but in this case I refer specifically to breaking negative patterns that cause suffering. Self-awareness is essential in disrupting these negative patterns of behavior. How it does that is another question, with a much longer answer which has, fortunately, already been addressed by many great teachers throughout history. The problem is, not enough people have sufficient self-awareness to realize the benefits of those teachings. Ironic, isn’t it?)act out of a more holistic point of view. Just imagine you have a fight with your wife/husband and she “activates” your egoic aggressivness. If you are not enough self-aware in this moment you will throw words into her/his face you will regret later on and maybe it also can destroy your relationship.

However if you are self-aware in this situation you will realise that your wife/husband just acts out of their egoic state of consciousness and that you are also start to act out of your egoic state. This realisation leads to a broader picture of the situation, f.e. you see that it’s just about the little problem who takes the trash out. After this self-aware review of the situation it’s rather hilarious instead of life-threatening and evil.

Self-awareness also allows you to let opinions and verbal abuse flow through you without you feeling attacked. This can lead to a more appropriate reaction and maybe to an even more wonderful relationship.

Though this is just one aspect of self-awareness, it’s the one we struggle the most with, being attacked by another human being who reacts out of their egoic state of mind.