A major precept of vipassana meditation is the need for increased awareness: specifically, a movement from gross awareness to subtle awareness. It is truly a wonderful thing, this refinement of sense. Often I will try to practice it in every area of my life: I try to really taste food, really hear music, climb with complete awareness of the subtle shifts of weight, really look at a scene around me, etc At other times, I have much less awareness. What changes? One main thing: the level of mental noise (as the saying goes: the moon only appears when the water is still). And the mental noise is directly related to the level of self-obsession (thank-you Kev for reminding me of this). You would think that this increased awareness would come with the price of increased attachment. I don’t think this is the case. For example, if you have truly appreciated the taste of your first piece of chocolate, what need is there for a repetition? Does that sound right?
What else affects your awareness? Drugs, stress, addiction, tiredness (a useful list to make perhaps?)
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