Why would you want to be more absorbed with yourself? I think most people have the opposite problem of not being aware of their surroundings because they are too busy inside their own heads. I have witnessed people hunting and walking right past the game they are looking for because they are not paying attention. People at the poker table too busy thinking about their own hand that they miss blatant indications of weakness from their opponent. People in business spend so much time focussed on what they are doing that they ignore their customers.

I think it is far better to practice being aware of your surroundings and what is changing. You should intuitively know what you are doing, it is what other people are doing that changes your choices. In most endeavors I think you are best served by knowing what is happening around you rather than what is happening in your head.  

I think most people really do have little awareness of the workings of their own thoughts.

One of the things I seem to have 'trained' my mind to do is to have a running review of what I am hearing from someone speaking to me, including my own processing of the words, so I catch myself when I may have jumped to a hasty conclusion about the meaning of what is being said. This is triggered when it stops making sense, so I try and do a 'rewind' while the words are still in short term memory. This seems to help me avoid making some of the more silly mistakes. It works to some extent while taking in visual information as well. Try and pick up on some odd perception while you are in a position to re-check what it might have been, before it has been processed too much, and much of the raw information thrown away.

it is also important to be aware of your own gut reactions to things, and be able to force yourself to re-examine something when there could be a possibility you have jumped to a hasty conclusion. And be very skeptical of intuition.

I have found learning as much as possible about the latest scientific research on how our minds/brains work, and how they can misfire, as distinct from how we think they work, is extremely useful in understanding both my own failings and how to judge and deal with information from, and the behavior of, other people.

You say, people think of themselves more important for the world than they are? Interesting. I haven't seen that yet, but I'm not good observer of people. Furthermore, every time I tried to act like someone of common importance for the world, I failed. It's not like myself. To be myself, I have to behave like someone with above-average potential of achieving great things, otherwise I get in trouble. Looks like people should be aware how important they can be, not more and not less. Some people are potentially important, regardless how small statistical occurence it is, and for the good of world and themselves they should not underestimate their purpose. That would be in my case a false modesty, hypocrisy, lazines and neglectfulness, to not realize fully such a greater potential and neglect the work that might be done.

That was pretty obvious when I worked at car factory, I worked with women mostly and naturally there was a lot of gossip, slanders, ill will, narkery, refusal of cooperation among workers, bad mood, and even some religious bigotry. But seriously, I saw almost none of that. I planted among the workers seeds of good will, cooperation, friendship, fun, tolerance and never any judgement or condemnation. Frankly, I loved the gossips and I'd like to hear them even about me, such a boredom there was at work. And if someone there did something ugly, it raised rather my interest in a pathologies of mind, rather than hate towards that person. I know, hippie ballad of flower power again, but can't help it.

So shortly said, an observer in my case influences the observed object too much to be sure about anything. The most I know about real people is from hearsay.

What I have noticed about myself is that, when I am engaged in a discussion (either on a forum, chatroom, or in person) I don't take a solid standpoint on any idea. It's kind of funny that you noticed that so early in my membership, BobSpence. I actually do love asking questions. You might disagree with that practice, but I use the information I get from the answers for my own purpose. Instead of trying to openly solidify my own ideas TO other people (which seems to be the common practice on this website), I will absorb the ideas OF other people and ponder on them for days, weeks, months even. I enjoy taking extreme ideas, posing them as questions, and getting the whatever response I get. Positive, warm and fuzzy; or negative and mean - it doesn't really matter to me. I use that information to formulate my opinions on human behavioral psychology, interpersonal communication, and the human interaction as a whole. I fully understand that the things I say are ridiculous and far fetched, but that's okay because I'm looking for specific information. 

I went on a bit of a tangent after I mentioned you, BobSpence. My original point was that I don't hold a bias towards either end of a discussion or debate. I actually love watching and formulating a possible reply to the statements of all parties involved. Will I reply? No, for some reason whenever I enter a debate it tends to get messier than it needs to be. But that does include throwing in the occasional off the wall question just to stir the pot, and sometimes an appropriate question to get clarity or further understand a subject. It's wonderful! But as far as sharing my opinions? Any one person will only see my true opinions when I share the things I value most - loyalty, respect, honesty, kindness, family, and friends. Otherwise, it's all open for interpretation. 

That's my self-awareness speech. 8D How'd I do?!

You don't have to be sweet and remind me that you're not trying to pick on me - if you do pick on me then I welcome it. The accusations I make and being unclear is part of the way I learn best. Again, it's hard for me to explain it but I learn by sitting on the sidelines and watching the game, and every once in a while I'll throw in my statements just to get a rise out of people. 

I'm not trying to be logical, I'm trying to be ridiculous. I want your opinions and I want your ideas. By presenting to you wild accusations and allegations and hearing your responses, I'm able to use your responses to formulate my own set of ideas and do research on them. 
 

I don't need admiration. Just continue doing what you're doing. If you see me saying something stupid, then argue it. I'm enjoying it, really, I am.