First of all: What the heck is it? Is it possible to define awareness without using the word awareness? I've investigated it thoroughly on the cushion and in daily life, and all I can really say is that awareness is awareness. Does anyone else have any insights on this?

This sort of leads into me into my second question. Is it a worthwhile practice to try to be aware of awareness, witness the witness, or watch the watcher. I've tried doing this several times when deeply concentrated, but it's thus far been too slippery an object to actually focus on. (I actually had an interesting moment when I feel like my mind played a joke on me: I was trying to turn the watcher toward itself, but couldn't do it. At the time I had lots of random imagery and visions playing in my head, so I asked myself, "if the watcher were to look in a mirror, what would it see?" Well, conveniently, from the visions going on in my mind, a mirror swooped down from the ether and placed itself right in front of "the watcher." The reflection in the mirror was another mirror. And the reflection in that mirror was the first mirror, and on and on and on to infinity. The cleverness of this brought me straight out of my concentration as I opened my eyes and said "whoa".)

Anyway, After reading around on here, it doesn't seem watching the watcher is possible, because "subject and object don't overlap," (to quote something someone said somewhere), but can this type of practice still be of use? In other words, can it lead to insight?

Lastly, I just want to say how damn awesome this site is. I didn't realize how blasé I'd become with meditation until I started reading about other people doing this kind of work. My daily practice has taken on a new focus and rigor to the point that I feel that I'm making actual progress. In fact, I feel like I'm getting close to stream entry (a feeling that I investigate just as much as any other). I have a 10-day Goenka retreat next week and I'm going into it with unparalleled intention and resolve. Did any of you post-stream enterers feel like you were getting close, or did it just come out of the blue?

Hope to hear from you all soon,
Teague

Awareness is formless, inconstant, empty in and of itself.
Try to call to mind that sense of "the watcher", and dwell with it don't waist your time trying to grab it. surrender into/to that watcher, then letting the watcher get wider more inclusive, up to pleasure, bliss. and then equanimity. you can bridge the gap from form to formless by thinking of the spaciousness and letting go of the feeling-ness of form. viola boundless space. whats conscious of space - zooming into boundless consciousnesses of occupying space. what is consciousness but really nothing. then again its neither nothing nor not quite nothing.........
check this out:
http://thehamiltonproject.blogspot.com/2011/01/yogi-toolbox-riding-jhanic-arc-via.html

i think of it as a field of luminous unlimited potential in which all things are able to be expressed

Far out. Thanks guys. I'll keep playing around with that. I think I was trying too hard to make awareness a stable object for my focus. Ross, that site was particularly interesting. I've followed your recent progress. Nice work. Like I said, this site has given me vast encouragement. 6 days and counting till my next retreat.