Currently i equate apperception to that quality of perception one finds in a PCE, which one always has but is obscured by a self. why is apperception the mind being aware of itself, though? i don't see how being in a PCE equates to the mind aware of itself, i.e. "The potent combination of attentiveness – fascinated reflective contemplation – and sensuousness produces apperception, which happens when the mind becomes aware of itself." [1]

I think by 'the mind becoming aware of itself' he just means the brain becoming aware of itself in operation, the brain not being seperate from the senses:



;)