Nature of Direct Experience I have observed that during contemplation, there are periods where attention is on the object, a kind of basic awareness. Then, there are periods where thoughts emerge, based on the object, a kind of cognition of the object. 

Then, there seems to be periods where cognitions unrelated to an object within experience occur; these would be be as mind-wandering or speculation. 

My question is: Are those cognitions and fabrications unrelated to direct experience precisely what one tries to counter in Buddhism? 

I have the impression that if I cognized only direct experience through awareness, and produced only object-related cognitions, that I would diminish wrongness and inefficiency in the mind greatly.

Thank you
You might want to study the Structural Defferential. It is a map of the process of abstraction of our nervous system. It was created by Alfred Korzybski, a pioneer in the field of General Semantics.



The basic awareness you're mentioned in your question refers to the silent levels of awareness. This experience of direct awareness of the whole is also called Gestalt.

In Buddha's spiritual path one tries to see and stop the process of "I" making and "mine" making in his mind. That's what I know theoretically.