Yes, think of it like this: we are reading a book and our eyes see every word and we know each word as we read, and we get through two pages, yet we can't remember what we read. This happens to us all. Think about driving a car, you are driving along and your foot is on the accelerator and your hands are on the steering wheel and you go for five miles and you know that you are driving fine, you haven't hit anybody, yet you are not sure whether you have missed your turn. We were concentrated in both examples, but at the same time we were not very aware. So we can be concentrated but without awareness, without knowing what is happening.
Now in our practice, we would like to balance the two. If we get too concentrated, we forget awareness, if we don't have any concentration, then it is harder to be aware, so we need some degree of concentration in order to be aware. But it does not have to be a super lot of concentration in order to be aware, it just has to be enough.
A good example of the type of balance that we want: you have a needle and a thread; you are going to do some sewing. You have to get the thread through the hole in the needle. Probably all of you can do this. Now what happens if we start dreaming of Wat Kow Tahm or dreaming of Waldhaus, dreaming that we want to do another retreat with Steve and Rosemary as we are trying to thread the needle? If we get all sorts of thoughts in the mind, even if they are beautiful, wonderful kinds of thoughts, we are going to miss that hole, we are not combining that concentration with the awareness. So the awareness is like the movement of the hands with the needle and the thread and all, and the concentration is focusing on trying to be present with it.
If we could keep that balance of concentration and awareness throughout a whole day, that would be super, that would be really super. Generally people can't do it, of course. But that is an example of a very simple thing that almost all adults on the planet can do, a lot of kids can do as well, which needs a balance of concentration and awareness or mindfulness.
Now when you think of the word Vipassana meditation, developing insight, developing understanding, wisdom and all. We need this balance. There is also the practice of what they call Samatha meditation. Samatha meditation focuses on concentration. Basically that is it, just get concentrated, concentrated, concentrated. It often blocks out thinking, it doesn't work with thought. Many people get stuck in meditation practices with only Samatha type practices. But the minute we add more mindfulness, awareness, balance all of that, then we can move into Vipassana meditation, developing more wisdom. Buddhism teaches both, Samatha and Vipassana, but it says if you do Vipassana type practices, you don't have to practice Samatha. If you practice Samatha practices, you must also do Vipassana in order to get wisdom. It says that it is only in the Vipassana practices that we actually develop our wisdom. So with balanced concentration and awareness, we have a better chance to get wiser and overcome our Dukkha.