There are people who practice mindfulness for twenty years and never see through the illusion that there is someone who is practicing mindfulness. Turning attention away from thoughts completely avoids the "stickiness" of thoughts altogether. Rather than attend a thought, such as "I need to remember to practice more mindfulness," which reinforces the idea that a separate someone is doing something, attention can be shifted to what's seen or heard, or to what's going on, or to pure awareness without content, etc. Shifting attention completely away from thoughts instantly cuts through the idea that someone is doing something, and stops the reinforcement of that idea. This may lead to realization more quickly than would otherwise be the case.
