How do i integrate the philosophy of self awareness with the philosophy of...

[destin_lite]

...selflessness? I see two paths, one is self awareness and the the other is selflessness. One cannot exist without the other, and yet it seems both cannot be practiced at the same time.

To be self aware, you reflect upon your experiences and gain new insights as you learn more about yourself. You continue doing this increasingly becoming more aware of how the self can relate to the universe in a sort of manner that allows for infinite growth so long as the self chooses to never deny itself anything.

Then there is selflessness, to lose all reason, all connection to ideas. It would be like you almost don't exist without a concept of self. Even the pursuit of selflessness couldn't have been initiated without the self becoming aware of the concept of selflessness in the first place.

I don't understand why selflessness is desirable. It would be like giving everything up for nothing.
I feel like I am part of everything I have experienced, and all of it including the suffering is responsible for leading me to the point when I would arrive at these realizations so I don't understand why it would be desirable to let all that go, since selflessness would be to let go of reason, even the reason of how we understand ourselves.

Is selflessness even practical?
I also forgot to mention that In the beginning attempts to let go of reason, one becomes aware of the true self free from reason so selflessness is also integral to self awareness. I feel myself existing between the two states and not knowing if that's how it was meant to be.
Really good answers, I guess when people talked about selflessness I thought they meant they really wanted to disassociate with everything they have ever known but now I understand the balance. Thanks!