It may seem like these two schools of thought are in contradiction to each other. Thought free awareness observers the content or the situations in our lives. Allowing the spacious observation to allow the problem to pass through into the oblivion of which it came removing the glue that holds the old belief in place and is seen as complete in itself. Or you decide I want to change this pattern causing the limitation so my life improves. Then follow the steps, Identify, face, and replace. These two ways of working with stuck energy are a perfect combination of living free and not at all in contradiction to each other. If fact I think they are both very helpful to use together.
For example, you have a strong feeling that the mind wants to make a problem. Someone you love has rejected you or fallen short of your expectations of being the caring partner you expect. You have been studying thought-free awareness and you allow yourself to be objectively observing this feeling without resistance. You keep the body relaxed and stay open and welcoming of the experience of hurt. You have learned to resist or blame or fight to change the situation is just a way to stay stuck in old programming causing yet another cycle, to fall prey to more and more experiences of the same caliber.
Maybe the hurt becomes more than you want to allow so you have also learned how to change patterns by changing old limiting beliefs and information by identifying, accepting for a moment the pain, facing the situation you are in, probably for the umpteenth time, and then replace the old painful information. You question what should I do? This can confuse thinking you have to choose one or the other.
Thought-free awareness is in-depth for facing and accepting, as in the second step to changing patterns. In the first step, identification eventually becomes less important when more surrender to what is has evolved. There is no substitute for fulling allowing what is as-is. The deeper this part is allowed the more successful, the more natural the emerging of the replacement. With this deep acceptance, our natural state is available, the true self can then emerge and the open heart full of trust, openness, love, gratitude, and true respect is revealed. With acceptance, deep acceptance of what is in this moment brings the necessary surrender of the false self to take a back seat. You may notice your perspective of the reason for the hurt has completely changed. You are more available to care for what your loved one is going through. Maybe you can be interested in what they need when there is less self-concern. Love becomes more unconditional and less about how they should be there for our unmet needs. The act of full acceptance is the self-love needed to free yourself from deeply held expectations.
Please let me know if you would like to have some support in combining these two amazing modalities for learning to trust what comes and letting go of the demand that life accommodate your ideas of what should be. Letting go of this control opens life to its exquisite beauty.