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