The beginning is important. By noticing that the ego is dysfunctional, its various faces are seen. In misery you can close your eyes, breathe in and perceive the presence that is hidden. It is necessary to focus attention on the present, to see that things are not as they seem, to remove the superficial layer until detecting the presence of absence. Thus two presences appear. Discovering which one is false is the beginning. You don't have to run, it's just a matter of observing and becoming aware.
Suddenly it is discovered that the identification was lost and it is abandoned. The best way is for it to fall like dry leaves fall, doing nothing more than noticing its presence. Dry leaves are blown away by the wind.
As the power of consciousness matures, it is recognized that the ego was the cause of misfortune and that it vanishes when we stop feeding it. The mind and the ego stop ruling, they become subjects of consciousness and the presence is the true center. Presence of the Being, without identification with masks. Only consciousness and feeling placed in the present.
Meditation techniques allow us to get rid of that construction and immerse ourselves in what we share with all beings. It is another state of consciousness. But it is difficult to get rid of the ego even though you are more aware that it exists, you have to stop being its victim, learn to handle it, pay attention to the dialogue with which one speaks to oneself, explains the world and tries to make things fit into the concepts with which he accommodates the external world to the internal.
Know yourself. Freedom is the ability to have conscious acts. But rationality is limited and each observer can see another reality. There is pluralism and relativity. Constructing the true identity consumes energy, but the false identity is worse, assuming other people's plans as one's own, avoiding commitments, deferring the resolution of the crisis and falling into paralysis due to excessive analysis.
So that identity is not a dream and to avoid that, as Rousseau said: man is born free and yet everywhere he is found chained, You have to master the methodology that develops potential by choosing the best projects and models, to become the architect who designs your own destiny. The innovative creator is the best imitator God has on earth. He is the one who learned to turn his spirit into matter.