If it is done with effort, it is ego

From Vipassana Explanations
  • Wow, what an insight is that. Everything I do by giving it an effort, is from the mind. Not that the mind is the enemy. The mind is great. It helps me to achieve stuff and to fit in with other people. However, the mind is opposed to being. The mind makes me forget the things around me. Therefore, if I want to go to a state of being, I need to drop all effort. Dropping all effort allows me to be. If I succeed in just being, it is easy for me to be aware. Aware of what is around me. Aware of myself. It is a great feeling that gives me a lot of satisfaction. When I am in a state of being, I hardly want anything and I enjoy being.
  • Awareness is supposed to give truth a chance. But that is just a thought. At this moment, I am just aware.
  • I just noticed that I make an effort to be aware of my thoughts and feelings. Again an effort! Wrong. This mechanism of what is right and wrong is very subtle to detect. Next phase: nothing is right or wrong, it just is.