Like a pure, colorless gem

We are all already enlightened. It's just that the ego has a problem with being displaced, so it works hard to keep us engaged, and thus distracted from the present moment and our enligtened state.

Our minds are like pure, colorless gems or crystals. If you put the crystal up against a red cloth, it appears red, and against a blue cloth, blue, etc. But it never loses its inherent clairty, and can be returned to its natural state by allowing the background to drop away. So our minds, with their constantly shifting colors and emotions, keep us caught up in all sorts of things. Our emotions and judgments are the filters we see the world through. If you are angry, you will respond differently to a situation than if you are calm. Now, the point is not to never be angry or experience negative emotions. We are human. But, when we become angry or sad or unhappy, if we can recognize that this is just a color passing through, then we can drop a lot of what is bothering us and feel more peaceful in the moment. Even if our negative emotions feel overpowering, this is just a trick of the ego. These emotions are not our true Selves, and learning how to stay balanced and equinamous during the shifting of emotions and moods is a huge step toward dropping the ego.

This dropping of the ego is incredibly hard to describe because it is not something that can be put into words. Rather, when the ego drops away, so does language and many other forms of mind-chatter that feel normal because we are so used to them. Learning to detach from the ego is a process. It can be compared to learning Ujjayi breath or Bandha control. At first, it may not make sense and you cannot do it. Then, slowly, an understanding happens. Over time, our new abilities become our "natural state" and it's hard to remember a time when we did not know how to do these things. So, when the ego drops away at first, it may be for just one split second. Then, often, the mind kicks in, saying "HEY! Did you see that! The ego's gone!" Another trick, since this is the ego talking! Go back to the breath. Don't try to drop thoughts, just let them float past & dissolve on their own. Keep doing this, and you will gain clarity, as well as much insight into the human mind, ego, and higher Self. You will be directing your ego, instead of it directing you. And you will be able to find bliss and beauty in each moment.