Acharya Prashant explains that we live in a state of doubt and fear. When we experience these states, we tend to say, "I am in doubt" or "I am fearful." We feel certain that the state of doubt or fear is our own internal state. We do not think of doubt, fear, and all other mental states as external superimpositions. Instead, we proudly and with great certainty internalize them. We don't even say, "Doubt is coming to me," or "I am experiencing fear." We simply say, "I am afraid." When you are experiencing any of these mental states, you must know that the experiencer is not you. This is because the Self (Atma) cannot experience them. Since you do experience fear and doubt, it means that the experiencer is not the Self. Therefore, we do not live in the Self. Our immediate reality is the ego-driven mind, which constantly experiences things like comparisons, fear, jealousy, insecurity, happiness, sadness, regrets, and hopes. When you experience these things, there is no need to attest to them as being internal or of the Self (Atmik). They are just experiences. You do not need to actively disown these states; it is enough to not own them. You should not label these states as yours. Instead of saying, "The afraid one is me," you can see them as "states of the mind." The trick suggested by the sage is that the moment you see these things, call them out as fake. Since they are not the Self, they are not real. By calling them fake, you deny them respect and energy, as energy comes from identification. When you refuse to grant them entry by not associating them with "I," you starve them of energy, and they will eventually fall off. The ego's greatest fantasy is to be called the Truth, and it finds it humiliating to be called by its real name, ego. The sage is cautioning against this, advising to let the mind remain the mind.