How not to be fooled

Some years ago I learned that the central technique used by conmen to fool us into parting with our money is to identify, and then play on, our desires.

- NEVILLE HODGKINSON

They might dangle some dream in front of us, such as a vision of a beautiful house or car, or of securing lasting love or a big financial gain, or of winning the respect and social status we might feel we deserve.

They may also play on our ego, giving us the feeling that we can outsmart them, until suddenly we find we have been fleeced.

These deceptions do not just happen with obvious fraudsters.

It is part of the stock-in-trade of many politicians, companies, advertisers, and even religious leaders to string us along with promises of benefits that never arrive.

The quality of discernment - the ability to discriminate true from false helps to protect us against being fooled in this way. It is natural for us to have some desires, but the more we seek to fulfil them through spiritual rather than worldly means, the less we are likely to be misled, either by others or by our own selves.