Are friendly people cheating us? Wanting something to sell us with their smile?

Humans have, in their long history of evolution, developed a lot of various tools and tricks to survive. These ways are still in use, even though they are very basic and often primitive. These survival tricks meanwhile are highly sophisticated and are reaching out into fields far of the reach of an average consumer. People are like sheep in their awareness and follow blind manipulations of those who know exactly which button to push. With the result of destruction, not only of the health of people, but of our whole environment. This is more and more visible and people start to be worried and then giving the fault to outside reasons, not being able and willing to look at themselves. To find out, that we are all causing destruction with our behavior. People are in their majority like sheep, following introduced wishes, dreams and concepts, that promise happiness and fulfillment. Centuries of manipulation has created a fake reality that people are trying to live and this in the first place is based on material aspects and on top of this there are various kinds of belief systems, that satisfy the need for a 'higher sense'.

Indeed: It is time to wake up and we can start with our consumer attitudes and habits! This is not so difficult! We are already tired enough and we know somehow that we are at the wrong track. The result is becoming every day more visible when we are feeling exhausted and sick and all those advertised ways to feel good and better doesn't work any more...

I agree: It is a good first step to be critical, not only in what we buy, but also with ourselves, looking at our motives and finding out our real needs.

Excellent question, I wish more like this would show up here at Yahoo Answers!

BeiYin

This is a great question! I must say that reading this and also the answers, that was like taking away the blinders I was wearing all my life not knowing that I had these! This is incredible! Suddenly I can see why I often come home with something I bought and not even knowing why I bought this! You are absolutely right and I ensure you, that in the future I will be much more critical! Thanks a lot!

By the way: I had some health problems, but I don't trust the health system so much with all their chemicals and so I searched for alternative ways. What I found out is that they are mostly using the same tricks as the other salesmen. They are using the need of people who are suffering to sell them their 'alternative' medication. I have some doubts now if these then are more helpful...

Well, of course this is part of the trainings of sales people, that they convince potential buyers that one can trust them, by creating a friendly atmosphere and a personal friendly contact. This works because most people are in need to receive a friendly treatment and then they open themselves and trust. But in ones life one has fallen into this trap too often and later one found out, that what one had bought is just crap and junk. If this repeats often enough, then one will start to be more critical and don't trust the beautiful package or the smiles of the salesmen. So we can see our behavior when buying as a training to become conscious about ourselves and others. Well, indeed every thing we can use as a training...

That is true that what causing us to go into the trap, is our own need. Not the need of what we really must have to take care of ourselves, but our need for attention. We still, like when we were children, see friendliness and the smiling as an expression of love. We are not aware of it, but this attitude still exist in our background and so we are reacting out of this. Not to fall into this behavior, we must become conscious about our expectations and needs, then we can trust ourselves and also don't have this infantile attitude any more. Yes, you are right: It is our self image and that is the product of long term manipulation of the same 'salesmen'. Hard to look through, because this concept is part of our personality and that is what we believe we are! But there is something that goes beyond and if we could reach and realize it, then we will be out of the primitive reach of those who want our money...

Good question, we should think about it more... Thank you!

One person at the other question had answered: "...we can trust but we must be so sharp and clever while buying..." Yes, we must be very clever, but how can we be more clever than the salesmen who can hire the best experts who then tell the seller which button they must push? They have studied their profession in depth and we are not able to do the same. So it seems, Bomoon is right when she writes that we need to clear up our unconscious background, then we can see what is used to make us to brave buyers. We are all fools in our buying behavior, but we should do something about it, because we are not only wasting our energy spending money for rubbish, but often also damage our health. So you are absolutely right with your question! Let's get out of the rat racing trap...

InkyPinky is on to something when (s)he says it can be treated as training to be more conscious of ourselves and others.

To be cheated is perhaps a necessary and vital learning step in a person's growth and the evolution of consciousness. It teaches one not to be drawn in by smiling scammers. However it's also important to remain open so one can recognise the genuine smiles too! :-)

To do this one must become more conscious and train one's intuition to detect who is genuine and who is fake.

So to answer the question: "Are friendly people cheating us?" - In the short term, some friendly people may cheat us by seducing us to buy crap we don't need. But in the long run, when we realise we have been duped and see the emptiness in identifying with possessions, it teaches us a valuable and necessary lesson that raises our consciousness and improves our intuition.

So when viewed from this higher perspective, maybe they are doing us a favour!

They are stuck in the cycle of craving. Instead of looking within to figure out why they are empty, sad, generally unhappy, many people fill that emptiness or sadness with the temporary fulfillment of eating, purchasing etc. The more you do it, the more you need and the less it satisfies but its a vicious cycle. And most aren't introspective enough to realize this.