Never really sure. It is important to be vigilant, to be confident we are not being taken advantage of. That is, never to lose touch with our selves, and what is good for us. We can tell by checking out the fruit. Is what we are doing, how we are living our lives, producing good things in us and the people around us?
Everyone has a belief system, religious or otherwise. There is something that is motivating us to get out of bed in the morning, to chose whether we curse or bless our neighbour. I think athiests are fooling themselves if they think they are cruising through life without a belief system.
Me, I stay away from those hypnotist fellas. Being the kind of thinker I am, at times drifting to my desk at work in the morning, not exactly sure how I got there, I believe I am in a semi-conscious state a good part of the time. Durn all that "deep thinking".