How do you meditate for optimizing the mind for trading?

[lindq]

Billionaire Ray Dalio attributes meditation as the biggest factor for his success.
[/MEDIA]

Meditation, if done regularly, can prepare the mind for any activity. It has nothing specifically, but everything generally, to do with trading.

In a previous life I was a teacher of TM. So I'll give you a sense of it. TM involves a mantra, which is just a simple word/sound. You can get the same idea with another word/sound.

Start by first sitting quietly in a comfortable chair. Breath easily to relax.
Close your eyes. Take it easy. Everything is done easily. Slowly and easily start to think of the word "One". Slowly and easily repeat "One" to yourself. Don't force it. Continue to repeat the word. Let it just become a thought. Slowly repeat, repeat. Now, here's the trick. When other thoughts come into your mind, don't bother with them. Don't focus on them. Just slowly, and very easily, return to "One". Don't force it. Just easily return your attention to "One". Continue the process, very easily. When you get other thoughts, just return to "One". Do it for ten minutes, and come back to awareness very slowly.

The biggest reason people fail at enjoying meditation is because of the feeling that they need to rush, or force themselves to focus on the sound/word. It should all be very, very easy.

The only magic to this is not forcing anything, but taking the time to do it regularly. What you're doing is giving your mind a point of easy focus to help it settle down to a quieter state.

It's very simple. Nothing mysterious about it.

 

[baro-san]

Meditation and trading are simple; not "deceptively simple", but simple. The problem is that if you just go through the moves, not knowing what you're doing, most likely you won't draw any benefits.

Calming is a byproduct of meditation. It isn't its goal.

The road to accomplishment: instincts -> emotions -> intellect -> intuition.

When you're controlled by instincts and emotions you fail.

The Royal Road (El Amino Real) is from intellect to intuition.

 

[Handle123]

Years ago when I was a professional bowler, I used to hang with an old-time bowling character.. who liked to say, "the mind is the devil's weapon". Certainly true in the markets... likely even more so.

IOW... you want (even desperately) success and fear losing. Everybody has that. Those conflicts can paralyze a trader both mentally and physically.

Likely can't win the trading game until you get your head straight about it.

I was born screwed up in more ways I can count, mediation just in my mind messes me up as then I over think and cause more problems that just do it. First scalp of day is the worst and then after that it like snowing falling, you can't notice one flake than the other and end of the day, can't remember anything, couldn't even say if market went up or down for the day. I find losing to be more of a frustration for 3 minutes, don't remember it end of the day.

Success is different as time, decades pass, what you thought you wanted 40 years ago is least or non-existent on my mind today. My trading today is a "180" than what it was in 1980s.

Just like Bowling has changed hugely since 1950s, my father had job as pinsetter, sitting behind and above pins, when someone knock some down, he roll ball back on a track and move pins to the side or repin but then never come out perfect like today. Between balls and lanes themselves, more changes.

One can mediate and if that helps them, great, but if one of the pins is off by an inch, will mediation help you adapt to the change?

 

[Scataphagos]

Just like Bowling has changed hugely since 1950s,

Has it ever.

Saw an interview with the great Carmen Salvino... said he was now into "the chemistry and physics" aspect of bowling.

They figured out how to engineer the ball to make it do almost automatically what years ago was difficult and required talent. (They also made the lanes "easier" and made it easier to knock the pins over, too. Little resemblance to the game I played years ago. Unfortunate, too. They made it so easy to score, that people have become bored and quit. The total membership in the men's and women's organizations has fallen to about 1 million. When I bowled the men's had 9+ million and the women's, 2.5 million.)

 

[lucyroberts123]

its all your choices.. which way you want to go. stay away from negative notions about trading.

 

[lindq]

One can mediate and if that helps them, great, but if one of the pins is off by an inch, will mediation help you adapt to the change?

I like that question! And yes, if one of the pins (or trades) is off by an inch, regular meditation will help you adapt.

That's precisely what it does. It helps to give you perspective.

 

[Handle123]

I like that question! And yes, if one of the pins (or trades) is off by an inch, regular meditation will help you adapt.

That's precisely what it does. It helps to give you perspective.

I believe some activities work if you believe in them, but I don't believe in meditation for my brain. I still do 2-4 sessions of hypnosis a year and this seems to settle chaos in my brain enough to listen. It is like pain management drugs, my brain refuses to acknowledge anything swallowed, so it is either ice or have to go to ER for IV meds. Am very allergic to hemp or smoking in general, so I try to do opposite of most by working the area that has greatest pain, it either gets worse or gets to hurt less. I have been able to do this in other areas of my body where had severe pain and after few years, just stopped hurting and have feeling in these areas. I think we often teach our brains too much of what it should feel and not enough of how to cure.

And very much in trading, people lose so often they inadvertently have taught their brain how to look for losing trades and brain feels happy as it is used to doing this, those who catch a profitable trade want to get out too soon cause the pain of being up so many ticks.

Simulated trading has limited benefits, but if they have lost correctly then only look for correct entries and positive outcomes this can alter what brain is use to be looking.

I am more into doing than thinking about it, get whatever into a habit of doing it over and over, like tying your shoe, you have done it so often, and yet if someone asked you which shoe do you tie first....LOL

Have a fun Fall weekend.

 

[Overnight]

///

Just like Bowling has changed hugely since 1950s, my father had job as pinsetter, sitting behind and above pins, when someone knock some down, he roll ball back on a track and move pins to the side or repin but then never come out perfect like today. Between balls and lanes themselves, more changes...

Bowling certainly has changed from the 1950s. You just don't see this sort of thing anymore...

 

[Frederick Foresight]

It's nearly impossible to "empty the mind". Simply sit and give no energy to any thoughts that pass. Focus on breath and calm, with practice the mind becomes calmer and more focused over time. Day trading requires one to be in the moment-recognize the signal and trade the plan- not fretting about past mistakes or worrying about what might happen. Meditation is good for trading as well as life at large.

Yes. You can't really empty your mind, you can only endeavor fill it with something else. Such as focusing on the breath, as you say.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

Meditation, if done regularly, can prepare the mind for any activity. It has nothing specifically, but everything generally, to do with trading.

In a previous life I was a teacher of TM. So I'll give you a sense of it. TM involves a mantra, which is just a simple word/sound. You can get the same idea with another word/sound.

Start by first sitting quietly in a comfortable chair. Breath easily to relax.
Close your eyes. Take it easy. Everything is done easily. Slowly and easily start to think of the word "One". Slowly and easily repeat "One" to yourself. Don't force it. Continue to repeat the word. Let it just become a thought. Slowly repeat, repeat. Now, here's the trick. When other thoughts come into your mind, don't bother with them. Don't focus on them. Just slowly, and very easily, return to "One". Don't force it. Just easily return your attention to "One". Continue the process, very easily. When you get other thoughts, just return to "One". Do it for ten minutes, and come back to awareness very slowly.

The biggest reason people fail at enjoying meditation is because of the feeling that they need to rush, or force themselves to focus on the sound/word. It should all be very, very easy.

The only magic to this is not forcing anything, but taking the time to do it regularly. What you're doing is giving your mind a point of easy focus to help it settle down to a quieter state.

It's very simple. Nothing mysterious about it.

Very good post. Yes, I have found that a chosen word mentally repeated at the exhale helps to strengthen the focus and minimize the distraction of other thoughts. This is pretty much Herbert Benson's approach in The Relaxation Response.

Simple and easy does it. No need for complexity and profundity, which is perhaps how some "gurus" justify their existence at the cost of people getting it.