Originally posted by Publias
Dark,
I don't really understand??? Are you saying that these concepts cannot be applied to the game of trading???
No, not saying that...maybe I was getting too macro just now.
I'm saying, for one thing, that enlightenment and detachment are byproducts of understanding, not ends unto themselves.
It's like in skeet shooting, you don't aim directly at the target, you lead the target. If you want detachment/enlightenment etc. you don't seek them directly, you seek understanding directly and when you get understanding you experience the zen thing as a benefit.
Enlightenment is not a state of mind to be pursued. It's a state of mind to be attained through logical action that leads to understanding.
There are times when I feel like the market is eating out of my hand, when I know everything that is happening, when I understand who is moving what and why, when I feel like I can anticipate every tick. It's a great (and too rare) feeling. But it is born of study and hard work and logic and understanding. If I tried to pursue it directly, I would get nowhere.
I know about that power that mystics are so crazy for, that feeling where your soul feels like an exploding sun of happiness and everything is in the most intense color you've ever seen and your body is literally vibrating with excitement and passion. But you know what the kicker is? That feeling is born of boring old logic. Those 'hallelujah' moments come from internalization of REAL TRUTH. That's where rubber meets the road and east meets west, when aristotelian logic and the passions of the mystic meet and entwine.
And thus my big beef with easterners is that by dissing logic and not pursuing the beauty of true understanding grounded in logic, they miss the jewel, the prize, the truly amazing gift. Truth is better than any and all fiction.