Zen and The Art of Trading

This is just what I needed a this stage (I am not sure the aha moments would have come 6 months ago), I just finished reading the material about zen in TL, now I am gonna start with this.

dbphoenix said:
Since there is so much essential information in the early part of this thread, and since it's not on the Hall of Fame list, and since no one has posted to it for five years, and since it's practically impossible to find unless one already knows where it is, I'm bumping it.

Those who seek calm in their trading, particularly those who are continually battling fear, will find this thread helpful. It may in fact save their trading lives.

The rules don't get finished until post 448, but the author shows up in post 308 (that sort of thing was not uncommon back in the day).

Db
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I've been trading on PA on and off for the past 10 years, meditation has always been a part of my life, I'm not sure if there is a direct connection between meditating and trading, but I do know meditation increases ones sense of calm, reduces stress and anxiety, which often lead to bad decision making, and gives you a greater strength of mind to keep your discipline. That said I don't think meditation alone is going to be the key factor to successful trading.
 
zenkick said:
I've been trading on PA on and off for the past 10 years, meditation has always been a part of my life, I'm not sure if there is a direct connection between meditating and trading, but I do know meditation increases ones sense of calm, reduces stress and anxiety, which often lead to bad decision making, and gives you a greater strength of mind to keep your discipline. That said I don't think meditation alone is going to be the key factor to successful trading.
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The key factor, no. But it's up there. I doubt that anyone who had been bouncing off the walls and then learned to adopt a sense of calm would go back.

But you never know.
 
I have been reading this thread, and is just great to see how things look so different now from when I saw them months ago. I guess is the process of understanding that once you get the theory together you still need to deal with yourself :) .
 
zenkick said:
I've been trading on PA on and off for the past 10 years, meditation has always been a part of my life, I'm not sure if there is a direct connection between meditating and trading, but I do know meditation increases ones sense of calm, reduces stress and anxiety, which often lead to bad decision making, and gives you a greater strength of mind to keep your discipline. That said I don't think meditation alone is going to be the key factor to successful trading.
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Off hand, I can think of two direct connections but there are probably many more.

One is that meditation ( or any of a number of similar techniques) tone down the banter inside the mind allowing one to perceive more focused and clearly what is going on in the markets. Like anything, flow helps success but is not sufficient.

Secondly, stress is an ever present issue in trading especially using large leverage. Mediation has been shown to reduce stress and lengthen lives. Exercise has recently been shown to lengthen telomeres - a truly astounding discovery!

I don't meditate but I exercise (hard usually) almost every day. Anything that trains focus will help my trading IMO.

I am aware of a "name" trader that meditates daily. He swears by it, yet I am successful without using it. Most successful traders have some method of stress relief - some drink, some view naughty pictures (see daily hottie thread), some do other things requiring focus and discipline. I exercise. I make money.
 
I was looking for the book Jack Schwagger had mentioned in his interview regarding "Zen and the Art of Trading", but I went back and took a closer look I found he was referring to "The Art of Archery" and making an allusion. So I found the correct referenced book. Thank you :)
 
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