that's an interesting point. spirituality as it relates to success in trading (or success in anything; life in general). personally, i have absolutely no use for spirituality. i don't have spiritual goals (what exactly is a "spiritual goal" anyway?) and i don't NEED to feel spiritually connected. now, i'm not saying that spirituality is worthless (although to ME it is), but i am questioning whether it is NECESSARY to living a happy, successful life and to being a successful trader. since i already enjoy a happy life and, by my measure, have already enjoyed a good deal of success, and, for the time being, am trading profitably, my answer would be NO, spirituality is not a requirement. of the books mentioned above, i have read the Bhagavad Gita. i don't really wish to offend anybody (although i almost undoubtedly will), if it was left up to me, i'd rename it "Bagofwind Gita". (-->this is MY truth, no getting upset on me now commisso!) too much esoteric prose to really be of much value as tool for personal growth. of all i have heard and read of "eastern" philosophy, it simply doesn't compare to "western" methods like hpynosis and neuro-linguistic programming as a method of effecting changes in oneself.
Just responding to Daniel's comments from earlier about spirituality... I feel like we all get caught up in labels some times...this is spiritual that isn't. As far as I'm concerned you can't separate spirituality from life. It is life. And as far as Daniel not having room for spirituality - it sounds like you are already living a spiritual life just by the fact that you are happy and doing something you enjoy - who cares what you call it. As far as the Bhagavad Gita goes it has some brilliant lessons for traders - sure it needs to be reworded in a modern context but its teachings are sound. One good one is the lesson about non attachment to the fruit of your actions - sounds just the same to me as 'when you are trading don't focus on making money, focus on making a good trade'. Here's a whacky one for you: In the Indian scriptures there is this story about a young kid who wants to be a great archer, he's just a poor village kid, and he goes to the school of this great master archer to ask the master to teach him. The master is the teacher of the royal princes and he's too busy to teach the kid so he tells him to beat it. Undeterred the kid makes a statue of the master out of clay and mud and starts meditating on it every day. Every day as he absorbed himself in meditation on the master he would come to understand a new secret about being a great archer and as the days and months went by he became the greatest archer in the land. One day there was a competition and the royal princes were competing. Our boy won hands down and displayed such skill, in fact skill that would only have been imparted by a great master, that everyone was flabbergasted. The master himself saw the display of the boy's skill and asked him how he had come to be such a great archer. Why master you taught me said the boy. The royal princes flew into a rage because they thought the master had taught the boy secrets that they hadn't taught them but the master denied having taught the boy a thing. When the boy explained what had happened the master was so taken by the boys devotion and dedication that he took him under his wing and the boy became his greatest student. OK replace archery with trading, and know that all the great Market Wizards are too busy to mentor us common folk, is it worth a shot at meditating on who? Buzzy Schwarz, Linda Raschke ?? Who would you meditate on? Whacky I know but these are desperate times!!
Well 'Cator, as far as I'm concerned, you are decidedly wrong. The word spirituality has a specific meaning in the english language. so if we want to express a certain idea and make it understandable to others, we need be carefully select the words we use - lest the meaning we desire to impart be distorted. If YOU wish to equate spirituality with life itself, that is your choice. To ME (and the english speaking world) "spirituality" implies the existance of a "soul", and has religious undertones; concepts which I reject outright as baseless. being happy and living a spiritual life are not synonymous or inherently connected. our emotions are simply part of the greater genetic pleasure/pain mechanism which helps to keep us alive.
I take your point about the way I used the word spiritual but in some ways I think your comment just reinforced what I said - that we get caught up in labels. To you spirituality has religious connotations... to me it is fairly practical application of certain truths/wisdom that enables me to do the inner work of mastering emotions so that the inherent power, joy, happiness that I have inside me can infuse everything I do. Trading is a great battle ground for that quest because of the challenge it presents in overcoming STUFF. NLP to "effect changes in oneself" seems like exactly the same quest. All the best Indie
the book "tao of physics" changed my view on the market for the better. i HIGHLY rec it to anyone with an open mind. best, suRf
dan, you are an interesting person--- straight logic and rationality with none of the spiritual. did you have to train yourself for this ability or did it just come naturally ? please don't take this question the wrong way. i mean it sincerly. best, surf
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes by King Solomon. Richest man ever. Lots of good information. Like having a tutor who knows everything.
and know that all the great Market Wizards are too busy to mentor us common folk Not to be picky or anything, but this is a tad untrue. Ed Seykota takes on new clients. Scott Kaminski takes on new clients. It's true, Kaminski isn't technically a "Market Wizard", however, he worked for Tudor Investment Corporation, for eight years and coached/mentored Paul Tudor Jones. It's also true that neither of these people come cheap. Still their number one criteria is working with people who are committed to being the best traders they can be, which means developing a relationship with the client. It's not unheard of for a top coach to interview a potential client and decline to take them on, if they feel they're not ready. But if you've got your stuff together, they are approachable... even to us common folk. ::grins:: A related link: http://www.innerworth.com/iwinfo/coaching.asp?r=d