I believe the basis of my having found a trading system that works for me is my having committed to the direction of Proverbs 16:3 (i.e., commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans). The degree to which I’m able to build on my success is likely to be influenced by the degree to which I’m able to keep the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy in mind, which warns against making the mistake of thinking “my power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth,” and of not acknowledging that “it is Yahweh who gives…power to get wealth.” My system was actually based on the 16th chapter of Matthew, where Yeshua took the Sadducees and Pharisees to task for not being able to interpret the signs of the times; and the 12th chapter of Luke, where the Messiah admonished a crowd for not knowing how to judge the times in which they were living. So in developing my strategy, I heeded the advice of 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “testing everything and holding fast to that which is good,” which is how I ended up rejecting the use of all indicators with the exception of simple moving averages and simple moving average envelopes. I also use the moving averages and envelopes I’ve adopted in sets, heeding the advice offered in the second half of Proverbs 11:14 and 15:22 by relying on “an abundance of counselors” to make it a lot easier for my eyes to discern with confidence price’s ultimate intentions. And should I ever be so blessed as to join those considered to be rich through my trading, it’s my intention to always keep 1 Timothy 6:17 foremost in my consciousness: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
Sometimes I get so crossed up that I have to stop everything including trading. Then all there is left to do is meditate. Then I start feeling better and wonder why I just didn't start there instead of ending there.
The whole concept of time-- of time being a central problem in my thinking--was something that came about partly through trading. In other words, we spend most of our time either in the past or future, rarely in the present. The only way to really know this is to try to meditate and see how difficult it is. It's a lot like trading that way. Looks easy until you do it.
Trying to be spiritual or doing good things for others to try to be more spiritual sort of misses the point.
I started to see that I was wrong a lot, more often than I cared to admit. But through that awakening I began to see other points of view which I had previously discarded, as possibly having some truth. So that applied to everything, even religion or spirituality. I knew for instance that two people could try to use the same methodology and apply it to the markets and have different results. That's just one example. I was also exposed to some material from my mentor which taught me not to judge, but to try to find the truth in everything. He would always say that--"We don't judge." If the world kept giving him the same info, like it or not he had to acknowledge that something had changed. And I think it's that process of trying to discover something new always which showed me there was a lot more going on out there than my narrow perception was offering. And I began to think that maybe that would suffice for a beginning. So it really was a confirmation of the creative process for me, stuff that I already had in me but was just wanting to come out. And I still use it today and try not to get too far away from it.
Ed Seykota talks about getting to "Right Livelihood". I'm not sure I've ever experienced it but I feel intuitively that it is important. That is another side of spiritual life that people don't necessarily talk about. You want to be in the flow. When you aren't, especially in trading, you'll probably find it out pretty quickly, usually in losses. You have to somehow make sure that you don't have hidden conflict. He talks about how trauma of different sorts leads eventually to the subject playing out different dramas in their lives. In trading this can be tragic. Ideally you want to be able to perceive opportunity, act on it, profit from it, and repeat. But it doesn't seem to work that way for most people. If you've ever had a promising thing in front of you and been paralyzed to act, then you know what I mean, I think.
First observe that material and spiritual are opposites. At best, a financial boon would/could position you to seek a spiritual experience. On the other hand, it might work better the other way around, as some spiritual practices can improve one's predictive abilities, which can translate into cash anywhere prediction gives an edge. If a being is 100% spiritual, the experience is 0% physical. The term is misunderstood and misused. Focus on the material takes away from the spiritual experience. Speaking from experience, there may not be a balance to be found, so you do your best. If you BELieve you need finances in order before exploring spiritual experience, then you must live by that. The spiritual being knows everything, so in a spiritual existence, there are no markets which depend on an equal distribution of ignorance concerning the future.
At best, trading can train people to be more flexible in their assumptions. This is because it is best to approach spirituality with an attitude of agnosticism. One must admit one does not know. It's what "judge not" means. Too much inflexibility can doom a trader, for example, Jamie Dimon is doomed because of his bearish stance on bitcoin. Trading can only help if a mind can break free of its inflexibility, and take a long term bullish position on the existence of, and inevitable emergence of a better (spiritual) world, completely unlike a material world. Meanwhile, the act of trading is a lot like the act of hunting, and is heavy mental work, not too different from torture. One could ask, 'does texting on your cell phone distract from driving?' ...because most things people must do (solving problems) is a distraction from a return of mind to a 100% spiritual existence. Good luck trying to find a "balance". Can trick-or-treating from door-to-door help a ghost become more invisible?
easy ans: even the atheist traders among you have resorted to intense prayer in the middle of a drawdown