I wanted to share how this is helped me in my trading, which is a lot. I made a half-ass attempt to meditate for years, and would tell people I did it 4 or 5 times a week. I tried to, but rarely did I sit for over 5 minutes, and I didn't really try even when I was doing it. A thread on this forum about a meditation challenge got me interested again, and I ended up doing the meditationshift program which I highly recommend. It takes you through 21 days of ramping up your meditation time, and for me it allowed me to stick with it and now I have been meditating every day for a minimum of 20 minutes, and most days I do 40. What is critical though is I finally get what it is all about, and that is how it has helped me with my trading. Make money or lose money, I'm a bundle of nerves. I carry that stress way beyond the close, and it affects how I treat others (esp when I have a bad day). I've learned to really watch my thoughts now - I don't just go on "auto-pilot" and react to what I'm thinking, which just ended up having a snowball effect until I was mentally spent. Now I see the thoughts that lead to the stress, I see the feelings and emotions, I see the urges to get mad and pissed, and I don't have to go along with it. I'm not perfect, but I have improved tremendously. And, it affects my trading in a positive way. I want to say I think clearer, but I don't know if that is right. In fact, I don't think I can really explain it - I would not have fully understood until I actually did it and stuck with it. Anyway, I'm rambling. Check out mindfulness and meditation - I highly recommend meditationshift, but you can also just do some general research on the topic. It is amazing.
Meditation is the thing I too can say made a real difference. I always suggest the www.dhamma.org : 10hrs daily intensive for 10 days in a very supportive environment. Even people who have been meditating regularly with other methods, come out of it completely blown away, and fully "cleansed mentally".
Thanks for the response, I have gotten some funny reactions when I have told people about meditating - I'm not sure why the people I talk to have such closed-minds. I am glad you validate what I'm saying. Everyone should look into it.
Last week I started this class on Buddhism and Modern Psychology https://class.coursera.org/psychbuddhism-001 In this class they compare the basic teaching of Buddhism with what we know from modern science about how the brain works. They use MRI imaging to show how meditation changes the mind. Very interesting and helpful I think. I believe you can still sign up and catch up. Good luck
Because in yoga, meditation there are actually a LOT of charlatans. Best to stick to "proven" organisations who have showed real results, and where they have a system that blocks charlatans in their path or other type of people who want to take advantage of people.
Like you, I've been doing it off and on for years but then got serious about it. It is a game-changer in so many ways - not just with business, but with my personal life too. Once you learn you don't have to participate in the bullshit your mind is putting out, life changes for the better. I also 2nd the meditationSHIFT program...easy to understand and follow their plan.
i day dream rather than meditate. Not to be confused with fantasizing (sexual or otherwise). There should not be anyone else in your daydream A typical daydream for me is sitting on a quiet, secluded beach, experiencing the warm breeze. Calms the mind far more effectively than meditating.
easily imagine above works wonders for you because of place you live in I go on beach, or imagine what yo do, no change