I think one hour is too much. I prefer doing it for 20 min to half an hour. I took the layman's approach because I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars. So I got a book called "Instant Hypnosis" by Forbes Robbins Blair who takes advantage of the fact that we hypnotize ourself all the time without all the fancy techniques. It provides a simple procedure to self-hypnotize with the eyes open (while reading the script). The hypnotic state is very light so you might need to repeat the procedure more times. But instead of doing that, I took the scripts from the book, wrote my own script on trading, and recorded a personalized CD. This way I can go into a deeper trance while lying down with my eyes closed. If you are going to do your own script, write your sentences in positives. For example, Don't say: "I don't take marginal trades.". Your subscious mind might pick up the part "take marginal trades." Like in Buddhist practices, you have to focus on your worst problem first and don't spread yourself too thin. I would recommend doing some formal meditation on the rationale behind the changes you want to make for at least a week or two before going for the hypnosis. This way you make a strong conscious resolution first to bring about the momentum for change. I used a traditional format for my meditation: 1) Sit comfortably with straight back. 2) Consiously relax the arms and legs. 3) Read one of the few points you wrote on paper and run thru every reasons behind it. 4) Reflect it inside out, upside down, any analogies you can think of to convince yourself beyond reasonable doubts. 5) Come to a resolution for change. 6) Drop all thoughts like a bag of shit and look directly at the mind. Rest for a second or two. 7) When thoughts arise in the mind again, go for the next point. Just keep everything SHORT, simple, enjoyable and a lot of REPETITIONS. There are obviously more advanced stuff out there but I just keep it bare-bone and as simple as possible otherwise I would be too lazy to do it. All these are just tools and they are no magic bullets. They just bring you more awareness to tip the scale.
"POKER RULE #67: Learn the language of betting... Use betting as a probe, to ask for reactions (and don't forget to watch for reactions when you do this). If an opponent has a better hand than you, he will generally let you know." Sometimes after a trade is entered and before the trade goes against me much, I can get a feel that the market is having real hard time going my way. I would try to scratch the probe trade and might even consider reversing my position. However if the trade goes against me quickly, I generally found "stop and reverse" will lead to poor entry and emotional roller coaster.
"POKER RULE #68: Higher betting levels often induce a new emotional range on players' faces... You would have some serious misgivings at each step along the way that he would be quite used to watching for. Players always watch other players' faces in poker, but they often become billboards once serious money is on the line." The only poker face we can observe is the chart. People get caught off guard and the move becomes eminent. Volatility contraction becomes ground for expectations which in turns leads to volatility expansion when proven wrong.
"POKER RULE #69: All other things being equal, big money can run you out of a game... For reasons cited above, big money can reveal your stress point in a game, your hesitations and doubts, and pour it on unmercifully with raises and re-raises to disrupt your game... Moral: Don't be under-funded, and don't play in games that are out of your financial range." We have heard stuff like the funds would break a stock out, so all the O'Neil readers will chase it. Try to be patient and stay out of the "bad rhythm" market so that one won't get run over as often. Sometimes I have to stay put with a bad entry while a B.S. move going against me. At the same time I have to actively monitor my internal "deer-in-the-headlights" quotient and make sure I am not freezing. There are occasions it might be better to lose some money than my head (really getting burned).
"POKER RULE #70: Get out when everything is going against you... This is a good time to get out." There are times usually after a winning streak, I am feeling a hard time making a head way and end up with a scratch trade or two despite the good market opportunities presented. You can call me superstitious but to me this is a sign I am losing focus and it might be a good time to bail and rest instead of chasing.
"POKER RULE #71: Know your game so well that you can act without thinking... The answer is: It is like playing music, or typing on a computer or typewriter. Do we consciously stop and think at every note we play or every letter we type? ... Practically speaking, there are a lot of situation in poker you don't want to think too long and hard about. You want, if possible, to react instinctively, within the rhythm. If you think too long, you can outthink yourself and get off the rhythm (as well as tip off opponents to your hand; "paralysis by analysis" this has been called)." For myself, to react instinctively means I have to have a complete trading philosophy in place that is appropriate for the market I trade. As a beginner trader, consistency is most important to me. If I see a great momentum divergence reversal trade, do I take it? It is not part of my trading plan. It is not my trade. I think it was my mentor friend's advice that got me into a whole new level of patience: "You did the right thing if you trade your setup even though you lose money." I took the inverse of that: You did the wrong thing if you trade anything other than your setup even though you make money. Many might disagree with that. How can you argue with profit (from hindsight)? But if you don't do it, you have no basis for consistent performance hence confidence.
In Zen The Trader is not bullish the Trader is not bearish either the trader is not even neutral cos the Trader is the Market In fact, there is no art in zen trading where comes the rules??