Sri Yantra by Manytchkine. Source: Wikiimedia Commons. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0
The observances and ethics of the yamas and niyamas call for a well-guided and conditioned approach to the world without and within us. If our reality is but a mirror of our consciousness, then the markets will reflect nothing other than our physical and mental condition, our temperament and belief systems. Projecting our anger, frustration and, yet, stubborn determination to make our fortune may not end in a profitable outcome–if we allow these emotions to hinder the implementation of our goals. The yamas and niyamas do not aim to suppress our emotions: unnecessary and harmful reactions are naturally detracted with a yogic shift in perspective.
We may consider the markets to be an active, living and dynamic force capable of receiving and giving information in a rapidly changing environment. Although the markets act as conduits for the semblance and transference of mass psychology, they do not interpret information. The markets have no governing or judging faculties whereby some market participants will be rewarded and others punished on account of how much we give to charity, how much time we spend acquiring market knowledge, or the amount of luck we feel is at our disposal. Rather, it is our discriminating awareness that will allow us the satisfaction of being on the gaining side of a trade, without the projection of our preferences on an unimpressionable market.
Once we observe the markets for what they are—without labeling, distorting, or categorizing them—we may also apply this practice to our day-to-day lives, and disallow new experiences from forming preconditioned responses. The duality in our thoughts, emotions, voluntary and involuntary actions can be observed and changed with yoga to lessen the severity of outside influences on our equilibrium. The potential to choose the factors that we believe will determine our contentment is an empowering prospect. Yoga may enlighten us to endless possibilities as we discover the latent talents that nourish and enrich ourselves, our trading and our environment.
