Ishvara Pranidhana: Surrender to Fate, Detachment
[I]if we concentrate more on the quality of our steps along the way than on the goal itself, then we also avoid being disappointed if we perhaps cannot attain the exact goal that we had set for ourselves. Paying more attention to the sprit in which we act and looking less to the results our actions may bring us – this is the meaning of Ishwarapranidhana.
~TKV Desikachar, Heart of Yoga
The fifth and final niyama reminds us that it is the intention and not the outcome that is important. The purity of our thoughts may affect the outcome of the action, but this
should not be expected. Positive thoughts, noble goals, and right action are worthy ideals, but may lead to an outcome that does not reflect those values. While the end result may not have been what was desired, it may be more than we were expecting. As master trader Bill Williams hopes for us,” May everything that you wish for be the least that you get.”
Ishvara Pranidhana and Trading
Although entry strategies are based on the best information available at that time, this will in no way result in the absolute negation of an opposite outcome. Whatever the analysis technique used to recognize the set-up for a trade, the outcome will never be guaranteed with absolute certainty. If we view ourselves as failures because of anopposite swing to our entry point, then we are doomed to suffering. If we are making good trades based on our trading strategy, we must have no regrets. Through focused attention on the process of achieving our goals and the detachment from the outcome, we will never see ourselves as failures if we are open to alternative endings. Acting with honesty, honour and commitment to achieving a positive purpose will lead to success, in the very least, of maintaining our integrity. The opportunities which arise to those who are conscious to the present moment may well be more beneficial than our initial intention.
Surrendering to fate, without assuming a fatalist predetermined outcome, to universal intelligence takes a tremendous amount of trust in uncertainty. Should we have faith that the universe will support our best interests, then we will have confidence that the decisions we make are supported by the environmental conditions which are conducive to our goals. We are the only ones able to effectively judge our conduct and, with a pure heart, we must have no regrets.
The well-being of our minds resonates within our bodies. Stress, anxiety, and the ensuing effect on our reasoning faculties will only further exacerbate a painful trading period. Naturally, we will occasionally be on the opposite side of an entry into the markets. The markets are a living, dynamic system and, as such, incapable of rendering an outcome with absolute certitude. This is the excitement. This is the chaos. We must find the patterns, the order amongst the apparent disorder, which best fit our criteria for a favorable outcome.
It is at this point that we must let go and not consume ourselves with grief if the market does not agree with us. This is the value of Ishvara Pranidhana: pursue life with the highest, the purest, the noblest of intentions, but, even so, we should not expect to be rewarded or punished for our actions. We should be content just with the effort put in to realize our goals. We should not be disappointed. There is no disappointment when we know that things will not always turn out the way we want them to, as they could, in fact, turn out much better than we could ever have expected.
If we allow irrational concepts such as failure to determine our worth, we will have problems living with ourselves and our environment. Pain will afflict us if we regret the past and fear the future, never allowing the present moment to present opportunities. We will continue to relive last week’s trades and project these expectations to this week’s market.
Perception is the key to our understanding. If we do not have sound coping strategies or trading methods, we have to reevaluate our strategy to life and the markets. Gaining proficiency in the knowledge we adopt is important to prove to ourselves the effectiveness of our techniques. Confidence is a delicate thing and we should ascertain whether our difficulties stem from a lack or knowledge, or if they stem from cognitive or physical blockages. Hesitation, fear, or, perhaps, overconfidence may thus result, causing inappropriate trading decisions and exposure of risk capital.. .
Ishvara Pranidhana and Chaos
Life is a complex, dynamic system and not a linear model: there is no Newtonian cause-and-effect principle governing the outcomes of our actions. These seemingly random daily occurrences are an integral part of the chaotic model of life. Outcomes may be deterministic in the sense that initial conditions may be observed. However, it may be likened to the Lorenzo’s Butterfly Effect in that small changes are likely to affect an outcome in larger degree. We may set our intention and search the greatest probabilities to make our goals fruitful, but we must expect variables to offset the trajectory of an outcome. Only one trader is needed to change the direction of the markets. Taking a position based upon the available information and relinquishing any expectation may deliver a profitable trade. If it does not, we mush remember the prior niyamas and use it as alternative opportunity for contributing to abundance.
