Triggers in Trading
The yamas and niyamas instill the regulatory measures we need to condition our actions and reactions to our environment by purifying our thoughts, deeds, and actions. We want to have success in the markets—this is a noble aspiration and not at odds with each person’s right to abundance. We are confident in our trading abilities and have no physical or mental impediment to accurately interpret market movement. We do not attach ourselves to ailments that divert focus from our game. Rather than give up trading when faced with losses, we may monitor the psychophysical responses and alter our belief system in order to assess why we are not perceiving chart movement without bias.
Finding trading parameters we are comfortable with will take considerable effort, and we must allow for the testing of the effectiveness of at least a few approaches. The markets are dynamic and complex systems, and, as such, impossible of imparting the knowledge of an outcome with certitude. We may only assess the markets with the principles outlined by our trading methodology; apply them with the purest of scrutiny and intention; and let go of the outcome. If we want to be in sync with the markets, we should have faith in the indicators that instruct us as to the appropriate action and surrender to the outcome of their application. This may cause a considerable degree of stress in those who cannot release their well-being from the assumed duality of success and failure. This awareness of the underlying similarities between all polarities is the aim of yoga and will be uncovered with time.
Cultivating our yoga practice on the mat during asana, at the trading desk, and through seated concentration will enable us to come to know our true trader, as well as our true Self, and the powers that lie within each of us to rise to our full potential. A self-actualized human being is absolved from the mental unrest that accompanies challenges that frequently take charge of less-managed minds. The sadhak, or spiritual seeker, does not savagely devalue herself based on the entrapment of a misidentified mind’s eye with the values, needs and desires based in the material and transient world. Unmitigated thoughts will destroy our vitality if we attribute happiness with the survival of a misaligned identity (i.e. I am Harriet who is has an expensive car, oodles of money, and an appetite for a hedonistic lifestyle— this makes me happy and I have to protect my self at all costs). This state of existence will ensure that we always have something superficial to uphold, protect, or fight for, rather than allowing for the creativity and evolution that will follow a loss.
The real battle may best be fought against the illusory nature of this false sense of transient self, bliss, and happiness. Fighting for a real threat to our lives is advised; picking a fight with a market that is perceived as taking our money away may not be as worthwhile. We will damage ourselves before ever regaining strength from these various unseen enemies. As Buddha was noted to have said, Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.
There are many interpretations of how best to seek the ultimate path which will lead to the full realization of our true trader in the markets. We may empirically put these methodologies to test and, thereby, render their success based upon their effectiveness. The key is to find comfort in ourselves and our trading approach, and not be burdened by fear of paying the bills or an obsessive desire of wealth building. Happiness and bliss may both be found through the trust and confidence brought about through the provisions of a co-creating universe working with us towards the fulfillment of our mental, physical, and spiritual evolution.
