The attitude that we bring to practice of meditation is critical. In fact, cultivating right attitude is a part of the practice. The success and ability to persevere with meditation will in large part be determined by the way we approach it. I guess one can say the same for trading as well.
For those who are interested, there are many good books that go much deeper on the right attitude for meditation. Following is a brief summary of eight aspects of right attitude required for meditation. Many of these develop automatically when one develops other attitudes. Fortunately the practice of meditation itself helps develop these attitudes. You know best whether developing these attributes are useful for your own trading.
Beginner's Mind
To observe our immediate, ongoing experience (or markets) without any judgement, preconceptions or projections is often referred to as "beginner's mind". In essence, perceiving something with freshness one would bring to it if were seeing it for the very first time. It is seeing and accepting things as they are in the present moment without veil of own assumptions.
For example, next time when you are meeting someone familiar (or watching familiar market), consider seeing it as much as possible as they are (as price action is), apart from your feelings, thoughts, projections or judgement as if you are meeting (watching) for first time.
Non Striving
Almost everything we do during our day is likely to be goal directed and working towards it. Meditation is one thing that is not. So is trading i.e., we cannot set goals and dictate markets how much it should provide us each day or week. Although meditation takes effort to practice, it has no aim other than to "just be" with whatever comes.
When we sit down to meditate, it is best to clear your mind of any goals. We are not trying to relax, blank our mind, relieve stress or reach enlightenment. We don't evaluate the quality of our meditation while doing meditation. The only intention we bring to meditation is simply to be - to observe our "here and now" experiencing as it is using right meditation technique (covered later). Is it that different from observing market in "here and now" using right trading technique?
For example, if we are tense, anxious, frustrated or in pain, we don't strive to get rid of these sensations. Instead, we simply observe and be with them as best as we can. We let them remain simply as they are. In so doing, we cease resisting and struggling with them.
Acceptance
Acceptance is opposite of striving. When we learn to simply be with whatever our experience in the moment, we cultivate acceptance. Acceptance does not mean we have to like whatever comes up. It simply means we are willing to be with it without trying to push it away.
What we resist persists. Whatever we resist, in general, we actually energize and magnify it. Acceptance allows the discomfort or problem to just be. While problem may not go away and sometimes may necessary to go through emotional reactions, acceptance makes it easier to deal with and create a space to reflect clearly and act appropriately.
In meditation practice, acceptance develops as we learn to embrace each moment as it comes without moving away from it. As we learn to do this, we discover that whatever was there for a given moment will soon change. More quickly, if we don't try to resist it. In trading, acceptance develops as we learn to accept each trade, loss and gain as it comes.
Patience
Patience is a close cousin to acceptance and non-striving. It means allowing things and markets to unfold in their own natural time. It is letting your meditation practice be whatever it is without rushing it.
Patience is needed to persist through with our meditation practice through days or weeks when nothing particularly interesting happens. To have patience is to stop hurrying. This often means going against the grain of fast paced society where rushing from one destination to another is the norm.
The patience we can bring to our meditation practice will help assure its success. The same cultivation of patience will help us to wait for right opportunities in markets to come along and to wait and let trends develop without prematurely getting out of positions.
Non-judging
An important pre-requiste for acceptance and beginner's mind is non-judging. When we pay attention to our ongoing experience through the day, we'll notice that we frequently judge things - both outer circumstances as well as our moods and feelings. If you doubt, try taking just five minutes to notice how many things you would judge in that short interval.
We cannot stop judging. To practice meditation, it is important to learn not so much to stop judging but to gain some distance from the process. We can simply observe our inner judgements without reacting to them, least of all judging our judgement thoughts. Purpose of practice is to just allow judgements and thoughts to come and go. One common problem probably more so with day traders is grading themselves of their trading continually while the session is still in progress. Developing this attribute would go a long way.
Letting Go
Our minds are like a monkey. We grab onto a particular thought or emotional state - sometimes that is actually painful - and then we don't let it go. Cultivating the ability to let go is crucial to meditation practice. The same is applicable for trading - ability to let go of past and move on to next trade.
When we hold onto any experience (or trade), whether pleasant or painful, we impede our ability to simply be present in the here and now without judgement or striving. Learning to let go is assisted by learning to accept them. Letting go is a natural consequence of willingness to accept things as they are.
The more minutely we observe the specific thoughts and feelings we have create around a problem (or a trade), the more quickly we will be able to expand our awareness around that problem and let it go.
Trust
Another important attitude to bring to meditation is a basic trust in ourselves. It means honoring our own instincts, reactions and feelings regardless of what any authority or other person may think or say. To fully embrace the experience, we need to trust it. It means taking responsibility for our own experience on a moment-to-moment basis and no one else. The same applies for trading. Every trader is unique, trust oneself, take full responsibility for their trading and craft a methodology that uniquely suits their nature. The practice of meditation is about becoming more fully our own self.
Commitment and Self Discipline
A strong commitment to work on oneself along with discipline to persevere and follow through with the process is essential to establishing a meditation practice. While meditation is very simple in nature, it is not easy in practice. Is it any different for trading?
Learning to value and make time for "just being" on a regular basis requires a commitment in the midst of a society that is strongly oriented towards "doing". An athlete in training doesn't practice only when he or she just feels like it, when there is time enough to fit in or other people to keep company. The training requires athlete to practice every day regardless of how she feels or whether there is any immediate sense of accomplishment.
Practice
To establish a meditation practice, it is best to sit whether one feels like it or not - whether it is convenient or not - 6 or 7 days a week for at least two months. At the end of it, it becomes a habit to continue. The experience of meditation varies from session to session - sometimes it feels good, sometimes it seems ordinary and other times one will find it difficult to meditate at all.
Meditation will not change anything that might happen but what it changes is our relationship to everything we experience on a deep level. This in turn changes us and our life fundamentally.
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Note: I am not an expert on meditation. So the contents of this series is a summary of my readings and understanding. Part of the reason I am writing this series is for myself to learn better the concepts and improve my own practice. This post is NOT an advice or recommendation.
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