A lot of things in your life can affect your trading performance.

You might have had an argument, or just have many things going on at the same time.

The more distracted you are, the more your trading results will suffer.

Mediation can help you get into the right mindset before you trade.

Watch this video and do the exercises before trading to settle yourself and increase your chances of trading well.

It's a short video that won't take up too much time, like some other videos out there.

How to Use This Video

This video is meant to be used before you start trading.

It will help you calm your mind and get into the best mindset for trading.

The process is very simple process and anyone can do it.

Just follow the instructions and don't overthink it.

If you don't quite understand a certain part of the video, do your best and go with it.

Things will work out as they should.

When your mind and body are relaxed, you'll be ready to trade.

Steps in This Video

There are 3 primary steps in this video.

I'll outline them here so you have an idea of how the process works.

The first step is to get your body into a very relaxed state. 

You'll do this by doing a simple breathing exercise.

If there is a part of your body that's particularly tense, I have a special technique for helping you release it.

I've learned this process through the many breathwork classes I've attended.

Next, I'll connect you to the feeling of gratitude. 

When you feel grateful, it's much easier to visualize your goals as completed and thus lowers your resistance to achieving the goal.

Finally, I'll connect your trading goals to this feeling of gratitude.

The most important thing to remember that you cannot will yourself to be profitable during every trading session.

Whatever the market does is beyond your control. 

But you can control if you follow your plan or not.

However, if you have a backtested plan and you follow it, then you'll usually be profitable over time.

This process might seem a little weird at first.

But use it consistently for a few weeks and you'll start to feel and see the benefits.

The Benefits of Meditation

Mediation is a proven method for focusing your mind and getting in touch with your inner guidance.

It's been used for thousands of years by many cultures around the world. These cultures wouldn't do it if it didn't work.

You can learn more about the benefits of meditation in this guide.

The post Guided Trading Meditation (Daily Preparation for Traders) appeared first on Trading Heroes.

You've probably heard by now that a lot of top performers in all fields meditate. If you still aren't convinced, then read Game Changers or Tools of Titans.

But are there tools that can help you get to a deeper level of meditation…faster?

There are. 

In this Best for Mediation series, I'm going meditate with two different methods and measure the results.

This will give you and idea of what can help you improve your meditation practice faster.

Remember, what works for me may not work the same for you.

But it will give you some clues as to what you can try next.

For this test, I'm going to do a Holosync review and measure the results against freestyle meditation, or not using a meditation aid.

Tools of the Test

There are a few tools that I'm going to use during my meditation sessions:

• Muse Headband – Measures my brain activity and stores my sessions in the app.
• Holosync audio tracks – Bill Harris discovered that he could induce deep meditative states by using different carrier wave frequencies.
• iPad Mini – Used for recording my Muse data in the Muse mobile app.
• Secondary phone – I have a phone dedicated to my meditation recordings, so I don't get bothered by notifications from my primary phone.
• JLab Earbuds –  These are my favorite earbuds because they are super durable, easy to carry and they block out a lot of outside noise. You almost don't need active noise cancelling headphones when you use these earbuds, which creates a quiet environment for meditation.

Holosync Review Test Results

Watch this video to see my results and Holosync review. The text version of my results are provided after the video.

For this test, I did three meditation sessions of 30 minutes each, with each method. I always did my meditation in the morning and I only did one session per day.

When I did freestyle meditation, the best result that I was able to achieve was 68% calm. Here's what the Muse graph looked like.

But when I used Holosync, my best result jumped to 96% calm, or 28 minutes and 50 seconds, out of 30 minutes. My mind was only neutral for 54 seconds, compared to 9 minutes in the previous graph. That is a phenomenal result and shows the value of using meditation aids like Holosync.

The results might have been even better, but I opened my eyes near the middle of the session. You can see it in the large peaks towards the middle of the graph.

Of course, not all of my Holosync sessions turned out this well.

One Holosync session had a 35% calm reading.

But that will happen in meditation. Sometimes your meditation sessions won't go well and that's OK.

You might have had a stressful day or you may be trying to solve a problem in the back of your mind.

The point is to do your meditation practice consistently.

Over time, you will gain more skill in quieting your mind and your average time in a calm state of mind will increase. This can lower your stress and help you make better trading decisions.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that Holosync helps me quiet my mind better than freestyle meditation alone. I was able to achieve 96% calm in my best Holosync session, versus my best of 68% calm, without Holosync.

Although I only did 3 sessions per method for this blog post, I have measured my results with both methods dozens of times in the past. I was consistently able to hit 90%+ calm with Holosync, while the best I could do with freestyle was about 70%…and I wasn't as consistent.

I started using Holosync in 2016 and I still use it to this day.

Like anything else, this won't work for everyone. But if you are struggling with freestyle meditation, I would recommend giving Holosync a try.

In future blog posts, I'll share with you my testing results from other meditation methods and aids.

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The post Best For Trading Meditation: Freestyle or Holosync? appeared first on Trading Heroes.

If you've been implementing the usual trading psychology tips from blog posts, books and courses…

…and it's still not working…

Then this post was written for you.

If you don't have the results that you want in your life or in your trading, and you are working hard at it, then there's really only one reason:

Your mindset is holding you back. 

It's not your trading system.

It's not your broker.

It's not your mentor.

Your mindset determines:

• How easily you rebound from losses
• Your discipline to follow your trading plan and fill out your trading journal
• How long you will persevere until you finally figure out how to become a consistently profitable trader
• The number of trading strategies you will test before you find the right one for you
• And more

But how do you change a mindset that has been with you for years, or even decades? 

If you have ever tried to make major behavioral changes, it can seem impossible.

In this post, I'm going to share with you my 18+ years of experience in working to figure out how to get past my deepest limiting beliefs and change my unfulfilling habits.

I'll share:

• My research
• Resources
• What I have tried
• What has worked best for me
• The benefits/limitations that I've observed in each type of healing modality

My hope is that this post will give you a starting point to figure out how to change the behaviors that you want to change, in order to reach your goals and live a more fulfilled life. 

There's one key concept that you need to understand before we get started…

Negative emotions can get trapped in your subconscious mind, from various traumatic events in your life. These negative emotions can then cause addictions, irrational behaviors and even diseases.

In trading, they cause of things like overtrading, revenge trading, a lack of discipline and much more.

The key to changing your undesirable behaviors is to release your trapped negative emotions. 

If you want to see how I came to this conclusion and what has worked for me, then keep reading…

We have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; and where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.

– Joesph Campbell

How to Get the Most Out of this Post

What I'm about to share with you can help you become the heroic trader and human being you have always known you could be.

But it won't be easy.

You will have to go on what Joseph Campbell calls the Hero's Journey.

Since you found this post, you are probably ready to start your journey.

Before we get started however, please keep the following 4 things in mind…

1. The Same Things Won't Work for Everyone

There are no panaceas.

This post will give you some starting points, but it's up to you to put in the work.

You have to be willing to try different modalities and figure things out for yourself. What works for me, may not work for you. 

Some people will tell you that a certain treatment will cure everything.

That's simply not true.

2. Dogma is the Enemy of Progress

Put down your existing beliefs, just for the duration of this blog post.

Do you remember the game of Telephone in elementary school? Here's a good example.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, the game is basically used to teach kids that statements can change dramatically, as they are passed from person to person. So don't always believe what you hear.

The same thing can happen in belief systems like:

• Religions
• Laws
• Education systems
• Traditions
• Common sayings

The difference is that the “telephone effect” in these belief systems can be multiplied by billions of people over thousands of years. More than a few things probably got lost in translation, are out of date, and got twisted to serve personal agendas.

So be willing to judge ideas on the only criteria that matters…if it works for you or not.

You can choose to pick up your existing beliefs again at the end of this blog post.

3. This is a Continuous Process

Even if you solve some big issues in your life, it won't be all unicorns and rainbows. You will need to maintain the gains you have made and there will inevitably be new shit that comes up.

The good news is that if you are able to solve the big issues once, you are much better equipped to deal with new stuff later.

It's like Spring cleaning.

If you don't do it every year, the mess just piles up.

4. I'm Not a Doctor

Consult a licensed medical physician before you try anything mentioned in this blog post. 

All information in this post is for informational purposes only and is my personal experience and opinion. It's not medical advice of any kind. I don't pretend to have all the answers, just a lot of curiosity and a willingness to try different things.

Alright now that we have that out of the way, let's dig into why we have psychological roadblocks on the journey to becoming a consistently profitable trader.

Why We Have Bad Habits, Addictions and Self Sabotage

It all starts with a traumatic events in our lives. 

There are things in our trading that we know we “should” do.

Maybe you know that you should stop moving your stop loss. Or maybe you know that you shouldn't trade after you've had 5 beers.

But why are these behaviors so hard to change?

Because our traumas have created habits.

In the book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, shows us how habits get formed and why it's so difficult to change them.

Through several examples, he demonstrates that habits are the result of doing the same things over and over. They are stored in a part of the brain that is separate from short-term memory and they can be formed even when the part of the brain that handles short-term memory is damaged.

So good luck trying to change a habit with your conscious mind. 

When we experience a trauma, we start acting in a certain way.

It may be a depressed state, exhibiting defensive behavior, or a deep aversion to failure. After we have been acting this for a some time, we form the habit of living in that state and it “sticks.”

In his book Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, Dr. Joe Dispenza does an excellent job of explaining the neuroscience behind our most deeply engrained behaviors.

He says that we basically become addicted to the physical and neurochemical states that we find ourselves in on a daily basis. If you are living in a state of trauma and fear all of the time, then you cannot imagine yourself any other way.

It's your identity.

Another way to look at is that your trauma has become your personality.

Still another way to look at it is you have PTSD.

We All Have PTSD

This might get weird, but if you stick with me, I'll show you exactly why I believe this is true.

More importantly, I'll also show you why this belief can provide the clues to solving your most annoying behaviors.

What is PTSD?

PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In other words, you went through a traumatic experience which is causing a negative pattern in your current behavior.

Most people think of war veterans or victims of abuse when it comes to PTSD.

But in reality, there is a wide spectrum of PTSD and we all have it because we have all been exposed to trauma.

It's like muscle strength.

Everyone has muscles. But some people are very strong and others are weak.

My research has shown that there are only 4 sources of trauma:

1. Environmental – A physical accident, genetic disorder, toxins, etc.
2. Emotional – Traumas that have happened between your conception and the present.
3. Inherited emotions – You can genetically inherit traumas from your family line and culture. If you don't believe me, read this book.
4. Past life – I'm not religious, so this belief is not based in religion. Past lives are a fact. If you don't believe me, read this book. Also watch my video at the end of this post.

A lot of psychologists will focus on traumas in your childhood. The source of your major traumas could be there.

But if you only focus there, you can miss out on so much more.  

This is one of the reasons why I believe over 90% of independent traders fail. They aren't addressing the right psychology issues.

Now let's look at some common examples…

Your Parents Meant Well But…

Even the most caring and nurturing parents will give their kids a little PTSD.

(But in all fairness, the opposite is probably also true, so it evens out )

If you're a parent, don't freak out about this.

Trauma will happen to everyone, there's nothing you can do about it.

One of our responsibilities as adults is to figure out how to overcome this trauma and live the best life possible.

This is all part of the human experience and the Hero's Journey.

These traumas usually happen between 0 and 5 years old, when we are still too young to comprehend what is going on in the world.

Everything has the potential to be scary and possibly traumatic.

The birth process can cause trauma.

In his book, Game Changers, Dave Asprey talks about how he was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and this led him to him being a pissed off adult.

He also talks about how some healing modalities understand this link, and can reliably predict birth conditions, based on personality traits.

Not getting fed on time can cause trauma.

Being taken away from your mother at birth (like in most American hospitals) can cause trauma.

…and those are just the first few days of your life.

Other Sources of Trauma

Of course, trauma can happen at any point in your life.

Your biggest traumas may have happened after childhood.

The obvious ones are things like: going to war, domestic abuse or getting into a major accident.

But trauma could be the result of less obvious circumstances like a relationship breakup, or the loss of a job.

If you experience trauma at any point in your life, it's simply an overwhelming experience that you didn't know how to cope with.

The negative emotion gets trapped in your body/mind and can cause problems later on.

With each subsequent year that passes, your subconscious database gets bigger and bigger, and there is the potential to stack on more and more traumas.

It's like an iceberg…

The Iceberg Analogy of Advanced Trading Psychology

You've probably seen this on a trading psychology webinar somewhere.

Sigmund Freud popularized the idea that our minds are like an iceberg. Our conscious mind is above the water and our subconscious mind is below the water.

The part that we can see above the surface is only a small fraction of what is actually going on below the surface.

In other words, there's a lot more going on in our subconscious than we realize.

But I believe that there is much more to the iceberg analogy.

It's missing our Inner Hero.

People also call this the true self, the authentic self or our soul.

When we are born, we are the closest to our Inner Hero.

If we live our adult life connected to our Inner Hero, life is fun, we are doing fulfilling work and we express our true feelings.

…and we usually trade like a rockstar.

In other words…we are the fullest expression of our true selves.

PTSD disconnects you from your Inner Hero. 

When you are disconnected from your Inner Hero, life becomes a struggle and everything seems difficult. If you have ever been at a job that you absolutely hate, you know exactly what that feels like.

I'll represent our Inner Hero with this image.

As small children, our mind looks like this, with our Inner Hero pretty close to the surface. Our subconscious has not developed much yet, so there isn't much space between our conscious minds and our authentic selves.

This is obvious in small children. They express their true selves all the time.

Kids cry hard when they get hurt and they jump up and down when they are happy.

As we get older, our parents, school and society tell us to “tone it down” and we get away from what really makes us happy and allows us to express ourselves fully.

Consequently, our Inner Hero gets buried deeper and deeper in our subconscious.

Unusually well adjusted? Then your Inner Hero might be a little closer to the surface.

But there is always some separation.

Either way, it's going to take some digging to get down there and reconnect with your true self.

Think of this as rescuing your Inner Hero.

When you finally make that connection again, you will have more self awareness and have a deeper understanding what is right and wrong…for you. You will also be able to forgive yourself for your mistakes and move on faster.

The Hidden Barriers

Rescuing your Inner Hero probably won't be easy though.

There's a major barrier that is going to prevent you from rescuing your Inner Hero.

It's your ego. 

Your ego wants to maintain your current state and doesn't want you to resolve any of your traumas.

It's very heavily invested in your current identity.

You can think of it as a giant granite wall that is lodged somewhere in your subconscious, between your conscious mind and your Inner Hero.

Along the way, there will also be other smaller barriers. You will be able to get through some of them easily, and others will take more work.

Advanced Trading Psychology Tools for Rescuing Your Inner Hero

Now that you understand that you have an Inner Hero buried inside your subconscious iceberg, it's time to start digging and bring your heroic ass to the surface. I believe that there are basically three levels of healing modalities to do this.

Again, I might think that a treatment isn't particularly effective, but it may be the thing that moves the needle for you.

So be open to experimentation.

At the end, I'll also give you a list of things that I haven't tried, but my research has shown can be useful.

Level 1: Like Using a Spoon to Dig Into Your Iceberg

The following resources are great for giving you the awareness that you have certain issues. They can also probably solve a few of the smaller ones.

In my experience, the positive effects of these methods usually don't last long. However, if you don't know where to begin, these can be great ways to start your journey.

Talk Therapy

This can include talking to a psychiatrist, a coach or a trading partner. Talk therapy can work well for some things.

From what I have seen and experienced however, talk therapy will only get you so far.

You might be able to get really deep with 15 years of talk therapy. But it's really difficult to bypass your ego when you are primarily using your conscious mind during talk therapy.

Talk therapy has helped me chip away at the surface and change a few things, but it never helped me make any major changes.

Books and Courses

Books and courses are a must have if you want to gain new knowledge in any area.

These are my favorite trading books and courses.

Used books can be very cheap and you can benefit from the decades knowledge and experience of the authors.

Trading courses can also provide a lot of knowledge and give you access to some of the best traders in the world.

However, books and courses probably won't be able to give you all of the answers and I've found that they have a similar effect to talk therapy.

They are just a good starting point.

Seminars

Have you ever left a trading seminar feeling like you were jacked up on steroids, 10 cups of coffee and a hot coal up your ass?

I sure have.

But what usually happens after that?

We usually lose motivation and revert back to our old habits.

Don't get me wrong, I've learned a ton of valuable information from seminars and I've met a lot of great people. I will continue to go to trading seminars and conferences.

But I wouldn't consider any of them life changing.

So if you continue to go to seminars and wonder why they don't help…stop right now. You probably have enough information already.

You just need to put it into practice.

Medication

Most prescriptions medications just numb the pain. Sometimes they can quiet our conscious mind long enough for us to work on our subconscious.

But most of the time they just zone us out so we forget about our problems.

I've never taken prescription medication, but I think most people occasionally self-medicate with things like alcohol…and I'm no exception.

It does help me feel better in the moment.

However, it obviously never solves anything long-term and I never use it for that.

I'm not telling you to get off your prescribed medication. You should always consult a doctor.

But of you are on meds or using alcohol (or other drugs) a little more frequently than you should, then consider that they may be preventing you from feeling what you need to feel, in order to heal.

Nootropics, AKA Smartdrugs

Nootropics can help boost your brain capacity, but they won't solve any of your issues.

They can make you more aware of what you are doing, and that can lead to some insights. I use them to tune-up my mental performance and maintain my brain health. But they aren't a treatment for trauma.

You can see the nootropics that I've tried here (and the results).

Level 2: Like Using a Jackhammer to Dig Into Your Iceberg

If you upgrade your spoon to a jackhammer, then your digging will really pick up speed. This is where we get into advanced trading psychology tools.

Meditation

I've been meditating since 2001, when I first read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. Since then, I've had one very profound experience. It was a “one with the universe” type feeling which I am grateful for.

I consider meditation an essential mental and spiritual maintenance tool and I do it almost every day. It helps me calm down and think clearly. 

But meditation has never given me any deep insights on how to fix my traumas.

If you do it long enough, I believe that you can have some major revelations. However, you will probably have to do it for several hours a day for 10+ years, before you can get into a “spiritual flow state” that will help you resolve your traumas.

Here are the best resources that I've used:

• Holosync – Created by Bill Harris, one of the most advanced meditators in the world. Using these audio recordings regularly can give you the same brainwaves as people who have meditated for decades.
• Dr. Joe Dispenza – His Blessing of the Energy Centers and Morning/Evening meditations are excellent ways to increase your energy and center yourself every day.
• Muse Headband – This headband measures your brainwaves and tells you how calm or excited your mind is. Great for getting quantitive data on how effective your meditation sessions were and how well different meditation techniques work for you.

Tapping or EFT

EFT was invented by Gary Craig and Tapping is the more generic name for the modality. I believe that Tapping can resolve some of your traumas, but I found that there is one big issue with it.

Before I get into that, here's how you do it:

Pretty easy, right?

The issue that I ran into with this modality is that you need to know the real emotion that you want to get rid of, in order for the protocol to work.

For example, let's say that you get mad at someone for talking down to you in a meeting. So you start tapping to get rid of the anger.

But that may just be the symptom and not the cause. The real cause could be low self esteem or problems with authority. Figuring out the real cause can be difficult when you are only using your conscious mind to analyze your feelings.

When used correctly this method can work well however. People have gotten over phobias and other mental roadblocks in just one treatment.

But it's too hit or miss for me.

Dream Analysis

Analyzing your dreams sounds a little weird…until you actually do it.

Now, I'm not talking about the type of dream analysis that tries to slice apart every single element of your dream and assign a meaning to the bird, the river and the rainbow-colored elephant.

What you're really looking for are overarching themes that can give you clues to what your subconscious mind is feeding your conscious mind.

I learned this from Walter Peters and Denise Shull talks about this in her book Market Mind Games.

But what if I don't remember my dreams?

In a nutshell…you're being lazy.

It does take some concentration to remember your dreams, but if you make a conscious effort to do so, you will get better at it.

Start by telling yourself that you will remember your dreams, before you go to sleep. Then leave a notebook or your phone next to your bed and start recording your dreams as soon as you wake up.

Most of my dreams featured situations where things did not work out.

This was my limiting belief.

It gave me a starting point to figure out why this was the case, which was extremely valuable.

But it never gave me any clues on how to fix them.

I'm sure they could at some point, but it has never happened to me.

I still pay attention to my dreams.

Subliminal Messages

I've had some success with this healing modality.

This is when you listen to an audio track that has the sound of rain or a water flowing and there are subliminal messages behind that sound.

Movie theaters used to insert subliminal messages in movies so the audience would buy more popcorn. The subliminal ads increased popcorn sales by 57.8%.

This stuff works.

But only to a certain point.

In my experience, subliminal messaging can help you change surface level behaviors. But it won't get you to the really deep stuff.

I believe that even if you bypass part of your subconscious mind with subliminal messages, your ego can still block any further change.

I've found Inner Talk audio recordings helpful, but there are others out there.

You simply put them on very low volume before you go to sleep and let them do their work.

These recordings have helped me get over past traumas and resolve self doubt. I used them for 30 days each.

It's recommended that you only do one at a time.

Most of the time the changes were subtle.

But there were a couple of times where I did feel a significant mindset shift around events in my past.

I was noticeably less bitter about them and did not dwell on them.

NLP

Neuro-Linguistic Programming was created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s. Tony Robbins uses a lot of NLP in his work.

I've never found NLP useful, but I do believe that it can help some people.

My issue with NLP was that my conscious thoughts kept getting in the way of doing the exercises.

This is where working with a NLP coach could be very effective.

In my case, other modalities were much more effective.

But NLP is certainly worth exploring.

Emotion Code / Muscle Testing

This one is almost a level 3 therapy, in my experience.

…and it could be a solid level 3 for some people.

To get started, simply read this book: The Emotion Code

In this modality, you use applied kinesiology, or muscle testing, to access your subconscious mind and release trapped negative emotions.

The process is very easy, once you get the hang of it.

There are flowcharts that you can download and there are only a few steps required to release a trapped emotion.

The cool thing about this method is that you don't need to know where the trapped emotion came from and you don't need to see a therapist.

You just ask your body if there is a trapped emotion that can be released right now.

If the answer is yes, you use the protocol to release it and Bob's your uncle.

Dr. Bradley Nelson, creator of The Emotion Code, says that there can also be hidden trapped emotions or “heart walls.”

These “walls” were built as a response to traumas in our past and protect us from feeling heart-breaking pain.

They served as defenses and helped us at one point in our lives, but end up becoming obstacles later on.

After my first session, I felt considerably more positive and energetic.

This is a great maintenance protocol because I can do it every day and it takes very little time.

Hypnosis

I feel that this one could also be a level 3 treatment for some people.

Dave Asprey mentions in his book Game Changers, that the best trauma treatment for him was a combination of hypnosis and breathwork (explained below).

I've used hypnosis audio recordings to try to change certain behaviors and they have worked, to a certain extent.

The best audio recording I used was the Perseverance track from Hypnosis Downloads. Until then, I had the issue of giving up too quickly. After listening to the recording before bed, for about 15 days, I found that I stuck with tasks longer and completed tasks that I would have previously given up on.

But those were hypnosis techniques that had the goal of bringing about a specific outcome.

There is probably more value in resolving trauma through exploratory hypnosis, but I haven't tried that yet.

Level 3: Like Using a Tunnel Boring Machine to Dig Into Your Iceberg

Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) are the devices that dig giant underground tunnels like the Chunnel. When it comes to digging holes, it's probably the most badass machine on the planet.

…and if you want to resolve your traumas and rescue your Inner Hero sometime during your lifetime, these modalities are the equivalent of a TBM for your subconscious mind.

Here's why I believe that this stuff works so well.

You went through an experience that caused trauma.

In order to resolve that trauma, you usually need to have an opposite experience that will allow you to unravel the pain of the trauma.

Since these therapies can induce hallucinogenic or altered states, they can allow you experience the resolution of that trauma.

On top of that, there might be traumas down there that you never knew existed.

These therapies can help you dig out those deeply buried experiences because they are able to bypass the ego and whatever else is standing in the way.

A HUGE warning here: These modalities have tremendous power to heal. But when used improperly, they can also be equally harmful. Always consult a doctor before trying any of these modalities and always, always, always do them under the close supervision of an experienced therapist. A therapist will help you understand what's going on and guide you through the process. If you experience something scary and you don't have someone there to help you deal with it, the experience can cause even more trauma. Some of these treatments are also illegal in certain areas, so always obey your local laws. It's not worth going to jail over.

Energy Healing

There's a wide range of energy healing modalities. I've tried Reiki, but that didn't help much.

The one that helped me the most is called Clairvision.

On the surface, it seems like a flavor of meditation.

But when used in the hands of a trained therapist, it is a powerful tool for positive change. Again, the key here is to go to a therapist that's an expert.

The way it basically works is the therapist first puts you into a meditative state. Then they scan your body for trapped traumas.

When they find something, they help you figure out the real source of the trauma and can help you resolve and release it. The trauma can come from present life, past life, or it could be inherited. 

I really like this method because it looks for the symptom, then the therapist can help you trace back to the cause. It's very pragmatic.

When I release emotions with this technique, I usually have to lie down for a little while afterwards.

The energy that it takes to hang on to these negative traumas is substantial. After that attachment is released, I have a feeling of relief, exhaustion and I feel energized at the same time.

Breathwork

The father of Holotropic Breathwork and Transpersonal Psychology is Stan Grof.

He was a psychiatrist who had great success treating his patients with LSD in the 1950s and 60s, but had to stop his work when LSD became illegal in the late 1960s.

Read the book Higher Wisdom to learn more.

At that point, he felt that the same altered states that were achieved with LSD could be achieved by doing a certain type of breathing.

He called it Holotropic Breathwork.

I went to my first small group breathwork session with Dr. James Eyerman at his office in San Francisco.

He was first certified in Holotropic Breathwork in 1988, so he's pretty OG.

The first 45 minutes were spent explaining the history, the process and what to expect during the session.

Then we breathed heavily through our mouths for an hour, with loud, driving music playing on the speakers.

Most of the music had a tribal feel to it and it's important to achieving a peak state.

Then we all got up and drew a picture of our experience and shared what happened to us during the session.

Here's my drawing:

Some people saw visions, others saw colors (known as sacred geometry) and others felt certain things happen in their body.

Some people were crying and others were laughing.

We were told that these reactions are the body's way of releasing trapped emotions.

All of my reactions were somatic. I was doing a twisting motion most of the time, like a weird dance.

It made me happy.

I also felt a stiffness in my hands. This is common in breathwork and is known as tetany.

They say that it's just energy passing out of your body.

It might have freaked me out if I was doing it by myself, but the heads up in the beginning helped a lot.

After the session, I felt very light and the tension from my neck and shoulders was completely gone.

It was really amazing.

I knew that I had released trapped emotions and that was exciting.

My second, third and fourth breathwork sessions were with R. Christian Minson at Rythmia.

He is trained in the Transformational Breath school of breathwork.

I didn't get as much out of these sessions because I was trying to use the same methods that I learned from Dr. Eyerman.

But once I got used to the slower pace of this type of breathwork, I started to feel the same level of energy release as in my first session.

It just took a little while to get over my stubbornness.

Some people have experiences in breathwork that are as powerful as with LSD or plant medicine. That has not been the case for me…yet.

But it has created significant emotional releases and I will continue to do it.

Update (July 14, 2022): Since I first wrote this post, I've changed my opinion of breathwork.

Through personal experience, I've found that breathwork is a much more powerful healing modality than I originally thought.

You just have to go to the right therapist. I have had some very healing sessions and I noticed progress over a series of session.

This is what I recommend. My sessions with them have been profound. The hapé at the end makes a huge difference for me.

But like anything else, find what works for you.

Plant Medicine and Similar Substances

Another healing modality that can help resolve trauma is plant medicine or other hallucinogenic substances.

Plant medicines include:

• Ayahuasca
• Peyote
• “Magic” mushrooms
• Morning glory seeds (yup, the ones you get at Walmart)
• Hapé
• And more

Remember, these are not toys. Never take them without the supervision of an experienced therapist and only utilize them in locations where they are legal. 

Other substances like LSD and MDMA can also be used in therapy.

But they are illegal in most areas, so it's also difficult to find a great therapist who is experienced with these substances.

Ketamine is legal in many areas, so that might be a good place to start.

These substances have a long history of positive therapeutic value. If you don't believe me, read this book.

It's believed that Ayahuasca has been used in healing ceremonies for over 5,000 years and more modern substances like LSD have been curing people of addiction and PTSD since the 1960s.

In fact, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Bill Wilson credits LSD with curing his alcoholism.

But when he tried to get it added as the 13th step in AA, people in the organization where very much against it, so it was never utilized.

One of the most promising uses of these healing modalities is to treat PTSD in Israel.

The movie Trip of Compassion is a rare look into the clinical trials of MDMA for PTSD patients.

After I saw that movie, I realized that the benefits of these treatments are real.

That got me very interested, so I started researching the safest way to give hallucinogenic therapy a try.

Breathwork was one option.

Then I saw the movie The Reality of Truth on YouTube and Deepak Chopra was talking about Ayahuasca.

Here's the complete movie:

That piqued my interest.

The movie also talks about Rythmia and how it's the only medically licensed plant medicine facility in the world.

After watching a ton of videos and reading a stack of books, my wife and I decided that Ayahuasca at Rythmia was the way to go.

So we booked a trip.

They say that miracles happen at Rythmia. I was naturally skeptical because “miracle” is a strong word.

After going through the program however, I feel that it's actually an understatement. The healing that I received there was so deep and profound that it's hard to believe that it happened in just a week. 

There are so many amazing things that went on during my plant medicine journeys. It would take forever to share it all.

So in the interest of saving time, here's a summary of the biggest changes that I experienced after returning from Rythmia:

• I'm no longer addicted to distraction. I can focus on what I need to do and don't need music or a movie playing in the background.
• I speak more directly. I used to beat around the bush, but now I say exactly what I mean.
• For as long as I can remember, I've had deep feelings of shame and guilt. I never knew why, because I've never done anything that should make me feel that way. These feelings are now gone and I know why they were there.
• I feel much more confident and at ease in social situations.
• I'm much more aware of time and how we shouldn't waste it on things that don't matter.
• I feel a lot more compassion for others.

…and those are just the highlights.

If you want to hear more, I go into it in this video:

Keep in mind that I've been trying to change some of these behaviors for years…with very limited success.

I might not have believed in my transformations if I was alone, but to see about 60 other people go through even more significant transformations than mine, was truly a sight to behold.

Some of these people had major trauma from childhood and the bravely dealt with it over the course of the week, until they finally broke through and resolved them.

This has been the most effective healing modality for me. 

…so far.

If you are interested in learning more, follow the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), watch the Rythmia videos on YouTube and read anything by Stan Grof.

…and down the rabbit hole you go.

Other Healing Modalities to Experiment With

Here are some other healing modalities that you may want to try. I don't personally have any experience with them, but they may work for you.

• EMDR – I have read a couple of books on this, including a manual for EMDR therapists. A therapist basically analyzes your eye movements to see where you have trapped trauma and uses certain protocols to release the trauma. It looks like it has a lot of potential and people have had positive results, but I don't have any personal experience with it.
• Past lives regression – This is a subset of hypnosis, where you are hypnotized, then dig into your past lives to potentially resolve inherited traumas. If you don't believe in past lives, the book Many Lives, Many Masters may change your mind about that. It changed mine. Your issues may not be coming from past lives, so it's worth exploring, but most people will be working with traumas from their present life.
• Remote viewing – Yes, it's for real. The US government studied it during the cold war and the best viewers in the program had verified success. They were able to draw pictures of Soviet bases, having just a set of map coordinates. But the really interesting thing about remote viewing as a personal development tool, is that it can be turned inward to explore who you are. Watch this video, then pay attention at 1:39:35. It will blow your mind.

Conclusion

Trauma trapped in your mind/body can cause addiction, self sabotage and irrational behavior.

…not to mention poor trading performance.

These healing modalities can all be different doors to the same place…helping you overcome your trauma to become the best trader/human you can be.

I'm not telling you to do anything crazy. I just want to start a responsible discussion about what really works in trading psychology.

The days of rah-rah self improvement are over my friend.

Let's learn out how to find true meaning and purpose in trading and life.

Happy exploring!

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The post Advanced Trading Psychology: The High-Performance Trading Toolbox appeared first on Trading Heroes.

If you have been into trading (or any performance endeavor) for awhile, I'm sure that you have heard about how meditation helps elite performers stay at the top of their game.

But you may be wondering: Does meditation really work and can you measure the effectiveness of a particular type of meditation practice or mindfulness aid (device, audio recording, smart drug, etc.)?

Actually, I have no doubt that it works. But I was was wondering if it could be easily measured and more importantly…optimized.

There are a lot of different meditation techniques out there, how do I know that works best for me? 

This is the primary question that I wanted to answer.

I also had related questions like:

• Is TM the best meditation technique for me?
• Do you really have to sit up straight, with your back straight and legs at 90 degrees to get a good meditation session?
• Can I lie down and still have an effective meditation session?
• Can I measure my mental state in real-time, so I know that I am in a good state for making important decisions (like taking trades)?
• And much, much more…

Yes, I acknowledge that it may not be possible to answer any of these questions. But let's give it a shot anyway.

Here's how I'm going to attempt to do it…

In this post, I'll show you research that shows you that meditation does work. Then I'll get into the equipment that I'm currently using and how I'm going to quantitatively show the effectiveness of different meditation practices, to find out what works best for me.

Finally, I'll show you how I a took a baseline measurement and give you the data that I'm going to use to measure effectiveness of different techniques.

Does Meditation Really Work?

First, let's address the elephant in the room. If you aren't sold on the benefits of meditation yet, then you aren't going to be willing to try it.

So let's take a look at a few articles that show how meditation can benefit you.

Meditation Can Physically Change Your Brain in as Little as 8 Weeks

In this interview, a Harvard neuroscientist explains the results of two tests that were done to measure the effect of meditation on the brain.

The first study showed that life-long meditators had more gray matter in certain areas of the brain, compared to people who didn't meditate. These are the areas associated with decision making, memory and the senses.

Next, they wanted to find out how long it would take meditation to take effect. Their data showed increased brain volume in five different areas of the brain, areas related to concentration, memory, learning, stress and more.

Meditation Reduces

This article does a great job of explaining the benefits of mediation in plain English. For me, the most useful insight was that meditation can help us reduce activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which is associated with self-reference and rumination.

The result of an overactive medial prefrontal cortex is the reason that we can get stuck in ruts. By calming this part of the brain down, we can move forward more easily.

List of Other Studies

Those were just a couple of the best examples of studies that show that mediation works. If you would like to read other studies, here are a few more links.

• Harvard Yoga Scientists Find Proof of Meditation Benefit
• Multiple Studies of Transcendental Meditation
• Meditation Reduces Emotional Pain by 44%
• Wikipedia article with a ton of examples
• Differences in default mode network activity and connectivity

We do This in Trading, So Why Not in Meditation?

In trading, you need to find a method that fits your personality, schedule and goals. I believe that almost everything in life is like that.

You need to find what works for you. 

The career you choose will depend on your interests and abilities. Your partner needs to be a good fit for you. Hell, you are going to have a favorite flavor of ice cream, based on how your tastebuds are wired.

So why do we get stuck on one type of meditation practice, even if it might not be working for us?

Well, there can be some perfectly understandable reasons for that. Chalk it up to human nature.

Some of them may include:

• Religious affiliation
• Religious aversion
• Guru loyalty
• Peer pressure
• Laziness
• Lack of experience
• It's too “woo-woo” and can't possibly work

But I believe that the biggest reason is…

An inability to objectively measure the effect of mediation on ourselves. 

Think about for a minute.

When you fill out your trading journal or check your brokerage account statement, you can see that you made exactly $15,384.21 this month.

That's as objective as it gets. Either you made money or you lost money and you know exactly how much.

But with meditation, there isn't really a way to measure the results.

OK, I kind of feel better today…but was it because of my meditation session or the wine I just had?

So the question still remains, can the effectiveness of meditation be measured by the average person, at home?

Let's find out…

How to Measure Your Brainwaves at Home

Until fairly recently, it was almost impossible to take any kind of meaningful measurements of your brainwaves at home. You could ghetto-rig something like this, but the results would be a little suspect, and would depend heavily on how good your soldering skills are.

In order to get a legit reading, you had to go to a lab, usually at a university, and get your brainwaves measured there.

They would use a EEG machine that costs thousands of dollars and you would have to put some weird gel on your head and attach a ton of sensors on your scalp.

…and maybe one on your ear.

The whole procedure would probably take about an hour.

I've done it before, for a marketing study. They showed us a bunch of videos and recorded our responses.

I didn't get to see the results, but it was interesting to see the process in action.

But new technology has made it possible to get started with brainwave measurement at home.  I was fascinated by the potential of this technology, so I decided to do some research on it.

Here is what I found…

Brainwave Measurement Tools

First, I needed to find a way to measure my brainwaves. There are a few devices out there, but they are still pretty pricey, so I weighed my options carefully.

Why EEG Data is Important

In these product reviews, I will mention raw EEG data was one of the primary reasons for considering a device or not.

Here's why…

We can measure the state of our brain by measuring the dominant frequency that it gives off. Ultimately, this is the important thing that I want to be able to measure.

These are the primary brainwave frequencies and their associated states:

• Delta (0.1-3 Hz) – Associated with deep sleep
• Theta (4-8 Hz) – Memory access, learning and creativity
• Alpha (9-13 Hz) – Relaxation, meditation
• Beta (14-30 Hz) – Wide awake, focused
• Gamma (30-50 Hz) – Learning, information processing

So if I'm backtesting, I probably want to be in a Gamma state to promote learning. If I'm actually trading, I might want to be in a Theta state, to have easy access to my training.

When I'm not in the right state for the task at hand, I want to know that and be able to get myself into that state, for optimal performance.

But that is a more complex topic, to be tackled later. For now, I'm just going to measure relaxation level, as quantified by my measurement device. 

Researching these devices took me a lot of time, so hopefully this summary helps you find the best solution for you, much faster.

Emotiv EPOC+

I consider this the Cadillac of brainwave measurement devices. Money no object, this is the first device that I would buy.

Two reasons:

1. This is probably the closest that you are going to get to a lab quality EEG, at home. It has 14 sensors and will probably give you the most complete data.
2. Emotiv is already doing some really cool things with their headsets. Check out this video:

They are also beautifully designed. Well, as beautiful as this type of thing can get.

Why didn't I get it then?

First, the cost. It currently runs about $800 and that is just for the headset. At the time that I was looking at it, the software development kit would cost an additional several hundred dollars.

The little brother of the EPOC+, the Insight, was an option at about $300. But again, the software was an additional cost.

The software development kit (SDK) cost was important to me because I might want to create software for the headset. But more importantly, if the software is not freely available to other developers, it is less likely that there will be useful software out there that can perform specific functions.

In particular, I wanted access to the raw EEG readings. So while this seems like the best solution out there, it was not cost effective, so I had to pass.

Versus

The next measurement device I found was the Versus. While this device had some impressive endorsements, I felt like there was too much abstraction going on with this device.

What I mean by that is, they have some cool apps, where you can do things like fly a plane with your thoughts. But I was more interested in getting the raw data and quantifiable numbers.

It was also very expensive and a lot more than I wanted to pay. Plus, the headband is bulky and didn't seem like a very elegant solution.

…and why do I need earmuffs?

So on to the next…

NeuroSky MindWave Headset

I almost bought the MindWave headset, as it seemed like a good balance between price and functionality. At only $100, it could potentially be a great deal for the money.

But as I was going through the reviews on Amazon, it seemed like they had significant quality control issues. On top of that, their SDK, with access to raw EEG readings, is also quite expensive, at $500.

So for those two reasons, I decided to pass.

They do have a new BrainLink Pro device that looks promising. But you still have to pay for the software.

Focus Band

The Focus Band came up on my radar, but right away, it didn't seem like a viable solution. First of all, it seems crazy expensive for what it is.

Second, I didn't see a SDK available, so it looks like you are limited to whatever the company puts out. Quite frankly, their website also looks pretty cheesy.

It could be a good product, but nothing on the website communicated that to me. The device also looks too simple to do the job.

I might be totally wrong about that, but that was my impression.

Pass.

Muse Headband

Finally, we come to the Muse headband. At $249, it was on the lower end of the spectrum, and in line with the Emotiv Insight.

I almost bought the Insight and I think it might be a better device, overall.

But what made me buy the Muse was it is still a solid device and they offer a free software development kit, with access to EEG data.

What a concept…

If you want people to use your product, maybe you should make it easier to make software with it. Having a free SDK also makes it more likely that people will create useful software with it.

I was sold. The also have a cool app that is easy to use and allows you to take measurements of your sessions. So that is what I'm going to use for this experiment.

Is Muse the best device out there for measuring brainwave activity?

I don't know, the jury is still out on that. But I feel that it is the best starting point for anyone wanting to experiment with brainwave measurement at home.

My First Experiment

So I ordered my Muse Headband and started testing it. Here is the result from one session that I posted to Twitter:

The first thing that I wanted to do was setup a baseline measurement to compare to other results. So I started with a basic position that a lot of meditation practitioners recommend.

I sat in a chair with my back straight, legs at about 90 degrees, hands on my thighs and feet flat on the floor. Here's an example:

In this position, I took 10 readings over several days. They were done on random days and times, to get a good average.

I didn't use any aids in this round of testing, since this was a control test. I just tried to calm my mind as much as possible and breathed through my nose, until time was up.

Each session was only 7 minutes. As a meditation practice, that's probably not long enough to start to get any major benefits.

However, in this study, I think it is long enough to get meaningful readings of how effective a particular meditation method is. I've used a couple of meditation aids, which I will get into in future posts, and they have had a similar effect, regardless if the session was 5 minutes or 1 hour.

I measured my results with the Muse app. They have “calm points” which you can read more about here. It is a little overly simplistic, but it gives you a great way to quantify a meditation session.

Just to clarify, I didn't use the app's audio prompts to help me meditate. I only used it to keep time and measure my brainwave activity.

There are “calm points” and the idea is that you get 1 point for every second your mind is in a neutral state and you get 3 points for every second your mind is in a calm state.

Here are my results from the 10 sessions: 

1. 8:52 am, 55% calm, 858 calm points
2. 8:42 am, 28% calm, 614 calm points
3. 2:22 am, 76% calm, 1050 calm points
4. 9:09 am, 43% calm, 773 calm points
5. 1:16 am, 51% calm, 844 calm points
6. 9:22 am, 51% calm, 849 calm points
7. 11:18 pm, 59% calm, 911 calm points
8. 1:47 am, 55% calm, 878 calm points
9. 9:27 am, 36% calm, 725 calm points
10. 12:39 pm, 59% calm, 915 calm points

So the averages are:

• 51.3% calm
• 841.7 calm points

Therefore, this is what I should expect, when doing a basic mediation, with no aids and in this sitting position. This will be the baseline for future experiments.

Conclusion

So that was my first test of using the Muse headband to measure the effectiveness of different meditation techniques. In future blog posts, I'll show you the results from other tests that I have done.

My future tests might include:

• Audio recordings
• Environment changes
• Different meditation positions
• And more…

I also downloaded an app that shows brainwave data. I'm still learning how to use it, so more on that when I figure it out.

Here's a screenshot to the right. It shows all five brainwave frequencies and which one is dominant, in real-time.

The post What Really Works in Meditation? Here’s How I’m Going to Find Out appeared first on Trading Heroes.

Meditation for traders can be something that is easy to dismiss. It may seem like some “woo-woo” stuff that hippies try to get you to do before you take LSD.

But it actually has a lot of benefits.

This has been scientifically proven.

Yes, both LSD and meditation.

But since meditation is legal and LSD isn't, let's focus on meditation…

I have personally found meditation very useful in helping me become a better trader.

I think that there are some misconceptions about why meditation is valuable to traders.

So in this post, I'll give you my personal reasons as to why I think meditation is transformational, then I'll show you an infographic that will point you to scientific studies that have shown the benefits of meditation.

The Real Value of Meditation for Traders

You may think that meditation quiets your mind and gives you a big epiphany at some point, if you do it long enough.

But that's not really how it works.

At least in my experience…

To me, this is the real value of meditation:

The real value of meditation is you are more aware of what you are doing, allowing you to make positive changes.

But there are so many more benefits.

Meditation in Action

How can you tell if you have a good meditation session?

Well, it isn't always when you feel the most calm.

Sometimes the best sessions are ones where you are working through stuff and it feels like a storm.

But calmness does help. One way that you can measure this is with the Muse headband.

The free app that they provide is very rudimentary, but it does give you an idea of how calm your mind was during your meditation.

If you know anything about meditation, you know that it's not the calmness that matters, but it is the frequency that your brain is in.

Here are two meditation sessions that I recorded with Muse.

I'll write more about specific frequencies (and how to measure them) in a later blog post.

The Secret Weapon to Becoming the Best Trader You Can Be

Here's a great infographic from Chris at 2nd Skies Forex. It shows you the value of meditation in trading and why it is important for traders to do.

If you have any reservations at all about the benefits of meditation, then I think this information could change your mind.

If you have any personal experiences with meditation and how it has helped your trading, we would love to hear about it in the comments after the graphic.

Enjoy! 

The post 5 Reasons All Traders Should Meditate Regularly appeared first on Trading Heroes.

Today I'm going to show you an experiment that I'm currently doing with binaural beats meditation.

If you have been thinking about experimenting with binaural beats, this post will give you ideas on things to try and some reasons why you might want to try it.

I'll even include a free video that you can use for your meditation.

Here we go…

What are Binaural Beats?

In theory, binaural beats have the potential to retrain our brainwaves and put us in a state that is conducive to heightened concentration, lower anxiety and faster learning.

It basically works by feeding two different sound frequencies into each ear. The difference between the two frequencies is perceived as one frequency by the brain.

For example, if this woman was listening to a frequency of 530 Hz in her right ear and 520 Hz in her left, her brain would hear a frequency of 10 Hz, or the difference between the two.

Yeah, that's the simple version, but why make it complicated? I prefer to keep things simple. If you really want to geek out on the topic, read this.

Otherwise, that's all you need to know. Let's move on…

Does it Actually Work?

Alright, so your first question is probably going to be: does this stuff really work, or is it just a lot of hype? That really depends on who you ask and the results you want.

But there is evidence that it does work. There is also evidence that it doesn't work.

Studies Showing it Works

For example, this paper published in Anaesthesia in 2005, shows that listening to binaural beats before an operation lowered the number of patients with acute anxiety by about 50%. The report specifically says:

“Binaural beat audio has the potential to decrease acute pre-operative anxiety significantly.”

This article cites several different studies, showing that certain sustained brainwave frequencies have been shown to improve learning, creativity and more. It is published by a company that provides binaural beats recordings, so it has to be taken with a grain of salt, but there does seem to be a lot of evidence out there.

Studies Showing it Doesn't Work

On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of articles saying that it doesn't work. Just like trading systems, there will always going to be fanatics on both sides of the fence.

This podcast episode takes the negative side of the argument. They conclude that binaural beats are nothing more than calming music to listen to.

So…Does it Work or Not?

Whenever there is evidence for both sides, I find it best to just throw everything out and try it for myself. I suggest you do the same.

Nothing is going to work for all people, all the time. So give it an honest shot and find out for yourself.

Here is how you can get started…

The Binaural Beats Meditation Video

Here is a YouTube video can you can watch. It gives you both audio and video messages to help you reprogram your wealth awareness.

Yes, the reason that this video is free, is because there are a ton of popups in it. You can just ignore them and continue to use it for free.

…or you can purchase the paid version and not have to deal with the popups. Either way, you can give it a try and see how it works for you.

They have several different videos, so if you don't like this one, there may be another one that you like better. I personally bought the A Life of Luxury And Travel recording.

Conclusion

Just like in trading, there is no one-size-fits all. This may work for you and it may not.

Also, as I mentioned in the beginning, this is just a small part of the puzzle. You have to retrain your thinking and break previous thought patterns that do not suit you. You have to push past previous limitations.

But that is a topic for another post…

Another binaural beats program that I hear a lot about is Holosync and that is something that I might try in the future.

People report good results when using those recordings.

You can also get my trading meditation here.

Best of luck and I hope this helps! I'll let you know how it goes.

The post An Experiment in Binaural Beats Meditation for Trading appeared first on Trading Heroes.

You may have heard that meditation can help you trade better.

Just like anything else, it's not for everyone.

But I have yet to hear a case where it has not helped, at least a little, after the person gave it an honest effort.

So in this post, I will introduce you meditation for traders and hopefully remove some of the roadblocks that have prevented you from giving it a try in the past.

You will understand why it works, how it can benefit and how to meditate properly.

It is something that I believe should be part of what I call Holistic Trading, where you are not simply looking for entries and exits, but consider all aspects of your life and how they can improve your trading.

Trading better usually means that your quality of life will also improve, and the two will continually build upon each other.

Before we get started, you may think that doing meditation means that you have to join a religion or live in a commune or something.

Although many meditation practices do have religious roots, it is not a requirement that you join any type of group to get the benefits.

It is similar to trading, where you are free to learn from different teachers.

Take what works and leave what doesn't.

Another misconception is that it's time consuming, complicated or mystical.

It can be very simple.

You can start to see results in as little as 2 minutes a day.

Just like in trading, I opt for simple…but do what works for you.

Why Meditation Works

Meditation works by allowing us to control the state of our minds. 

We can measure these states by the frequency of the electromagnetic waves that our brains give off. The measurement process is called electroencephalography or EEG, for short.

There are different tools that you can use at home to measure your brainwaves.

See my list here.

If you are not familiar with the different types of brain waves, here is a short summary.

Mediation is associated with the theta and delta states, but I have included the others so you understand the bigger picture.

Your brain does not only operate in one state at a time, but in fact gives off brain waves of these frequencies all the time.

When I talk about being in these states however, I am referring to the dominant frequency.

Gamma

When your brain is giving off frequencies of greater than 30 Hz, you are in gamma state.

This is the state that is most conducive to active learning and information retention.

It is also probably the least studied state. If you need to learn something, consider trying to increase your brain activity before you sit down to study.

This is the state that monks can frequently achieve after years of practice

Beta

This is our bread and butter. When we are giving off frequencies between about 12 – 30 Hz, we are in an alert state and doing normal daily functions like analyzing and planning.

Alpha

This refers to the brain waves that are in the frequency between about 8-12 Hz.

This frequency range is associated with conscious reflection and a relaxed state of being.

This is often when you are most creative.

Theta

Now we get into where meditation starts.

When your brain is giving off waves in the 4-8 Hz range.

It is a state of deep relaxation and awareness.

In this state, you have an increased ability to visualize things and solve complex problems creatively.

Delta

When you go down past theta, you are in delta, which is less than 4 Hz.

If your brain is in this state, you are often in deep sleep, although some long-time practitioners of meditation can reach this state while awake.

This state is associated with healing.

Measurement

How do you know what state you are in?

There are many devices of varying complexity that will measure your brain wave activity or biofeedback devices that will measure your stress level.

Look around and see what suits your needs and budget.

Benefits of Meditation

There are many good reasons to practice meditation. In trading terms, it can lead to better concentration, calm under pressure and improved overall performance.

The benefits extend way beyond trading however. You will probably find that you are more relaxed in your everyday life and are able to cope with situations that may have overwhelmed you in the past.

This is a great list of the benefits of daily meditation, along with associated scientific studies.

According to a Harvard study, it has even been shown to ward off disease.

Now that you know how it can benefit you and how it works, let's take a look at how to meditate properly.

How to Meditate “Properly”

Contrary to what you may read on the internet, there isn't really one way to meditate properly. 

Instead, in my research and personal experience over the past 20+ years, I have found that “proper” meditation is the type of meditation that you will actually do on a regular basis.

That being said, I think that the best thing that I can do for you in this post is to expose you several different types of meditation and sources of information so you can start your journey on the right foot and figure out what works for you.

Let's start with a guided meditation that you can use before every trading session.

If you like this guided meditation, be sure to bookmark this page so you can come back to it later.

A Basic Trading Meditation

If you just want something to get started, here is simplest form of meditation that anybody can do.

Just do it every day for 5 days and see how you feel.

• Find a comfortable place to sit with your back straight. You can sit against a wall, on the floor or in a chair, whatever is most comfortable for you.
• Close your eyes and breathe in and out deeply and steadily. Only breathe in through your nose. You can breathe out through either your nose or your mouth.
• Concentrate on your breath and try not to think about anything else. Thoughts will come into your mind. Let them pass like you would pass someone on the street. If you try to shut them out, you'll focus on them and they won't go away.
• Do this for 1 minute in the beginning. Set a timer with a gentle alert tone, if necessary.
• Before you open your eyes, take one last deep breath in and visualize yourself calm and collected. Then exhale and slowly stand up and go on with your day.

Remember that the best meditation will be the one you actually do.

So keep it simple and don't get too caught up in the details.

Consistency is the key.

Transcendental Meditation

You may have heard of this type of meditation before because it is very popular. Famous practitioners include: Paul McCartney and Ellen DeGeneres.

I believe that one of the reasons that Transcendental Meditation has become so popular is because of its simplicity and the fact that it is does not tie itself to any religion or lifestyle.

Although I have not been through the full course, I have seen some of the TM tutorials in the past.

It is very simple and I'm not sure that you need a full-blown course, but I could be wrong.

Qi Gong

For people who do not like to sit still, Qi Gong may be a good alternative.

It isn't meditation in the more well-known sense, where you sit and close your eyes, but it does provide many of the same benefits.

The basic idea behind this Taoist practice is that you are cultivating and distributing your body's energy.

You move and breathe in ways that help you become more centered and energized.

I do these exercises occasionally and I feel great afterwards.

Other Trading Meditation Practices

If you dig deep enough, you will find that almost all of the major world religions practice some form of meditation.

Even if you don't believe in the religious part, you can still learn a lot by studying these practices.

Buddhism is the religion most frequently associated with meditation and there are some really good books out there.

The one that gets mentioned the most is Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki.

I have read it and although there is some religious nonsense it in, there is a lot of very useful information and practical exercises.

It is a great place to start if you are a beginner.

These books can also help on your journey.

You can try it out and see if it works for you. I highly recommend this course because it really helps you figure out what is holding you back in trading.

Final Thoughts on Trading Meditation

So regardless of which method you use, just get started and find out what works for you.

Keep in mind that you may have to do some searching to find what works best for you, so do not get discouraged if you do not feel any benefits right away.

Just enjoy the meditation process and understand that it is a lifelong endeavor.

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