Could Buddhism Teach You Something About Trading And Investing?

At first glance there seem to be few parallels between Buddhism and your trading and investing strategies, but is that really so? If you look beneath the surface a very different picture starts to evolve.

Traditionally we go through life viewing events, like market action as something that happens outside of ourselves and as something on which we have little or no influence.

We have neat little boxes for all those events with their clear beginnings and endings. This thinking, which is part of the old paradigm is essentially incorrect and has lead to a flawed view of reality. When your view of reality is skewed everything in your life will be affected, including your trading and investment strategies.

We know that things have a habit to work until they stop working. This principle, which is an integral facet of evolution has plaid out with frightening ferocity in recent months in the financial markets. A roller coaster of transition and change has taken over while the entire financial system is cleansing itself of old outdated habits and is trying to establish a new consensus. The old forces of the old paradigm vie with new forces of a new paradigm which is based on the latest findings in science, which are confirming what the old wisdom traditions have taught for thousands of years.

We have evidence now that indeed nothing is separate and when we traditionally talk about crowd psychology reflected in the markets we are merely seeing the concept of oneness playing out in front of our very eyes in the markets.

The basic building block of everything in the universe is energy. Energy in order to be alive needs constant motion. We see this constant motion expressed in duality, the constant market moves of up and down or sideways. This picture unfolds all the time, even when we catch a trend there is movement within the movement, since, as any technical analyst will tell you nothing ever goes up or down in a straight line.

Just as your life has fluctuations, even if you are not consciously aware of this. You are always changing to a lesser or larger degree. Markets reflect the collective consciousness of the masses. I don't care if you believe that the fed manipulates market action, sooner or later the market will exert its right to return to its natural cycle, which is a reflection of the cycle of the the mood of the general public. Presently a mood of deep dissatisfaction and resentment with the system that has caused a lot of hardship for many.

It is a huge misconception to think that blame is going to get you anywhere when dealing with market action. In fact, as you will always get what you focus on, because your mind is a very obliging tool and will get you what you are looking for, every time, you might want to consider the effect your pervasive negativity has on the collective consciousness and last but not least market action.

There simply is no getting away from the fact that you make reality and you create the market action through your thoughts and feelings. Every time you panic, feel desperate and you believe that the financial system may collapse you are creating a little more of that negative momentum which fuels the markets and you will find proof in your portfolio as it seems to be less and less every time you look.

There are many traders who find it difficult to go short. I will not go into the many reasons for this in today's article, suffice it to say, that conflicts with their belief system does not permit them to take advantage of the flexibility of the trading system. Markets move up and down.
Going short is no better then going long and both are just like the two sides of the same coin. Head or tail are of no value, unless you are betting on the wrong side and resent that fact.

If you are a savvy trade or investor you will have learned to take advantage of the many instruments available and position yourself in line with market action, but free from judgement about whether the market action is agreeable to you or not. Staying out of judgement is an art which Buddhism teaches us. It is a very useful habit to develop because it saves you wasting a lot of precious time as well as precious energy and will improve your trading and investing many times.

If more of us were doing this the present financial crisis may not be as dire as it appears at present. People with energy normally feel more positive and see opportunity. Once you can see how your many misguided thoughts and feelings make up your actions you are freeing yourself from pointless emotion and trance behaviour which is typical of crowds.

Believe me, the above is not new age mumbo jumbo but my view based on many years of experience and learning a lot about myself in years of trading and observing market action. If you want to be in control of your investment and trading strategies do yourself a favour and learn how you can expand your awareness. The man on top of the mountain sees more of the world and can appreciate more of it.