:: meanders ::

:: Meditation Shown to Light Up Brains of Buddhists
Those that experience moments of balance, equanimity, and poise through meditation know they can, through persistence and focus, bring those qualities into their trading. For those that need proof meditation isn't just a mind game, scientists have shown that indeed meditative brains are different. Traders talk about keeping their emotions in check, being unflustered, and curbing their fear and anger. Meditators know from experience this can be acheived. Recently, scientists have (once again) proved it:

The scanning studies by scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison showed activity in the left prefrontal lobes of experienced Buddhist practitioners. The area is linked to positive emotions, self-control and temperament. Other research by Paul Ekman, of the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, suggests that meditation and mindfulness can tame the amygdala, an area of the brain which is the hub of fear memory. Entire article: Buddhists really are happy, calm and serene people

While the article focussed on "Buddhists", one needn't consider a change of religion to practice meditation. Perhaps one of the simplest introductions to "meditation" is Thich Nhat Hanh's "Miracle of Mindfulness". Hanh was nominated by Martin Luther King for a Nobel Peace prize and writes clearly and practically. One simply breathes quietly. That is it, no mantras, no visualizing gods or mandalas. Perceptive readers of Mark Douglas' "Trading in the Zone" who also meditate no doubt recognize the parallels he draws with "the Now moment" and basic tenets of buddhist theory. One needn't be "religious" to recognize that a well conditioned mind can only help one make better, more effective, decisions in a livelihood that is inherently fraught with emotional perils. The point being, if you are at your wits end, swinging hither and yon with your trading, rather than more fierce mental stimulation, perhaps personal quiet time to still your mind is what might work.