These are the results of the Mantra chanting experiment.
Mantra chanting is no substitute for work (a trader's work involves analysis). I could not sit in a car and chant the mantra for the car to move. I had to drive it intelligently and responsibly.
Mahalaxmi being the Goddess of Wealth, I was expecting some windfall like lottery or unexpected financial gain that had no direct connection with my work.
However, nothing of that sort happened.
So was the mantra chanting useless?
Not at all. The mantra for me, seemed to work at a far deeper level, that produced longer lasting changes than just a momentary windfall.
The benefits are listed below:
Creativity
It provided me a stream of ideas in trading and writing. In trading I got the idea of Lunar ingress trading on a stop loss of 0.63%. It works more than 75% of the time for Crude Oil. Lunar ingresses occur every 2.5 days.
Note: Some traders have already written about Lunar ingress trading. However, reading about it and being convinced to try it are different. The main insight I got was that after the Moon passes 27 degree of the current sign, enter in the same direction as the next bounce off the Bollinger band (if it is not ranging). If it is ranging, do not enter.
Discipline
Keeping a weblog of my activities and having a target of 41 days forced me to stick to my schedule.
Health benefits
After 41 days, I found that my eyesight had improved quite a bit. I had trouble reading books like Lee Lehman's Horary Astrology, because it is in such small print. I had been considering taking up glasses, but they may not be necessary, atleast as long as I chant.
Increased output of work
During this period, I was able to write and publish several blog posts on blogger and one on Linkedin:Could Cortana be the undoing of Windows? My writing had been lagging for many months.
Increased energy and optimism
It was as if I had been plugged into a main supply line of energy. It allowed me to complete my daily targets. It also inspired me to start two more new projects, (actually sub projects) as a part of Becoming a better writer. The building blocks of good writing are regular reading and writing. I took the target of incrementing the duration for each by one minute everyday with a minimum of five minutes.
In addition, there were some more benefits from the mantra chanting experiment:
- It sobered up my trading temperament.
- Inspired me to take up two more self improvement projects in writing
- Had an interesting experience with my car service station wherein they agreed to pick up and re-service my car without any unpleasant argument
And now, the money making part
By the end of the 41 day experiment, I was regularly having 1-2 profitable trades every day. Failures were becoming fewer. In the last week, I did not have a single losing trade.
However, then the old enemy of the trader struck: Conceit. Oh this is all so simple. I became careless. and started flouting trading rules one by one. And then I traded with full leverage without proper analysis.
Result: Two devastating losses which took out most of the profit.
Conclusion:
Mantra Chanting, if taken up in addition to one's regular work and study schedule, can be significantly life altering. It has created a positive transformation in that I'm willing to have another go.
One should note that just chanting the mantra is not sufficient to produce results, by itself. One has to pursue the bare minimum of activities necessary to take small steps towards one's goals.
Important Note!
If, after reading this, you plan to take up mantra chanting, be sure to read the first part here. There are some precautions that I took that you may find useful.
Chanting mantras can cause some people to stress up, as we are forcing the mind into new channels. If this happens, go easy a bit. Pull back on the number of mantras When you feel relaxed and comfortable again, get back into the practice as earlier.
Mantra chanting can also bring out repressed emotions, so you need to learn to relax when the emotional turbulence strikes. You can do this by avoiding a direct confrontation with the emotions and thoughts and just watching your breaths. Counting the breaths or counting the rise and fall of the abdomen is a great and fun practice for this.
