Thanks,

I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think." - Socrates

Good afternoon, How are you?

Perseverance with patience.

Reading philosophy, psychology and history.

Regards,

Ya recibí su cheque de usted. Me llamaron la atención por la tinta verde ... el banco me dice que los cheques se firman en azul o negro para que la copia digital se vea mejor.

I feel envy when seeing you meeting with previous Austin meetings. I feel I want that, maybe [Name], you and I can have couple meetings, or abridged processes, when we get together. I feeling I want to have meeting every night, in the hotel, or on the go, if you guys want to. |=)

When thinking of catching the feelings on the the fly and applying intimacy method out there in the street, I am feeling a little holding of breath, wiggling my body through a crack of web. It's awesome.

Thanks,

Wants to Join the Austin Tribe

Ed,

My wife and I are considering moving to Austin to be closer to family.

I own an investment management operation... which is a CTA and RIA.

I was just curious, is the Austin Trading Tribe still meeting? If so, I'd love an opportunity to join if me and my family decide move to Austin.

P.S. I like the SVOP concept you mentioned in Micheal Covel's recent podcast. Makes me want to write more because it helps with clear thinking.

Hello Mr Seykota,

... It's an honor for me to be connected here to a living legend like yourself.

I have a question about transitioning to full-time trading (I'm working for corporate now as a mobile developer) but my passion is in the stock market.

I've been trading for 2 years and the results starts to show now.

But it's not gonna be easy to switch when 40, having a full-time job and not too much money to start with (around 30k).

Can you give me a piece of advice on how to best make this transition?

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your time.

Regards,

how can you maintain a positive attitude?

I think my knowledge level is high but by patience runs out from time to time.

I find that trading can be a lonely business and my morale can drop off over-time.

Thanks

We are celebrating 10 year Trading Tribe anniversary 2015 in Sweden! Thanks for starting the Trading Tribe concept and help people develop. I feel very satisfied with the results. Not yet a dramatical financial success but a whole lot more inner peace and inspiration in my life. I also experience a feeling of satisfaction of being able to follow my trend following system.

Best regards,

The document hits on bail-outs, bail-ins, money printing, inflation, etc.

I find it thoughtful and interesting.

http://www.bwater.com/Uploads/FileManager/research/deleveraging/an-in-depth-look-at-deleveragings--ray-dalio-bridgewater.pdf

June 17, 2015

Tribe Report - Going with the Flow

Ed,

At a recent Tribe meeting I take the role of process manager.

I notice my effectiveness increases as I allow myself to let go of trying to control the process - and just surrender to flowing with it - sometimes confessing I do not know what to do and asking for guidance from others.

People who can keep agreements, their word is their bond, are people who I respect and I sense are respected by others as well. They can be counted on.

Many years ago, as a competitive bodybuilder, keeping agreements with me is essential to my success. I am a champion of my country in 1996 and know that it is a direct result of my keeping certain agreements with me. I also keep certain agreements with others. I show up at school and at my work on time without problem. However, there are agreements I do not keep at all. They fall into a seemingly grey category.

I often promise, in other words make an agreement with my wife, kids, myself, or someone I know well enough which I don't keep. I don't know why I do this. I promise little things and/or big things and then find it ok to not deliver. Well, in a sense I can always tell. I feel this sting in my gut, it knows, so I know.

The way I understand this is, it takes a certain amount of effort to keep them all. I may keep my agreements with my clients, and some very important ones with my family and friends, but to keep them all takes an effort.

I notice that it is hard to break an agreement with you, Ed, as you keep me clearly accountable yet it is easy to break an agreement with my wife. Well, not all of them of course. I get a sense where the line is drawn by her, and I guess by me, on what is acceptable to break and what is not.

I also notice that I can break agreements as long as I can justify it by blaming it on external factors. As long as I know people operate in control centric and cause effect model, it's easy to break them.

Since the tribe meeting I notice being more aware of the agreements I have and my determination to keep them especially the small ones, the ones I seem to be breaking easily.


Yesterday I tell my son as I leave the house that I will be back in an hour to work through some math with him. While I am away, the situation changes and I am unable to make it back in an hour.

The sting in my gut lets me know I have an outstanding agreement that I am about to break. I call him and ask if we can change it. He seems very surprised by my phone call and agrees to it. Afterwards, I feel more powerful and the sting goes away.

I think if I practice my commitment to keeping agreements, no matter how small, I may not only be more powerful and respected by others, but I may teach my children the importance of agreements and that they are worthy of their agreements kept.

Ed and tribe, thank you for bringing up this issue.

Sincerely,

Two different grooves form organically during the drumming. This sets the tone for a meeting that follows it's own flow.

I play the Father for the first process. I get into it. His catch phrase is "I'm sick and tired". This is the father's refrain for dealing with his misbehaving children and encapsulates the concept of the rock he donates.

The rock teaches hot seat that you can get things done by expressing anger and using physical force to manipulate people into compliance.

The whole dynamic is kicked off by the mother who donates the instigate rock. She stirs up conflict by going through one of hot seat's brother's stuff, or some other drama. Then things escalate and Dad is called in to be the heavy. He comes in saying I'm sick and tired of this and gets into a fistfight with the older brother.

Another sibling donates a third rock. He advises shutting down and waiting for the conflict to blow over.

The whole Tribe is into it; rocks are returned and replaced with the Heart Rock. I sense that real work has been done. I'd like to thank hot seat for bringing the Tyrant to tribe and doing the work. It definitely brought up a lot of feelings and memories for me.

After break another member leads us in a process around agreements. He hasn't done any work on his lab project and isn't the only one. This kicks of a group process around agreements and the feeling that come up. I get into a quick stack of judges on avoiding things that are hard to do. Chief points out that things usually aren't hard to do. Writing code is just mashing keys! It's the feelings that come up that are the hard part. This resonates and I can feel it right now while I press these keys. Chief frames up agreements as an opportunity to communicate and participate.

Thank you,

June 17, 2015

Texas Wants to Get its Gold Back

Ed,

You might like to notice:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-law-first-state-gold-bullion-depository-federal-reserve/

Pioneer

Hi Ed,

Who do you think is the real "pioneer" in back-testing? Who do you think was the first to really started using a computer to back-test entries, exit, and sizing methods? you? Dochian? Dennis? Thorp?

I wonder if you could teach me the process. I would like to spend a couple months learning more with you and learning more about myself in the process.

I would like to chop wood and carry water for you. I see myself serving you with your daily activities and running errands and stuff during the day and working on my own system at night.

The significance of my hot seat becomes more apparent when I return home.
While emptying the contents of my carry-on bag, I place my new Heart Rock in
a crystal cup sitting on my desk.

The Heart Rock settles next to a fear rock,

I pick up (literally) while swimming in a cave by myself. I encounter a wall
of fear where the sunlight ends and the darkness begins. I swim forward and
find myself drifting backwards. I continue into the darkness and reach the
end of the cave where I retrieve the polished rock from the sandy bottom.

Growing up, I recall living in a state of fear most of the time - a fear of
the tyrant.

The first Hot Seat is preparing for a sales presentation for his fund. He stops right after he starts working on it and doesn't make any progress. He wants to overcome the stopping. The Chief wants him to go around to each of us in the group and ask us for money. He instead goes into his sales presentation but none of us gives him a positive response. Again the Chief wants him to ask him for money. The Hot Seat grins and doesn't want to go any further.

I can relate to the Hot Seat's reluctance to share his feelings and experiences. I hold back sometimes as well. It takes a lot for me to push forward.

I am in the next Hot Seat. I also have a problem stopping. I am taking an online course to learn 3D animation software. As I am trying to learn the program I feel nervous and incompetent. I finally shut down. I don't feel that I am learning the software very well.

As the process begins, I get into a form where I am pressing the tips of my fingers against my forehead and shaking my head from side to side. I feel angry and stupid. I remember a time when I am very young. I am trying to help clean up the kitchen and throw out some important papers with the newspapers.

My mother receives a phone call and she starts to look for the papers because she put them on the kitchen counter. She looks frantically but doesn't find the papers. I say that in trying to help clean up the kitchen, I notice some papers along with the newspapers and throw them all out. My mother becomes very angry and starts to yell at me. She tells the woman on the phone that I put the papers in the garbage. When my mother gets off the phone she continues to scream at me. She says that she needs to go to the Social Security Office to get new papers. The papers are for my grandfather. I shut down and don't say a word. She doesn't speak to me the rest of the day.

The Tribe members role-play the situation with my mother. In this instance, I shutdown and play it the way I usually do. We role-play it again this time my father gives me two Rocks. One is the "shutdown" Rock and the other is the Rock of "doing annoying things" or "attention seeking". I convince everyone in the group that I am sincere about giving the Rocks back to my father. I return the Rocks to my father. We do another role-play but I receive the Rock of new technology. This time I ask my mother if I could help her clean up the kitchen. She says no and to go away in a rude manner. I thank her for telling me and ask her if there was a time later on we could spend time together. I tell her I want to connect with her. This question irritates her but says she will find time. I thank her for telling me that.

I learn a lot from this process. I learn more about respecting other people's boundaries. Even when my mother is angry and abrupt with me I stand my ground and use the new technology. I tell her what I want. I am also more aware of the things I do to get attention that may bother others. I also acknowledge that I may not get the rapport I want from my mother but I get the relationship she is able to give me.

The next Hot Seat says she wants to be more of a partner in a relationship than an assistant. She feels that in her relationships with men she supports them at the cost of her own needs. She gets into forms and remembers a time when she is very young.

She makes fun of a boy in her grade school class who has done something embarrassing. Her teacher scolds her for doing that and she feels shame and shuts down. She receives the Rock of "putting down others" from her mother and the Rock of "feeling shame and shutting down" from her father. The Hot Seat then does the role-play again and realizes the Rocks she has don't work for her. She gives the Rocks back to her mother and father. She receives the Rock of new technology. This Rock allows her to share her feelings and ask the boy how he feels in the next role-play we do. I am glad she sticks with the process and gains new insights into her relationships.

I can relate to her issue of subordinating her feelings and needs to the men in her life. I have the same issue with others in my life. I can see using Tribe technology to help me stand up for myself and respecting other people's boundaries as well.

The final Tribe member to participate tells us that while on a skiing trip he and his wife establish good rapport with another couple. He feels distress because the couple has a tragedy in their family and don't inform him. He wants better relationships with other couples but he doesn't want the obligation of always having to socialize with them. We listen to his issue and give him feedback. There is no process here but he said his concern about the issue had settled down.

I would like to thank you Ed for hosting the Austin Tribe at your home and running the meeting.

I thought you might like to know how strong the dollar is right now.

http://youtu.be/_riRktqw7MU

A fun math & music demonstration ... I hope you enjoy the tune.

http://youtu.be/yWv21DKwBFg

Ed,

Yesterday an event excites feelings of anxiety, fear, and confusion.

Today I awake from a dream where I see my wife's engagement ring without the diamond. I go back and forth in my head about trusting her and what I can do to alter and control the situation. After plotting and conjuring schemes I come to a point where I recall a similar instance 10+ years ago of betrayal of two people close to me and my refusal to feel.

I also plotted revenge at that time but never carried it out and still carry the weight of that. I make a self resolution to give an ultimatum that I will leave the next time my wife's boyfriend calls.

Out of nowhere a small wave of sadness washes over me. I feel tired of going no further than this top layer of anger. I feel sadness but it feels partially blocked, some time passes and a larger wave of sadness hits me.

As I cry I think about leaving and breaking up my family and how much hurt would ensue. I think about when you mention feeling sadness at wanting to help a family member, accepting the sadness but also outlining boundaries. I don't know what to do at this point and I feel OK with that knowing I can fall back on the heart rock if I want to.

I report that I feel calm and empowered following our Tribe meeting and System Lab meeting this week. I feel connection with you (entire PR Tribe). I would like to thank you for that connection and acknowledge you for your support and work.

I would like to acknowledge our Tribe for having consistent willingness to work on issues and support each other in process as well.

I notice that whenever I play a role in the Rocks Process, the role I play relates directly to my own process and experience in some way. I notice that even when I don't play a role, the work relates to my process too. I learn and grow a great deal each time we meet.

My willingness to feel, ability to connect with others and experience life in the now increases with each Tribe meeting.

Thank you, I experience a more fulfilling life as a direct result of our work together.

PR Tribe Report:

At Tribe this week, we work on <Sick and Tired>, agreements and commitment.

HotSeat #1 notices that he struggles to make progress with different things in his life. He chooses his golf game as an example and notes that he is doing ok, then, when he tries to make an incremental improvement things go down hill and he gets worsening results with each change he makes attempting to improve things.

We have a few rounds of feedback, encouragement, willingness checking and questions to isolate the issue.

HotSeat revisits the golf swing issue ...The swing gets worse, he feels <lathered up> and <disgusted> then, all of a sudden "the tyrant appears" and he feels <Sick and Tired>. "The Tyrant" is an angry, critical and aggressive internal voice / feeling ​ that is unkind to HotSeat. HotSeat takes action to stop the <Sick and Tired> feeling delivered by "The Tyrant".

<Sick and Tired> emerges as the issue / feeling. We learn that it is a core part of HotSeat's process and a way that he communicates what he wants to others in his life.

Tribe works together to identify rock donors, model and then role play a scenario from Hot Seat's childhood that teaches him this model.

The model simulates a time that HotSeat's mother instigates drama by crossing a privacy boundary with HotSeat's older brother. They argue, his mother calls in his father "the muscle" to enforce her position and HotSeat's father shows / does <Sick and Tired> while he fights with Hot Seat's older brother. It gets physical.

I play the role of another of Hot Seat's older brothers in process. HotSeat explains that we share a room. I assume we are paired up because we are close in age or have rapport. I feel like we have a special bond / camaraderie.

As the drama unfolds between mom, brother and dad, HotSeat and I just observe, I demonstrate then donate <Shut Down> rock. It prevents us from being actively enrolled in the drama and prevents a direct engagement with mom and dad.

Rocks Process progresses and role play is very intense. The fighting, emotion and feelings are real. The fighting, yelling and tension are scary. My heart races.

At one point I notice we are engaged in role play at a Tribe meeting and it feels a bit disorienting to "return" to the meeting from the feelings and context of the role play.

I observe and feel that all participants are also very much in role and in the now. My eyes meet "mom's" and she also looks frightened and alert as dad and our older brother continues to fight and yell.

Role play continues and rocks are Fore-Given.

I feel many feelings and notice how they shift and settle as Hot Seat tries a new Heart Rock and diffuses the drama proactively by asking family members how they feel and acknowledging and thanking them for sharing their feelings.

We begin the checkout process in character.

I notice that my posture shifts and I feel awake and connected as I am released from my role and set down the <Shut Down> rock.

We check out as ourselves. I continue to feel very awake.

I notice that I donate <Shut Down> in several other rocks processes. <Shut Down> is something I am very good at. I notice that since my own Rocks Process a month or two ago, I no longer choose to use <Shut Down> in my life.

After our dinner break, Chief asks if anyone has anything to work on.

I share my feelings about a recent health emergency with my son, closing a business and my office, my decision to postpone working on my lab paper and to use many "reasonable"​ excuses to arrive at Tribe without my paper ready for the next day's meeting. I know iI've procrastinated, made excuses and that I am en-route to breaking an implicit agreement with the Tribe. The deal is that we work on and present our research. I want to work and have willingness to feel the feelings of not keeping the commitment. I don't know where to start.

Chief ​asks me how I feel about broken agreements and I share my feelings. It's a sickening sensation in my throat, like swallowing something sticky and thick that lingers like a clump. It's a bit nauseating and spreads down into my gut, aching. I crinkle my nose and upper lip. Disgust.

Chief asks more questions. I feel and share my feelings about each topic as Chief asks about broken agreements, who breaks agreements with me, how I feel breaking agreements, what I do and how I feel.

As I accept the feeling I notice memories of times I have been unwilling to have the feeling. ​I let the feelings sink in and realize this is a big issue for me.

I decide / notice that I have willingness to feel the feelings and allow the positive intensions to be of service. The disgust dissipates.

Tribe members get involved in the dialogue. The agreements issue is relevant for everyone in the group. Everyone has some observations and feelings to share.​

I notice I am somewhere between thoughts and feelings as I relate to what's being said and that the Tribe is now working on an informal role play of an <agreements> issue with another tribe member, HotSeat#2.

We role play making an agreement and model a specific agreement and situation that HotSeat# 2 member would like resolved.

​After a few iterations with different Tribe members role playing making an agreement, we identify that the issue is that HotSeat#2 does not like working with buffoons.

He can't tolerate idiots and that's exactly what he gets: Incompetent vendors that bring up feelings he does not want to feel.

Once HotSeat#2 recognizes and articulates the issue, many feelings come up. They are concentrated in the front of HotSeat#2's face. He cups his right hand places it over his nose, like an oxygen mask, finger tips touching his brow at the bridge of his nose. He wrinkles is forehead and squints. His voice seems sort of muffled as he describes the location of the feeling.

Chief initiates the Stack of Judges process with HotSeat#2.

Chief asks HotSeat#2 to amplify the form and then asks if he likes the feeling.

HotSeat#2: "no, I don't like it".
​
Chief: "how do you know you don't like it? What does not liking it feel like?"

HotSeat#2 finds and amplifies another form.

Chief: "Do you like that one?"

HotSeat#2: "no, I don't like it".​

Chief: "how do you know you don't like it? What does not liking it feel like?"

HotSeat#2 finds and amplifies another form.

Chief: "Do you like that one?"

HotSeat#2: "no, I don't like it".​

This continues and the forms and feelings travel around HotSet#2's body and finally rest at his ankles as he stretches his legs out and rotes his feet from his ankles.

Chief: "Do you like that one?"

HotSeat#2 pauses and then relaxes a bit, smiles and discovers "Yes, I like this one"

We stay with him as he experiences and discovers this feeling.

When he looks up to make eye contact with us and continue, Chief says "We call that one the Happy Judge. You might notice that all the other feelings and judgements are gone."

HotSeat#2 confirms this is accurate, that the feelings are "just gone".

Chief explains the Stack of Judges Theory and we discuss how it works.

Chief notes that we have not completed my process.

He asks me how I feel about keeping agreements and suggests that I still have until morning to keep my agreement. We discuss that commitments can be non hierarchical and can be prioritized by timing. I notice I classify agreements as "important", "moderate", "casual" and notice that this creates drama and delivers feelings.

I suddenly feel very good and realize I keep my agreements. I notice that I have willingness to feel feelings as I make clear agreements that I want to keep. I find that I have willingness to address and accept feelings that arise while keeping making agreements and keeping commitments.

As I work on my Lab presentation (very) early the next morning I notice how HotSeat#1's process seems related to my results and noticeI feel different now. I'm energized and interested in the work. I had felt sick and tired before.

In the morning I remember I have made an agreement with my wife and recognize that I am about to break it because I don't want to feel uncomfortable waking someone up. I notice my internal dialogue starting to justify breaking the agreement and postpone feeling the feelings. I change course and decide I have willingness to feel uncomfortable if that is what happens.

I keep my commitment, enjoy telling my friend that I feel uncomfortable waking him to look for an old key and end up feeling great.

I like having clear agreements with myself and others and I like keeping them.

Thank you.

My name is [Name] and I would like to join the Trading Tribe in Austin. I am very passionate about trading and I want learn from and contribute to the group.

If you have any open spots in the group I would love be apart of the Tribe. If you have 2 mins please hit the reply button and let me know either way.

Thank you for your time and I'm looking forward to hearing back to you.

All the best,

Querido Cacique Ed,

I send you an update of the Berlin Tribe.

Best regards,

I am feeling confusion on how to bring the commodities on foreign exchanges into my back testing system. For the contracts based on foreign currency, I can calculate the P/L base on foreign currency. But when calculating the performance, I need to convert it back to US dollar. The way I come out and plan to use is to use the exchange rate on the day of exit day to convert P/L back into USD. This also means I need to keep track on the exchange rate every day since the entry until the exit (to keep track of its contribution to the daily equity run of the total account). I wonder if this is the right way to do it?

It feels like a marathon since I am trying to build this market universe for my back testing system. The universe is a little bigger than I think, and the data processing is a little more complicated than I think, and I am feeling tired when pressing on.

The back testing is getting slower when I add more and more markets into the test, and after I add more algorithm it gets even slower. I haven't done the optimization yet and it's already much slower. I might have to try to rewrite my back testing system into multi-thread application and use cluster to help improve the computation speed. I wonder if you ever use super computer to help speed up the back testing?

Thanks,

I look in the mirror : no fake smile, not scowling, just neutral - this feels right.

People seem to be taking me more seriously without the grin. I notice the difference in most interactions. Being neutral keeps me in the moment and I can be more mindful of my feelings - I also take me more seriously.

At first it was difficult giving up the manipulation. I used to get a lot of coverage from my ability to agree with whatever crazy idea someone had, or at least not engage on the topic. When I stopped just playing along I realized that there was a real chance of someone not liking me.

I raised this issue with some friends while we were hanging out after Tribe. I asked how they dealt with people not liking them.

The first to respond offered that there is a lot of people in the world so the odds that they will all like you are pretty low. Makes sense.

Second up, offered that he always figured if someone didn't like him it was their problem.

This one resonates, after all who am I to try and control someone else's feelings. This is the type of manipulation that I put down with the rock. It is not moral of me to try to change their feelings, just as it is immoral to not honor my own.

A third simply asked that I consider that I'm actually more likeable without the fake likeability. The evidence seems to support this.

As I communicate clearly – without mixed messages – I find more success in business and personal relationships. I attribute this success directly to my work in Tribe, and would like to acknowledge and thank my Tribe.

Time to move on to the next layer.

Thank you.

Hope you are fine. You have often said about feelings.

Read this and remembered you.

"Whatever you resist you become. If you resist anger, you are always angry. If you resist sadness, you are always sad. If you resist suffering, you are always suffering. If you resist confusion,you are always confused. We think that we resist certain states because they are there, but actually they are there because we resist them."
— Adyashanti

Hi Ed,

Thank you for TSP. I wonder you would still like to accept submissions for it. That part of your website looks pretty dated and you haven't updated in a while.

I attach my project below.

I wonder if you plan to update TSP. If so I would like to help.