Mr Toppel/ Zen Trader

["Chris Lober" <cwlo@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Mr. Toppel,


1.  Can you describe your current meditation practice.  How long, and when
do you meditate?

2.  How has you meditation changed your trading over the years.  What are
the current changes you are dealing with?

3.  In a mind state of selflessness that meditation helps to create, how is
your analytical approach to trading affected?  Are you able to greatly
simplify the techniques you use, and allow your intuitive judgement to flow
freely?

4.  Do you ever encounter emotional irregularities/mood swings brought about
by meditation, and how do you
work around such difficulties to get in the proper state of mind for
trading.


How about this far flung idea- considering Zen ideas of how we are all part
of a whole- sort of a collective consciousness,  isn't it amazing to think
that the markets are really a good proxy for this whole.  Interestingly,
they (markets) operate very similarly to the universe- They are
unpredictable, self correcting, in that they take an imbalance and try to
bring it into balance, are completely immune to our best wishes, and
finally, are composed of a collective consciousness.

Furthermore, just like Zen talks about how our beliefs alter our view of
reality  to something that isn't reality, it works the same way, and is
especially important for trading markets.

Comments?

Thanks,

Chris Lober