Questions
(Quotes
from Ed in Red)
|
Answers
|
Wed, 10 Nov 2004
TT Process.
Hello Ed,
I was doing a research for about last 5 years trying to find how to become
a great trader. My lousy trading performance inspired me to research. I've
practiced meditation and affirmation to certain success.
The
culmination of this process was a clear intuitive prediction and large bet
on a short side 1 day before the Sep 11 attack.
This fascinated
me - "Fred" knows everything. Few weeks before that event I
wrote with my own hand in daily writer the words "broken
airplanes", "buildings" and "910" and stock
symbol of major airline without having a clue about the meaning of these
words.
I felt I was on
the right track researching the trading success but still missing
something important. Started with heavily bookmarked "Market
Wizards", I kept searching for answers for trading success but
instead of "honing" my trading by doing more trading I was
guided to books of Eckhart Tolle "The Power of Now" and Osho
"Meditation - The First and Last Freedom" and "The Book of
Secrets".
The bottom line
of my very specific research was the strong feeling of need to practice
the feeling and listening to my body and my emotions and feelings. Few
weeks later the first thing I unexpectedly noticed was that I lost about 8
pounds of extra body weight without any other reason to explain it.
Few days ago I also stopped by your site and read through your TTP
techniques
which describe the importance of practicing the exact same thing!
AHA!
Hopefully I'll meet you one day,
|
OK.
|
Wed, 10 Nov 2004
SVOP Rules
the Rulers
From: You Can Fool Some People Sometimes
by: Rasa Karapandza, Milos Bozovic
"We develop an empirical procedure to quantify future company
performance
based on top management promises.
We find that
the number of future tense
sentence occurrences in 10-K reports is significantly negatively
correlated
with the return as well as with the excess return on the company stock
price.
We extrapolate
the same methodology to US presidential campaigns since 1960 and come to
some startling conclusions. The candidate who used less future tense
sentences in televised debates won the popular vote ... "
Source: http://arxiv.org/abs/
math.ST/0410586
|
If
politicians really want to change, they can join a tribe, practice SVO-p
and start addressing their own issues.

John
Kerry
Victory
Speech Excerpts
Super
Tuesday
March 3, 2004
Thank you all ...
Tonight the message could not be clearer all across our country: Change
is coming to America ... we have no illusions about the
Republican attack machine and what our opponents will try to do
... And in 2004, we will tell the truth ... and we will
fight to give America back its future and its hope ... Millions more
live in fear everyday that they will lose their job ... Together we
will build a strong foundation for growth by repealing the Bush tax
cuts ... We will repeal every tax break and every loophole ... We
will provide new incentives for manufacturing ... We will fight
for worker and environmental protections .... and we will raise the
minimum wage ... And we will meet one of the historic challenges of
our generation with a bold new plan for energy independence that will
invest in technologies of the future ... We will stand up
for the fundamental fairness of health care as a right and not a privilege
... We will rejoin the community of nations ... And we will keep trust
with Lincoln 's ideal of America as "the last best hope of
earth." leadership of our country.
So the message rings out tonight across this land: Get ready - a new
day is on the way.
Clip: www.dvmx.com/
johnkerryspeech.html
|
Tue, 9 Nov 2004
Our First
Session
My friend and I decided to start a tribe. Armed with theory we take turns
on the hot seat.
He is first, I
am the receiver. At first I have the impression that he easily gets into
his somatic feelings. As if he longed for this consciously. He starts
feeling itches on his forehand. I ask him to intensify the sensation. He
does that and starts scratching. It takes a while before he starts doing
this in a flow manner, without effort.
He then stops
feeling it. I ask him if he wants to scratch again. He negates. In a
standard manner, I wait a while and then ask if he can describe what he
feels now.
He locates some
feelings on his face and his other hand which seem go relatively easily
away. We dissolve them until he starts mentioning something in his chest.
This rings a bell quickly.
I ask him to
describe the feeling and have the impression that it is not easy for him
to do this.
So I ask him
to move his body anyway he wishes to. He starts moving slowly his
chest inwards and says that he feels pressure and a weight on him. He
intensifies this. He starts to feel pain and holds his breath quite long.
Then he suddenly
stops and curls on the chair. Then after a rest, he opens his eyes and
says that he is in the controlling mode again.
I try to get
him back on track by telling him that perhaps it is precisely what he
needs to feel to untie a knot. I encourage him.
He hesitates. So
I tell him to try it without my backup. We sit silently for a longer while
and finally he tells me that he does not want to do it alone. Now its
easier for him to get back on track. The cycle repeats three of four
times. From time to time he stops to describe me what he felt. I listen
for a while and then suggest him to stop explaining them to me just to get
back on track.
I, as the
receiver think to myself, that maybe I am a bit pushy at this
point, he sits for over 3.5 hours. We do not get to zero point however. I
can still feel the tension. We both feel awkward and do not say much or
smile to much. I meet him today and asks how he feels about the
session.
He tells me that
afterwards he was a bit shaken and that he is considering to discontinue
this. This is a disappointment for me. I do have mixed feelings since he
gives good news regarding a different matter, but I do not feel TTP
commitment from his part.
I ask him to
write down his impressions from his hot seat so that maybe we can ask you
for suggestions. He looks away and says ok, leaving me with the impression
that he has other things on his mind. So, any suggestions?
|
Asking
your receiver to get back on track might derail him.
His
excursions off the track might comprise exactly the path the process wants
him to follow.
A
good receiver knows how to encourage the sender, no matter where he goes.

A
Collision
is
being exactly on track
with
derailing.
Clip: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/
2000/09/05/derail.jpg
|
Tue, 9 Nov 2004
Stock Market
Guru
Hi Ed,
I read about one "guru" who claimed to make about 5,0000 + % one
year ... is this possible?
Do you only trade stocks at new highs?
|
Yes,
it is possible for you to read about a guru.
Your
story seems apocryphal; you have four zeroes after the comma.
Trend
followers trade at new highs and at new lows.

Professor
Puss Sez:
Once
you pass
5,0000
percent per year,
accuracy
is not very important.
Clip: http://www.catconnexions.s-p-a-c-e.
co.uk/Professor%20Puss.jpg
|
Mon, 8 Nov 2004
TTP in Vienna
Dear Sir,
As I learned from the TTP homepage in order to setup a new TTP-Tribe in a
geographical area where no Tribe is in existence I have to contact the
site (you) and send my co-ordinates.
I would like to set up a Tribe in Austria near Vienna. My CV is attached.
|

Welcome
Vienna,
Austria !

Grand
Hotel, Vienna
Clip:
http://www.botros.at/images/hotels/
ANA%20Grand%20Hotel%20Vienna.jpg
|
Mon, 8 Nov 2004
Evolution
What do you think of the idea, that in order to survive there needs to
be evolution - applies to everything ...
What about trend following - do you think the evolution applies to micro
view (particular techniques, entry, exit), but the macro view on trend
following stays the same?
|
You
might try re-writing your question in SVO-p (Subject, Verb, Object -
present tense). This forces identification of who or what needs
evolution to survive.
Your
"everything" implies that even a rock needs to evolve to
survive.
I
am not clear what your second paragraph means.

The
Guru Rock
a
product of much evolution.
Clip: http://www.guillermina.com/
cats/china/ |
Sun, 7 Nov 2004
Oneness
and Peace
Hello Ed,
I see, by a quick look at your site, that you've gotten heavily into
Psychology, groups (tribes), and complex risk management rules and
systems.
Remember: Keep
it simple. And nothing was ever created by a group - it takes the
INDIVIDUAL. You will tire of all complexities and come to Oneness
and Peace sometime; soon I hope.
Best wishes,
|
In
TTP we do not attempt to predict the future, or to prescribe feelings for
each other.
The
path to Oneness and Peace rarely passes through the towns of Judgment and
Prescription.

Peace
takes
many forms.
In
TTP,
peace
is the state we get
by
being willing
to
experience all our forms.
Clip: http://sa.nextwish.org/Unsorted/
War%20Photos/Peace%20girl.jpg |
Sun, 7 Nov 2004
Good Book
Hi Ed
I think you will like the book 'The Question Behind the Question'
http://www.qbq.com
It is a nice read on personal responsibility.
Cheers,
|
John
Miller shows how to look beyond questions like:
When
is that department
going
to do its job?
Who
dropped the ball?
When
is someone going to train me?
He
claims the solution is to exercise personal responsibility.

QBQ
instructs people
to
take personal responsibility
TTP
dissolves the k-nots
that
stand between us
and
taking personal responsibility.
|
Fri, 5 Nov 2004
A Receiving
Experience
Dear Mr. Seykota,
Last night I had an interesting TTP session as a receiver, in which I
actually cried.
When the sender
was on the hot seat trying to experience uncertainty, I felt that although
he brought back images and emotions, he rushed out of it and didn't
experience it fully. So I asked if he was willing to re-experience
uncertainty, and he gave it a second try.
When I asked the sender if he was willing to experience his feelings, I
found myself inexplicably asking him in the way as described in Jim
Collins' book "Good to Great", a book which the sender loves and
has strongly recommended me to read.
I asked if he
has the commitment to do whatever it takes to experience his feelings, to
keep pushing in the same direction just like pushing a flywheel until it
gains momentum, and let those feelings take him wherever it is. And
somehow as I am encouraging him, it all resonates with me as if I'm asking
myself, "Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be a
trader?" "Are you truly committed?" "ARE
YOU??!?!?"
I started crying. I think it is because I'm finally facing the brutal fact
that I have not given my best, I'm not totally committed. I'm spending
more time (or more precisely, more "now moments") playing
fantasy football / basketball than in refining and quantifying my systems
through rigorous research and testing. Is this what a committed trader who
is determined would do? I never answer it directly, but I guess the tears
said it all. I know I have let myself down, and let down a lot of people
who have trusted me. I know I have the talents, I have the skills, but
I don't have the heart or dedications. I know how to make money in the
market, but I don't have what it takes to carry it out.
It is ironic. I always say I'd take anyone who has heart over anyone who
has talent every single time. Even in my fantasy basketball games, my
focus is not on star players but those who used to be deep in the bench
but has shown flashes of brilliance and now get a chance to prove
themselves. They are the ones who have shown their commitment of working
hard, and just wanted to play for the pure sake of playing. I drafted
those players because I always believe in anyone who is committed, and yet
here I am, the one not committed.
As I keep encouraging the sender to go deeper, to crank it up, to go all
the way with the feelings, I have a vivid image of myself on the football
field. The sender was the ball carrier, and I'm the blocker on his left. I
sensed a strong feeling that I'd do whatever it takes to knock down the
defensive players so that he could get to the end zone. I have no doubt
that he'd get into the end zone, and I just want to do whatever I can to
help him.
I felt that the sender went deeper and was flying even without us pushing
hard. I felt that I've just knocked down a tackler, and both of us are on
the ground. The sender (the ball-carrier) broke out of the containment,
and he was going, going and going. I saw him going from way behind, and I
have a great sense of achievement, a big "Yes!!!!" knowing that
I did it. As the sender continued, he is actually carrying my soul - he is
representing me - because he is doing exactly what I haven't been able to
do: to be fully committed, focused on a single target and do whatever it
takes to go all the way. In a way he is like showing me that it can be
done.
It is an amazing experience for me, for as a receiver I go through lots of
emotions too. I want to cry out loud but I keep holding back because
the sender is still sending (or would you recommend that I leave to a
corner and just cry out loud?), and as tears dropped I sweep them away
quickly.
It is an
interesting session and I intend to keep exploring this feeling of
"doing whatever it takes." In fact, this morning I find myself
asking repeatedly, "Are you willing to do whatever it takes to be a
great trader?" I am not looking for a logical answer, but just how I
feel about the question, how I feel about saying yes to the question.
Gosh, I sense a
lot of hesitancy, and I look forward to my next hot seat
experience. Thanks.
|
Supporting
others may be part of your path. It appears to be part of mine, too.

Green
Bay's Chad Clifton
A
good offensive tackle
opens
the way
for
his teammates to score.
Clip: http://www.jsonline.com/packer/
image/00draft/chad419.jpg
|
Fri, 5 Nov 2004
Adjusting the
Model
Ed, just a short note to say thanks again. We have been able to enter a
few trades based on the criteria we discussed.
On review, these
added adjustments to our trading models would have greatly changed our
performance since inception ...
Thank you Ed.
|
Congratulations
on your research, your testing and on implementing your insights.
|
Fri, 5 Nov 2004
Seykota Court
Here is a photo
of the development.

Seykota Court
|
Charles
Schwab, the steelmaker, is famous for naming his mills after his best
customers.
Given
all the legal fees I recall paying over the years, I feel it might be very
appropriate for someone to name a Court after me.
|
Fri, 5 Nov 2004
Fast Thinking
Woman
Hi Ed,
You might enjoy
this.
http://www.laserp.com/
fun_stuff/hotel_girl.htm |
Yes,
a clear woman can give all her men elevating experiences.

The
Goddess
occupies
the center
of
her web.
Clip: http://www.goddesscreations.com.au/
goddess_conference.htm
|
Fri, 5 Nov 2004
Best wishes
for another great workshop
I'm sorry I can't be there this time, but I wish you the best for another
successful gathering of the extended tribe.
You are welcome to visit the New Orleans tribe anytime. We had our sixth
meeting last night and did some good work. Our membership stands at a
solid, consistent two, with a 100% attendance record, and we have both
note positive changes in our lives and our relationships with our families
and friends since we started doing regular TTP.
Cheers,
|
Thank
you for the invitation; I am planning a tour of Tribes for early 2005.
|
Fri, 5 Nov 2004
Position
Sizing
Dear Ed Seykota,
Would you please mentorly comment on my pyramiding attempts. I understand
– hopefully – that pyramiding is a central issue in trading and has a
marked positive impact on profits.
My entry method
gives me reliable signals 80% of instances. Profit exits have been my
Achilles heel to date due to unwise intraday presence breeding emotional
decision-making, but this was diagnosed and eliminated – thanks to bad
experience and your consistent disapproval of day trading.
The loss in the
failed entries has been at or below my accepted maximum risk of 5% of
equity. Because the stop loss is historically realized (it is not
predetermined point-wise but executed based on end-of-day EMA signal) at a
10-40 points loss - which I consider not a tight stop, I employ a
relatively small number of units which I guess helps contain the risk in
case of a so called 10-sigma event.
This number of
units is always calculated assuming the loss of 40 points. The size of the
ensuing trend in these 80% good instances differs widely; the ratio of the
longest to the shortest trend is like 7:1.
The longest ones
occur rarely (fewer than 10% of instances) and can last more than a month
and 300 points. I invest in stock index futures solely and make decisions
end-of-day while enacting them the next morning at the opening price.
My pyramiding
happens on the second day of trend i.e. I open my initial position the
first morning I am bullish or bearish, and then pyramid the next morning
if the entry proved right i.e. market moved my way, bringing my risk back
to the 5% level. Then I do not pyramid anymore and exit full position on
an exit signal. I would be grateful to learn from your thoughts about this
approach, Sir. |
You
can find an appropriate position sizing algorithm, in the context of your
complete methodology, by running simulations.

Computer
Simulations
can
help find optimal solutions
before
you commit to implementing
your
method
Clip: http://erode.evsc.virginia.edu/
drainage.htm
|
Thu, 04 Nov 2004
Transition
Dear Ed,
I first learned of your great success in trading while reading the
www.turtletrader.com
website.
This
subsequently lead me to your home page where I began to learn of your
tremendous success in helping fellow traders and non-traders alike through
inner-reflection and psychological self-examination.
I read FAQ
continually and continue my attempt in improving myself psychologically
although this appears to be a daunting task at best. Through the perpetual
mix of trading, family, and your site, I was hoping that you might help me
by providing some
advice.
Problem: I currently work as a sell-Side Research Analyst in New
York. I have been here for 1½ years and am experiencing some new
feelings that I have never felt before.
1. I now
realize that fundamental research as it applies to securities is complete
rubbish.
If my family new
that I had moved to New York to become a glorified (debatable) fortune
teller they would be highly disappointed. I am excited to begin my journey
as a trend follower but am not sure how to get started.
I want to
approach someone who currently employs a trend following system but am
unsure how. Any suggestions?
2. I feel as if
I am being lead back to my home in North Carolina but feel if I leave now,
I will be a failure. I can't pinpoint the underlying dilemma that my
subconscious is fighting. My ideal situation would be to move to NC or
surrounding areas and work under a trend follower. Any comments will be
held in the highest regard.
Thanks in
advance for your help.
|
FAQ
does not tell people what they should do. See Ground Rules.
|
Thu, 4 Nov 2004
Free Will
Dear Ed,
Can you please elaborate on what you mean by free will does not exist
other than as thoughts? Thanks.
|
OK.

Things
that Exist
other
than as a thought
have
mass, volume
and,
if you are lucky,
a
snappy color.
Clip:
http://www.photo.net/photo/
pcd0796/smart-swatch-car-38.4.jpg |
Thu, 4 Nov 2004
The Workshop
Hi Ed,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note. Good Luck for the weekend
workshop.
It is a tough
act to follow from the past two workshops but I know your ability to
deliver something unique will be surpassed again. You are making a
difference!
|
I
am working closely with wardrobe to come up with something novel.

Janet
Steals the Show
by
accident, of course.
Clip:
http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/
archive/00133/Janet_Jackson_
Justi_133144a.jpg
|
Thu, 4 Nov 2004
Seeking
Positive Intention
Dear Ed,
Do you recommend (or have other tribes found) that it is better not to ask
(or even mention) to the sender about the feeling's positive intention
until the session is over?
For example,
sometimes when I'm on the hot seat and a receiver said, "(Allow
yourself to) Feel the positive intention of this feeling," I find
it somewhat derails my process, as it triggers CM to seek and ask what is
indeed the positive intention, and then justify the feeling.
I believe that
as long as I can fully and completely experience the feelings every bit,
I'd get to the positive intention naturally. I don't necessarily need to
feel the positive intention of the feeling during the process, but just
enjoy and swim and flow with the feeling as much as I can, and I thought
the positive intention will come. The more I think of (hear) positive
intentions, the more I try to figure it out.
Is it a common experience, or am I the only one who feel this way? I
appreciate your comments and suggestions to teach us how we can make the
process even more effective. Thanks.
|
Good
receivers support the sender in experiencing his forms, according to the
sender's own way.
If
the receiver requires the sender to "feel positive intentions,"
it might derail the process.
The
command is directive and ambiguous. I don't know what it means to feel an
intention. Understanding of positive intention, typically appears after
the form goes to term, as part of the AHA phase.
You
might like to take a turn on the hot seat, to experiencing your agendas to
manage the process and to do it the right way. Your receivers during
this process might also "get it" while you do the work.

Manipulation
and Control
induce
defiance
Clip: www.jezuici.krakow.pl |
Wed, 3 Nov 2004
Trading Tribe
Hi Ed,
Have tried contacting the Connecticut contact ... with no luck.
Am trying to join. Any suggestions for doing so would be helpful.
|
I
review the list from time to time to cull inactive sites. You may
start your own Tribe. See the Directory Page, above.
|
Tue, 02 Nov 2004
Vancouver,
Canada TT
Hello Ed,
Thank you for sharing your process ... in Laguna Beach in October. I
experience many methods and am on a path of personal, spiritual and
professional growth that has led me to your developments. This work is
valuable to me and I would like to form a tribe in Vancouver, Canada. I am
an experienced trader and am currently reconfiguring my system and
personal approach for optimum results.
I am practicing
mastery in all areas of my life including personal and financial growth
and banjo playing. I show a profit while positively contributing to my own
life and the lives of those around me. I value the TTP and choose to share
it with my tribe and as a licensed practitioner. I apply for
certification. I celebrate my feelings. I send and receive fully and
freely. My gratitude is unending.
You inspire me with your generosity, good humor, musicianship, empathy and
right intention. I choose to add my contribution to this endeavor and have
it inform all the areas of my life. I feel the disappearing already.
|

Welcome
Vancouver,
Canada
!

Clip:
http://www.justamerica.co.uk/site/
escorted-coach-tours/atp_can_
rockies_explorer_2004.html
|
Tue, 2 Nov 2004
Interest in
Research Projects
Hi Ed !
Tomorrow I interview [Name], a fairly well-known long-term system
developer, to get his input for the report, Superior Returns from Average
Indicators.
I plan to mention your name and tell him about the Trading Tribe, unless
you direct otherwise.
I plan to ask him how he uses moving averages in his system development
what he has found to work best what ancillary rules he uses how he defines
a trend suggestions for more questions gratefully accepted.
|
OK.
Say hello for me.
|
Tue, 2 Nov 2004
Exit
Strategies
Hi Ed,
I intend to provide the Tribe with World-Class research on exit
strategies.
I am currently gathering additional published information and common
beliefs on exit strategies. Once the gathering is complete, I will develop
a research plan to present to the Tribe. In the meantime, if you or anyone
in the Tribe has any information that you believe will assist in our
research effort in this area, please pass it on.
See you soon and good luck with the workshop.
|
Yes.
Exit Strategies are an often overlooked part of trading.

Good
Research
gets
to the bottom of things
Clip: http://solstikkan.tripod.com/
funny/pics/pix72/exit.jpg |
Tue, 02 Nov 2004
Good Catch
Dear Mr. Seykota,
Along with many other people, I truly appreciate the interaction that your
site provides.
I am gradually working my way through your excellent resource that is FAQ,
and found an item dated Mon 15 Mar 2004 titled "Sorrow".
At the end of the item is the author's telephone number. Is this an
oversight?
P.S. - I don't think comparisons between FAQ and Microsoft
("Typos" 14 March 2004) are entirely fair. Microsoft has a
virtual monopoly, and makes squillions marketing faulty products, while
FAQ is free and I'm not compelled to read it. |
Thank
you for the catch.
FAQ
does not publish the identities of contributors.
The
item now stands correctly, without the telephone number.

Listen
Do
you want to know a secret?
Do
you promise not to tell?
Wo
- oh - oh - oh - oh.
-
The Beatles
Clip: http://members.aol.com/
neyretfreres/secret.jpg
|
Mon, 1 Nov 2004
Presentation
Feedback
Hi Ed:
We loved your presentation (In Laguna Beach - to a group of
Psychologists), as, from the feedback forms they gave us, did the
participants. Participants consistently cited your presentation as their
favorite. Your presentations entertain, individuals integrate, the group
bonds.
|
Thank
you for the feedback.
|
Mon, 1 Nov 2004
Next Workshop
I see that you held a seminar In May of this year, do you plan to hold
another seminar in 2005, and if so will the topic/focus change ?
|
I
currently have no specific plan to host another Workshop. I am
currently preparing a book on the technology.
|
Mon, 1 Nov 2004
A Great Deal
of Time
Sir,
The name Ed Seykota will forever resonate with me because of a quote from
"Market Wizards"; "... everyone gets
what they want from the markets ..."
I am very interested in the title of the program, as it sounds like it
would address the specific shortcomings I have as a trader. However, only
this past Saturday did I learn of TTP and the workshop to be held this
weekend, and I wanted to learn more about whether it would be right for
me.
A few questions please;
#1 I am a discretionary trader (though I have a pretty formulaic approach
to the markets, and am currently trying to build my first system). Can
the TTP philosophy fit/work for a nonsystematic trader ?
2# I have been trading professionally for 15 years, and although I firmly
believe one never stops learning, does the workshop spend a great deal
of time on some of the trading "basics" (establishing good
risk/reward trade set-ups, money management, etc.) ?
Thanks in advance,
|
1.
Yes. The philosophy seems to apply to all people and all careers.
2.
For trading basics, see
www.turtletrader.com
.
|