The Stock Market And You...with spirituality
~P V Vaidyanathan
 Stock markets are in the news everyday and they make an excellent place
for spiritual learning. Whenever you think or talk about it or invest in
the stock market, you would not normally look at the spiritual
perspective. Stock markets are about buying and selling, profit and
loss, bulls and bears and anticipation. While people enter the stock
market primarily with the intention of making money, there is a
spiritual side to trading, and someone who is receptive can learn a lot
of lessons about life hereAs in life, the only certainty in stock markets is uncertainty and
unpredictability. Every morning, although we have a broad idea of how
our day is likely to be, we cannot predict with surety about events that
might happen or not happen during the day. Similarly, every stock
trader and broker knows that the behaviour of the markets cannot be
predicted with confidence. While the general trends might be predicted
or anticipated, what eventually happens when the markets open and
trading begins, is known only minute by minute. This is true of our
lives too, where life flows moment to moment; we can only live in the
present.
Life is enmeshed in duality, with its ups and downs, victories and losses. The same is true of stock markets, where investors move from happiness to sorrow and from ecstasy to dejection, with cyclical regularity. As in life, with stocks too, no one is a permanent winner or loser. Change is the only constant. Stock markets and life are about being in the present moment, making continuous assessments of the current situation, and then taking whatever course of action seems right to us, at that instant. And these actions might bring about results which are acceptable or unacceptable. One must have the maturity to accept both the good and the bad with equanimity. Life is all about putting in our best efforts and then surrendering to a higher authority or power. This letting go is often required in investing too where, after having made a decision, one should not continuously be thinking about it. Having done our job, we must let go and let existence take over, and give us whatever returns or rewards... Learn to accept that which you cannot change. At the same time, one cannot afford to be callous or careless, as these qualities always lead to trouble. Life and the stock markets are ruled by two emotions – greed and fear. Depending on mindsets of individuals, some might veer more towards greed, while many might act predominantly from fear. What is needed is a healthy balance of desire and caution; else we either get too greedy or are too scared. Extreme greed and extreme fear lead more to losses than profits and are major causes of misery and unhappiness. Life moves in cycles and good times are followed by not-so-good times. On the stock market there are winners, there are losers and often roles are reversed. The qualities that make our life joyous, balanced and harmonious – awareness, presence of mind, maturity, patience, truthfulness to oneself, acceptance, and an ability to forgive and forget, resilience, and trust and faith in a higher power – are the very traits that will hold any trader in good stead, through buoyancies and crashes, and will ensure that he does not lose his peace of mind and become a victim of stress, anxiety and depression.
(source : Times of India)
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Are you Determined to Succeed?For some people, success comes naturally.For others, it is something that they really have to work hard for. Although people are created equal, there really are some people who might not get to succeed. If you want to have success, you would really need to be determined to succeed. Nothing is impossible in this world, so you should really try to find ways in order for you to get the success in life. One of the first things that you need if you want to succeed in whatever you want to do is to have faith in yourself. If you believe in yourself, and your ambition is firm, you could really be on your way to success. Any trouble and hindrances on your efforts will just be nothing if you keep believing in yourself. Although some failures may be quite depressing, especially if it involves something that you want or need so badly, you should only see them as a lesson in life. Learn from them and try to move on with what you are doing. If you just suppress your failures with your confidence, you will find that what seemed impossible can be solved. Another thing that you need to remember if you want to succeed is that you have to resolve that you will succeed. If you are determined to succeed, you will often get the results that you want. You should promise to yourself that you will become successful. You should always try to focus on the goal that you want, and not any other thing. Although there are many things in life that can divert your attention, you should always keep yourself resolute in order for you to really achieve success. If you are focused, you will have a much better chance of attaining the success that you need. If you really want to succeed, you might also want to find ways that you could motivate yourself. There are many different books that you could read in order for you to find the success that you want. Aside from that, you could also try to find mentors that you could base your success on. This way, you will have a better idea on achieving what you want. You will really get to have the success that you want if you know the steps that you need to take in order to achieve it. Success is something that most people can readily achieve. However, many people still find that it is hard to get success because of hindrances. However, success often boils down to your own determination. If you are determined to succeed, you would really get have what you want. You control your success, so you should really make it a point to tell yourself that you can succeed. (Source : Email from One of my Teachers)
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