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March 11 - 20, 2006
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Previous
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Questions
(Quotes
from Ed in Red)
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Answers |
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Mon, 20 Mar 2006
Talking
Football
Hi Ed!
I think I'm getting close to what I've been looking for. How about this,
forward and back like on a football
field - 0-10-20-30-40-50-40-30-20-10-0. I feel like the market is talking
to me, and I can almost understand what its saying but not fluently or
completely.
Now since you know better than me, you tell me, is this what I
mean?
|
Without some kind of system or method,
to interpret what the market is saying, you are one among so many naked men,
trying to listen to the same statue.
Everyone Listens
in
his own way
and
hears his own unique message
|
|
Mon, 20 Mar 2006
Learning the Code
Thu, 9 Mar 2006
Ed,
At the Feb workshop you asked me to keep you posted on my programming
progress.
I have just purchased an open
source platform that seems to have
the functionality that I require on the risk management side.
Now for the hard part, learning C#.
Given that it is now an option to outsource coding to programmers on the
internet I thought you may get a laugh out of this. (See attachment).
|
Thank you for sharing your process. |
|
Mon, 20 Mar 2006
Keeping
Emotions on an Even Keel
Ed,
[A recent study states] that the most successful
traders managed to keep their emotions on an even keel whether they were
making money or losing money.
The TTP process teaches me to recognize and
accept my feelings so I do not create drama when I trade. I found the
science of the brain interesting and humor in the fact that the person at
the consulting firm could hardly wait for a drug to be developed.
The
article highlighted how little we actually know about the workings of the
brain and emotions. I feel I need to continue my work in the tribe. |
Thank you for
sharing your process. |
|
Mon, 20 Mar 2006
Proclamations
Ed, I have three proclamations to state.
1) I intend to create a healthier lifestyle for myself by losing 60 lbs,
eating healthier and following an exercise regiment. I commit to follow the
Bill Phillips Body for Life program for the next 12 weeks. I will email you
my weight every Saturday for the next 90 days.
2) I intend to continue learning visual basic by taking more courses at the
local community college until I can back test my trading system.
3) I intend to be the best husband I can be and will work to make my
marriage the wonderful relationship that it can be.
My weight as of this morning is 259 lbs. |
You might consider sending a
graph as a GIF file (250 x 250) so we can all follow along.
March 20, 2006: 259 |
|
Sun, 19 Mar 2006
Developing an Internal Truth Detector
Hi Chief
Yes, a report on my latest Hotseat from Thursday night, but I first want to
note for your readers that I am amazed and grateful for what I feel is the
cumulative and qualitative effect the Hot seats have on my life, particularly
over the last 9 months.
To
me it does feels like the birth of a new person inside of me. I guess the
onion is peeling down enough now to start getting to the really tough,
controlling knots that are deep within.
I
now want the opportunity to take the Hotseat every meeting. I seem to
receive more wide-ranging benefits than just dealing with the issue I think
I am dealing with.
Thank you again-it is a great honor to be part of this work. I also like
this new commitment requirement that you have added to the Snapshot Process.
I know how powerful just the Snapshot Process is, but this added commitment
requirement speeds up the whole thing and really requires action now.. It is
great to see the successes for Tribe members occur even more rapidly than
before.
My latest Hotseat issue comes as a follow-on from some of the previous work
I have been doing on building a personal relationship. I look inside of me
to find issues that stand in my way of what I want in my life. During the
two weeks between our Tribe meeting, the issue finds me one early morning--I
wake up realizing that in my personal life I am unable to identify when
someone is not telling me the truth.
I
recognize this as a life pattern. I believe that subconsciously I may really
know because I get frustrated and angry and downright grumpy over all kinds
of things. Lots of drama opportunities here. This inability has me concerned
as I do want an honest, caring and open relationship with a life mate-- one
built on sharing of ideas and feelings and not one filled with as much drama
as dishonesty can cause.
As
I take the Hotseat, I share this issue with the Tribe and I can recall a few
parts of my process. What the initial forms are I do not remember but I know
that at some point I am covering my ears and shaking my head and just not
wanting to listen. I am angry at the process manager and tribe for making me
listen (not sure what the words and noise are but it is loud and I hate it).
I
know this experience gets more uncomfortable. Eventually I remember an
intense flash of light that goes down my body from my head to my toes and
back up . Really neat experience--feels very hot and is very bright and
totally clear in color. Afterwards, I have a sense of peaceful calm and
thirst.
After a few days my only insight is that I now want to listen more closely
to what is said. I also feel that I am willing to see if the actions of a
person match what they say. I am also more willing to identify and share my
own feelings( perhaps this honesty begets honesty).
I
also note no desire to insist that someone tell the truth -- this is their
issue. I only deal with my own reaction and feeling.
I note that in recent interactions and conversations with friends it does
appear pretty obvious when the truth is covered up even in small ways. I
feel warmth in my body and a sense of calm when someone does share the truth
and a discomfort in my feet (of all places) when they do not. Very
interesting so far. This could be another significant life change for me. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
Men and Women
have different ways to express affection
To succeed in relationships:
learn to receive your partner
in the way your partner wishes
to express affection ...
... and notice your partner
automatically
does the same for you.
Click here to see an attempt
to
equalize men and women
through modern chemistry.
Clip:
http://www.dribbleglass.com/
subpages/strange/truth.htm |
|
Sat, 18 Mar 2006
Progress on Revealing What I Want
I went to the grocery store on the way home after Tribe, bought a bag of
chips, drove half way home and then turned around and went back to the
office.
I
opened the bag of chips ate a few and wrote a short note to my parents
telling them what I want.
I also wrote [Name] an email as well telling him
that I wish to have him come work with me.
Lastly, I wrote [some employees] and told them what I want and that I wish
to rework our contract to more accurately reflect the current business
relationship. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
Revealing Yourself
is a good way
to get what you want.
Clip:
http://www.gagreport.com/Funny_Pictures/
Buffy%20Album/images/
sarah_michelle_gellar_tits_jpg.jpg
|
|
Sat, 18 Mar 2006
Women and Math K-Nots
Dear Chief,
Thanks for inviting me to be part of a "mini" Tribe experience. I appreciate
the opportunity to see and be TTP in action.
The Sender is willing to work on a feeling of "not being able to do math".
As she moves through memories and attached feelings, I feel my own 'doing
math" histories and fears emerge.
The Sender really surrenders to TTP and is willing to feel time and time
again the fears and frustrations around the issue. Her face turns a deep red
as she is willing to feel deeply. She "cranks it up" until forms emerge. She
exhausts herself combining the forms, violently shaking and nodding her
head, until she reaches zero point. I timidly encourage her knowing that our
feelings journey have shared "vista" points. I feel exhausted just by
receiving the power of her process.
The feeling messages change from "can't do it" all the way to childhood
abandonment. She allows herself to feel it all as she responds to direction
from you and relentless validation from us both. She is a warrior of truth
telling and accepts it all, combining forms to create a new, peaceful form.
The hardest work seems to come to "like" all the feelings and forms of the
process.
Chief, you move in and through her process seamlessly.
Later, you reveal the state of being similar to what I might term "trance
dancing". You appear present to her process in a deep state of awareness.
The experience leaves me with apprehension and appetite for more TTP.
My
heart is racing; my stomach knotted during the process. Afterwards, I feel
grateful to see another woman work TTP and eager for my own work. I have
some k-nots that I am ready to untie through TTP!
Thanks for developing this technology! |
Thank you for sharing your process.
Some Women Tie Knots for a Living
Teachers and Parents
who
tie math k-nots
in
women's hearts
prevent them from earning a living
in
technical careers.
Clip:
http://members.aol.com/clintsart/Page29.html
|
|
Sat, 18 Mar 2006
Support / Resistance Trading System
Hello Everybody,
I studied Ed Seykota's support and resistance trading system. Also
programmed it in Easy Language of TradeStation 2000i. Performance results
looks very good! There is one thing in Ed's material I do not understand
correctly. It is about execution. He says "The system awards trades with 50%
skid. It executes buy orders at a price half-way between "Best Price" and
the "High" of the day". For me, it does not make sense for the following
reason.
1. Consider we are sitting on the day when the price has penetrated the
long-term resistance upwards and so the day is signal calculation/generation
day. Now, on this day both the "Long-term resistance" and the "Short-term
resistance" both become equal to the "High".
3. If the "Low" of that day is lower than this "Short-term resistance", then
the "Best Price" (to go long the next day) will be the "short-term
resistance" of that day. But, remember, on the day of signal
calculation/generation, the "short-term resistance" is equal to the "High"
of that day. So, with the "High" and the "short-term resistance" being of
same value, what is there to calculate (Best Price + High)/2 to get the
executable price with 50% skid. ?
Please explain this to me. I feel I am missing something here.
I
am sending this to several of Tribe leaders as I do not have access. Thanks
a lot for your help. |
You seem to have trouble
understanding the rules for (1) the system and (2) for submitting questions
to FAQ.
You might consider taking your feelings about
following rules to a Tribe
meeting.
You might find
that you already know that:
1. "Best Price" means the stop price or the Open Price, which ever is higher.
"Worst
Price" means the high of the day. The simulation awards fills at the
mid-pint between these two prices.
2. The best way to get FAQ
questions to me is to follow directions on the FAQ Index and Ground Rules
page.
|
|
Fri, 17 Mar 2006
Tribe update / Snapshot process
Hi Ed,
How are you. I am planning on sending you a follow up from my previous
e-mail regarding our last tribe meeting next week. Here is what I am writing
now:
Please update our tribe in the directory: We have 7 members, we now accept
new members and we meet every other Monday.
I am intending to incorporate the snapshot process in our meetings. I have a
rough idea on how you run the process at your meetings in Incline. I am
wondering if you can elaborate some more, I am somewhat unclear on the
round of champions.
The way I understand it, a member presents his / her snapshot. The other
members comment on the snapshot, which may or may not provoke feelings for
the member presenting the snapshot.
After one round the presenter may modify
his snapshot to get clear on what he really wants. Then at the meeting the
presenter can experience feelings that stand between him/her and realizing
his snapshot.
I appreciate if you can help me get more clear on this. |
See Instructions for registering
your Tribe
The Snapshot Process is, like TTP
itself, still evolving. It currently has various elements:
1. The Global Vision - a picture.
2. The short-term commitment - to accomplish something by the
next meeting.
3. Critical Feedback - from other Tribe members.
4. Revision - of the snapshot.
5. Re-presentation of the snapshot.
6. Championing of the snapshot by others.
I am currently writing a more
comprehensive guide to conducting the Snapshot Process. |
|
Fri, 17 Mar 2006
TTP
Right Livelihood Definition Questions
Chief Ed,
My questions are about the TTP definition of Right Livelihood as defined in
TTP and as specifically described in your ongoing writings on this subject
in FAQ. These questions are intertwined with my current understanding of the
TTP terms ‘intention’ and ‘responsibility model’.
I notice that the term Right Livelihood is previously defined under Buddhism
and is a central tenet of that system of thought. This previous definition
under Buddhism makes the TTP term of the same name ambiguous to me. The
short definition found in the TTP Glossary adds to said ambiguity. (see
http://www.seykota.com/tribe/
Glossary/index.htm#RightLivelihood )
I notice that Buddhism places a lot of emphasis on cause and effect -- a
concept clearly invalidated in many TTP writings. I notice that most TTP
writings are quite plain in explaining how the “responsibility model” is
much more useful than the “cause and effect model” for understanding human
events. For example:
http://www.seykota.com/tribe/FAQ/2005_Jan/Jan_11/ (see Tue, 11 Jan
2005) Here, Chief Ed says: “In the
responsibility model, there is no cause, no fault and no blame…The causal
model, even though logically indefensible, is culturally important. “
This is a theme in FAQ regarding descriptions of the responsibility model.
I note also that in TTP, intention is defined as a “sense of purpose leading
towards action” (see
http://www.seykota.com/tribe/FAQ/2005_Jul/Jul_11/ , Tue, 12 Jul 2005).
Elsewhere, FAQ provides some examples of what Right Livelihood is (and is
not) from the TTP point of view.
For example, here:
“Right Livelihood is not your job - it's what you
bring to your job.” (See
http://www.seykota.com/
tribe/FAQ/2005_Jul/Jul_11/ , Wed, 19 Jan 2005)
Questions:
1. Will you please explain the essential differences between the Buddhist
term Right Livelihood and the TTP term of the same label? If any differences
exist, might you please provide some specific examples that illustrates
these differences?
2. TTP defines Right Livelihood in part as “what you bring to your job.”
"“What you bring to your job” seems to likely be an individual’s intention
as applied to his work. It may be so. Maybe not ! Please elaborate this
definition and provide some illustrative examples.
|
Thank you for your very
perceptive, sharp-focus questions. They help drive the work forward.
As you point out, The TTP term, Right
Livelihood is rather problematic.
It suffers implicit judgment - that
Right Livelihood is somehow better than
Wrong Livelihood.
In the Buddhist tradition, Right
Livelihood brings "true benefit" to oneself and/or others
while Wrong Livelihood brings "detriment" to oneself or
others.
This definition, however, only
drives the confusion upstream to the meanings of "benefit" and
"detriment."
Buddhism teaches that to do harm to others is also to do harm
to oneself. According to the law of karma, hurting others
sows the seed for one's own suffering at some future date.
This line of definition, however, invites
piercing questions, such as you might ask, about whether stealing money to
buy weapons to kill someone who is entering your
home to assault you and your family constitutes Right or Wrong Livelihood.
The essential difference between
Buddhist Right Livelihood and TTP Right Livelihood is not so much in the
livelihood as it is in the method for determining it. In the Buddhist
tradition, you try to interpret the Buddhist teachings. In the TTP
traditions, you discover it, much as you realize AHA's, through the group
process.
Buddhism is inherently a DIM (Do It Myself)
process.
A more precise TTP term for Right
Livelihood might be CASA: "Community Activity that Supports and
Acknowledges."
In the Snapshot Process, we present our vocational
and vocational visions to each other. The interactions with other Tribe
members invariably helps the sender clarify his visions and bring them into
alignment with the Tribe ethic.
Western View of Eastern Religion
seeks a way
to exercise entitlement
to the benefit
without having to do much work.
Clip:
http://www.markstivers.com/Cartoons/
Cartoons%202003/Stivers-5-5-03-Buddha-patch.gif |
|
Fri, 17 Mar 2006
I
finish your book and I am frustrated
Dear Mr. Seykota,
I finish your book. As many others who do NLP unsuccessfully I see the point
in TTP now. You really seem to have a gift, you know.
I
am frustrated because there is no TTP group within 2000 miles of my
residence, which is a small island. I ask you what can be done on my own to
deal with k-nots. I feel them, I intellectually understand them yet am
unable to release them.
NLP
helped me with simple things like biting nails. I don’t bite nails in many
years. You say that DIM is usually unsuccessful. Do you see people with
k-nots who release them themselves, w/out a group? I want to participate in
TTP. It requires moving though. Can you see someone doing TTP in front of a
mirror, maybe? Do TTP sessions on my own? Noticing forms and encourage
myself to go with the forms? I bet something can be done somehow and benefit
at least a bit.
I
want to participate in your workshop if you have any in the future. Can it
be done? I give you an example: You say that unreleased k-nots run our
lives. I agree because I feel them. The thing that confuses me is that TTP
releases them.
Does it mean that after the release the person doesn’t have the need to blow
up with anger, for instance?
A nasty police officer rejected my car while registering it. I wanted to
take his pistol and throw it in the bush and yell at him really bad words
because he treated me bad. Does releasing my k-not mean to blow up on him or
address this at TTP session and release it there? How does it work?
Thank you for any feedback. |
I am planning a Workshop in
England July 21.
Typically, when someone releases
an anger k-not, he:
Sees the
positive intention of anger
Stops setting up situations that provoke anger
Becomes willing to feel anger early
Doesn't build
anger to the point of having to vent.
People with Anger K-nots
sometimes find themselves
in
violent situations
Clip:
http://www.agrnews.org/issues/
133/Genoa7.GIF
|
|
Fri, 17 Mar 2006
TTP
- No Response from Tribe Leader
I trade futures markets and live in [City].
I
want to learn more about TTP and so I contacted by email the local TTP
mentor
As
I did not hear from him, please let me know how can I join TTP.
Thank you. |
You can start your own tribe.
See the Tribe Directory, above, for details. |
|
Fri, 17 Mar 2006 09:01:48 -0600
Interesting Read
Ed,
I think you might find this interesting, if not encouraging, at least as far
a certain life choices are concerned.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0603/S00296.htm
I anticipate this finds you and yours well and well-occupied.
Nice piece on systems and physics in the FAQ. |
Thank you for the suggestion.
Kevin Philips' Explanation of America
has three elements:
The Religious Right
The Obsession with Petroleum
The Borrowing-Industrial-Complex
|
|
Thu, 16 Mar 2006
Spiritual Intentions
Ed,
If:
spirituality = guidance, and
guidance = intentions, then
spirituality = intentions, and
intentions = spirituality.
What do you think?
Are intentions spiritual? |
Your conclusions seem to follow from
your premises. I don't know how you get your premises.
In TTP, Intentions = Results |
|
Thu, 16 Mar 2006
Mathematics of Ancestry
Dear Ed,
I’m not sure if this ... is FAQ
worthy, but it is an eye opener: make a perfect list of all your ancestors,
go back three thousand years, and the people on your list at that time
EXACTLY matches the people my list — that is to say that ALL people alive
three thousand years ago who have living descendants today are the ancestors
of EACH and EVERY person now living.
I am ever-fascinated by the paradoxes
of 1) the mathematical complexity sometimes needed to answer seemingly
simple questions, and 2) the bizarre, unexpected, and far-reaching outcomes
that arise from simple relationships. Now wonder trading can be a head-scratcher!
Best Regards, |
I can think of a couple people in high
places who might even have some recent simian blood.
The Roots of Family Trees
might all reach from
pretty much the same place.
Clip:
http://www.itsablackthang.com/images/
Art-Family/kadir-nelson-family-tree.jpg
|
|
Wed, 15 Mar 2006
Fear of Programming and Math
Hi Ed,
I want to thank you for managing my process. I was totally stuck on a
programming problem. I had been working on this for 6 weeks and every time I
thought about writing this code, I felt this huge fear come up.
I am totally
new to programming. My project seemed overwhelming. Just thinking about it
made my head hurt and a feeling of anxiety envelope me. I thought it was
just about being stuck in a math class and feeling lost but as the process
went on, larger issues came out.
My feelings of incompetence and
powerlessness are tied to things that happened during childhood. It was very
scary to feel those feelings, but I felt safe in the tribe. It felt that my
process took a long time. I tried to go deeper each time, getting to the
edge and staying there.
After producing many forms and consolidating them I
felt exhausted but no longer fearful of the feelings that came up. It feels
like a great weight has been lifted off me. I may not be a great programmer
yet, but I have lost the overwhelming feelings of powerlessness and
incompetence. I really think I can become a competent programmer.
Thank you so much for guiding me through this process. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
Share the Fear
and watch it disappear.
Clip:
http://www.animalrightstuff.com/
Merchant2/graphics/00000001/FearTh.jpg
|
|
Wed, 15 Mar 2006
Learning Sending and Receiving
Our new Tribe meets every 3 weeks and has 4 active members.
I feel disappointment, sadness, frustration, anger that everyone tries to
manage the process and no one except I receive with a field of acknowledgement.
At the same time that others take the hotseat, I am anxious
anticipating not being well received myself during my turn.
When I take the hotseat, I am pleasantly surprised that a new member manages
my process better than I expect. I feel cared for. I make some progress but
not to completion.
When I get home my wife yells at me for about 1.5 hours for going to the
tribe meeting, for enjoying my life in contrast to hers. I feel guilty and
stupid. I receive her half-heartedly. The next day she shows me a lot of
affection.
I want to trust my fellow tribe members more. I want to receive my wife
better. I want to send completely. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
The next time your wife yells at you,
you might try encouraging her to express her feelings. The process
time is likely to go from 1.5 hours to 1.5 minutes.
Her Attempts to Control You
by making You feel guilty
only work as long as you are unwilling
to feel guilty.
Clip:
http://www.bobfromaccounting.com/
3_1605/angwom_front.jpg |
|
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
Starting Tribe in NJ
Hi Ed.
I hope you are well. I like to start a Trading Tribe in NJ. Please put me on
the Trading Tribe Directory. |
Welcome
Red Bank
NJ
|
|
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
What to do When You are in a Drama?
Dear Ed,
I keep wondering what is the TTP approach to the following situation:
Say your five-year-old son runs around the house with his friend and knocks
over a vase that means a lot to you. You hear the sound and come to the
living room.
Seeing the broken vase, you feel very angry, upset and sad. Your son
violates PPR (Private Property Rules) and destroys something very valuable to you.
He holds his head down. He feels scared. He knows he has done something
"wrong."
However, we live in a systemic world. There is no accident and Fred is
setting up this drama for you to experience anger, upset and sadness.
So at this point, I wonder what kind of reaction is consistent with the TTP
principle.
I guess if you yell at your son, that is ACTING OUT your anger instead of
experiencing it. But right in that moment, I don't know how one can
experience the anger. Who's there to receive your anger and support you on
this very feeling that you have a judgment on?
Perhaps you can support your son to feel his feelings. But to tell him to
feel more scared? To tell him to hold his head further down? That doesn't
sound right.
Perhaps you can also share your feelings with your son. To tell a
five-year-old that you feel very angry and upset? He doesn't seem to
understand, nor does he seem to understand the value of a vase that you
inherit from your loving grandfather who passed away.
One interesting thing I notice is that I may have different reactions if it
is the son's friend who breaks the vase. I think I am more likely to yell at
my son than his friend. After all, he is my son and his friend is someone
else's (PPR?).
I wonder what you would do if you are in the situation I just describe. Many
thanks. |
You might consider that your own Fred is
setting up your experience for you as an excuse to feel anger at your son.
For example, what motivates you to place
a valuable vase within reach of a five-year-old.
Children are Often Unwitting Players
in
dramas their parents
set
up for them to play.
CLip:
http://www.newhorizons.org/spneeds/
inclusion/learning_window/window5.gif
|
|
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
Snapshot Commitment
I'm listening to "Unloved and Unclaimed" by the Blue Sky Boys.
Since I won't be at the next IVTT meeting I'd like to share via e-mail that my commitment to exercise 4 times with my wife before the next meeting time (Mar 16th) is now fait accompli. |
Good job !
Building Muscles
and a relationship
at the same time.
Clip:
https://secure.okemo.com/okemo/
images/photos/chris_wife.jpg |
|
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
Grof Breathwork Experience
Hi Ed,
I am following up with my second breathwork experience. My first experience
last December with the Tribe in Incline Village was so profound and
productive that I decided to try it back home.
I found a workshop in late January put on by Grof certified facilitators. I
signed up eager to see how my second experience might play out. I was also
curious about how it might be different from my first.
The breathwork was setup with an informational meeting Friday night and two
breathing sessions on Saturday. For the Friday night meeting, people who had
done breathwork with the group before were not required to attend. The group
was very small and the meeting purely informational. With the Tribe, the
prior day's meetings were very energetic and play a big role in stirring the
emotions surrounding our intentions and issues. All this I found lacking in
the Grof group. No "preloading", just an attitude of try it and see what
happens.
After spending time with the group, I noticed that they seemed to be
spiritual drifters, lacking in intention and focus, seeking an experience
for experience's sake. I found the atmosphere to be directionless. In the
Tribe, I had no doubt I was there to grow, to tackle issues which I avoided
my entire life. My other Tribe members expected no less from me, and I from
them. Their intention and focus motivated and sustained me. In the Grof
group I felt alone, that any direction to my experience was mine alone to
cultivate, direct, and support.
In my conversations with the local group, I got the distinct impression that
they were emotionally stuck. Part of their being stuck might be explained by
their example of judging the breathwork experiences. They divide them into
good and bad, or positive and negative. They asked how my first experience
went, I told them I experienced sadness, fear, terror, and anger. They
assured me that if I kept trying breathwork, that I would get to experience
a "good trip". They seemed to be in search of the "good trips", talking
fondly of sessions where they experienced bliss and negatively about
sessions which were emotionally painful. It seems that such judgments
"preload" their sessions to avoid the really important experiences. Much as
the Tribe "preloads" to do just the opposite.
My actual breathing session was fairly active. As my session progressed, I
began to experience emotions which expressed themselves somatically. Pretty
standard stuff for a Tribe meeting. However, after my breathing session, the
group facilitator told me that he came close to stopping my session because
he felt I was almost out of control. Wow! I am used to being a part of the
Tribe where I am encouraged to lose control. Here I found they had
established boundaries on what was an acceptable experience.
After the second breathing session, we ate dinner and then we all shared our
mandalas with the group. It was nice to hear everyone share their
experience. At this point everyone went home. Not much in the way of follow
up or integration.
It was an interesting experience. I could certainly see how approaching
breathwork in this manner is better than nothing. But it seems to be a very
"hit or miss" experience. More experientially oriented than results
oriented. In this regard, I found if falls far short of Ed's approach and
does not come close to matching the energy and expectation of the Tribe.
In both TTP and breathwork, I offer my thanks to Ed for pushing the envelope
on these personal growth technologies. |
Yes. Grof feels that Breathwork is
is a holotropic process. Holo-tropic means "tending toward wellness."
Grof feels that if you breathe, you
somehow automatically get better.
In TTP we use Breathwork as a way to
enter a deep-trance state, in which we can accelerate the process of
experiencing and untying k-nots.
Absent the intention to untie k-nots,
the Breathwork may bring up memories and feelings that activate people into
their dramas.
Stan Grof
Stanislav Grof, from Prague, Czechoslovakia, is
famous for his work in the field of
consciousness studies. He holds an M.D. in Freudian
Psychoanalyst from Charles University and a Ph. D.
from the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.
Starting in the mid-1960's he studies
the clinical and therapeutic uses of LSD at
the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague and
later at Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center
- conducting more than 4,000 sessions of psychedelic
therapy, many on himself
His methods use Breathwork to help test subjects
ease out of their LSD sessions. When he
notices the Breathwork, by itself, has effects
similar to LSD, he develops an interest in
promoting Breathwork.
Clip:
http://www.erowid.org/culture/
characters/grof_stanislav/grof_stanislav.shtml
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|
Tue, 14 Mar 2006
Optimization
Hello,
Questions:
Optimizing parameters is OK as long as you don't switch the test to another
time interval.
I noticed that optimized parameters work best for the optimized period,
obviously - but when you change the test dates these parameters do not work
so well.
How can we overcome this? Optimize parameters regularly - say once a year?
Or assume that if we plan to use our system for the next 20 years, then
optimize these parameters on a 20 year basis test and use them constantly?
Where is the balance? (just don't tell me that it's somewhere in the
middle).
PS. Here's the mathematical explanation for unfulfilled love - a
manic-depressive poet get's what he want's:
besides, the attached pdf is a neat way to learn analysis and get a feel for
differentials.
http://epubs.siam.org/sam-bin/getfile/SIAP/articles/30592.pdf
|
Yes, optimizing over different time
periods gives different results. That is the nature of optimizing.
There is no way to "overcome" the nature of things.
You might consider taking your feelings
of wanting the perfect solution to your Tribe as an entry point.
Optimizing
can be a tool
or an obsession.
Clip: http://www.omegapt.com/optimize.htm |
|
Mon, 13 Mar 2006
Tired of Being
Mr. Nice Guy
Dear Chief Seykota:
I am not always hot about a particular issue, going into a Tribe meeting.
That was certainly the case in January. There was a lot going on in my life,
and I was a bit tense, from nothing more than dealing with the background
noise of stress and frustration and conflict that are so often a part of the
modern human condition.
In the absence of a single flash point, I take that mosaic of issues to the
Hot
Seat as an entry point. It turns into a particularly intense, strenuous
session
(documented here).
< Info at bottom this email. Ed - I don't know how to embed a URL in a word,
nor do I know how to grab the precise URL that points to a specific place on
a web page. Thanks for your help. >
Based on that experience, I've adopted a spontaneous, free-form approach for
such times, which is to go in willing but "unprepared." I know there's stuff
to deal
with. I'm just not sure what. So I've decided to rely on my subconscious to
let
ME KNOW what.
Tue Afternoon
I notice as check-ins make their way around the circle, stuff starts
bubbling to
the surface. Seemingly out of nowhere, the thought pops into my head, "I'm
tired
of being nice." (Where'd that come from? I'm not sure, but there's clearly
some
anger attached to it.) OK - now I have an entry point.
This evening is the trial run of the 5-minute Hot Seat, described in my
previous
send. The leader decides to go around the room in order, and I'm first up.
As
we find out, with this method the forms just come pouring out. It is a
brief,
powerful experience.
As strange as this may sound, it is the case that I don't know what issues
I bring to the Hot Seat, until after the fact. I know in the hours
following, I
have that inner glow and feeling of release, and calm, and happiness,
increased
self-confidence, and connectedness with others. But no specific Aha. Just
lots
of general magic wrapped up in this pleasurable sense of heightened
well-being,
that is becoming more and more the norm.
Wed
The next morning I wake up feeling clear and smooth, as if everything is
right
with the world (as it must be in this reality we co-create), and it dawns on
me
that I am no longer angry with a friend I've been unhappy with for a long
time
... for so long, that it faded into the background of everyday life. But
there is
a tangible release, and sense of resolve, and peace, and I have an entirely
new perspective on the matter.
I also sit down and start organizing a number of administrative tasks that
I've
put off. This sounds trivial, but it's a big deal, to me. For weeks, I've
consciously
watched the feelings I dislike unconsciously direct my actions to every
corner of
my existence, except dealing with those stupid, dreaded pieces of paper. It
is an
incredibly stupid feeling to be smart enough to know exactly what's going
on, yet
unable to do anything about it. So that is a big breakthrough.
A Tribe member's observation sticks with me: Those who are the least hot
during check-in, wind up doing the most intense work.
It makes sense that the stuff that's down there the deepest, piled under
heaps
of judgment, goes unacknowledged the most. So maybe that's why you call it
an entry point - you start there, and relax and trust and surrender to the
support
of the Tribe, and everything else flows from that. The mind knows what to
do,
if we are willing to let it.
I notice an inner tranquility that blooms over time, as I continue
participating
in TTP. It is such a joy.
Others notice, too.
Wednesday evening I have dinner with a dear friend who I have known for
fifteen years. Two night later, she remarks, "I saw a calmness on your face
that night, that I have never, ever seen before. Ever. EVER. Your eyes are
different...your whole face is different."
Ed, thank you for your gift. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
When You are Willing to Stop
being an angel all the time
you start to develop
some inner peace.
Clip:
http://www.anamericanman.com/
angel-poems.html |
|
Sun, 12 Mar 2006
Phone Call from Fred
Howdy
Chief,
At our most recent tribe meeting I really go for it. I work through a number
of intense forms for nearly two hours. At the end I reach a zero point that
feels like floating on top of an enormous fountain, with a jet of water
supporting me in the air and blasting out in a horizontal plane in all
directions underneath me.
My tribe and I note that this is one of my most
intense sessions to date, and we all agree that something big is about to
happen, even though none of us knows what it is.
The next morning, less than 12 hours later, a friend calls me and offers to
help me achieve right livelihood as part of his company. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
Under Fred
can help us enroll others
in our dramas
and in Right Livelihood |
|
Sun, 12 Mar 2006
Fear of
Matching
At the last meeting I commit to go back on-line with [a dating service] and do what
it takes to build a relationship.
Two issues come up:
First, I've done the
write-up twice and sent it in -and neither one has gotten posted and then
Two: I always buy and read fiction mystery books but in my stack of books I
recently buy and start to read is a non-fiction book written by an FBI agent
about criminals and basically how smart they can be and fool
women--basically a book about murder and overly trusting women.
I know I
tend to be cautious but trusting is probably a word that does apply to me. I
admit this has me a bit freaked -- I do not believe this book got into my
stack of books to read by accident.
I am going to approach this dating thing
very cautiously --I do not know what the message is other than to be
careful.
So for the next tribe meeting I will bring copies of my write up
but I do not intend to post it public for now.
Weird.
Perhaps this is a way
to get out of this dating thing but I do not know for sure. I know I still
have strong feelings for someone else.
If the fear is just that perhaps an entry
point for the next work. I think for now I will just go back and focus on
other activities. |
Thank you for sharing your
process.
The Positive Intention of Fear
is to avoid danger.
Fear in a k-not
tends to attract dangerous drama.
Clip:
http://literally.barelyfitz.com/wp-content/scaredwoman.jpg |
|
Sat, 11 Mar 2006
System Dynamics
Dear Ed,
I'm reading the old FAQ (11/16/04) and run into one where you talk
about system dynamics and mention things like Coyote/Rabbit ecology
and other simulations.
It sounds very fascinating! As you say, "When
the student is ready, teachers appear everywhere." Funny that your FAQ
is always there for over a year now (not to mention SD for decades),
and I probably read the FAQ then but it didn't catch on.
But these
several days, I begin to look into that area, visiting system dynamics
website and downloading papers from Jay Forrester and other SDG
professors. I'm feeling hungry to learn more, for the idea is truly
fascinating and I love the idea as it starts to transform me from
linear/causal thinking to a more feedback-loop/multi-systems thinking.
It's really funny that right when I start to get interested in the
area I run into your 2004 FAQ. I wonder if you have more resources
(like the favorite books page) you can recommend. Thanks! |
To learn system dynamics, you might
consider building some simple models yourself.
Jay Forrester
"System dynamics deals with how things change through time, which
includes most of what most people find important.
It uses computer
simulation to take the knowledge we already have about details in
the world around us to show why our social and physical systems
behave the way they do.
System dynamics demonstrates how most of our
own decision-making policies are the cause of the problems that we
usually blame on others, and how to identify policies we can follow
to improve our situation."
-- Jay Forrester,
Professor of Management, Emeritus and
Senior
Lecturer, Sloan School,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
Founder, System Dynamics
Clip:
http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/
Depts/SSPS/About/systemdynamics.html
|
|
Sat, 11 Mar 2006
Speed Hot Seats
Dear Chief Seykota,
I have been a regular participant in the [City] Tribe since August 2005,
and have previously written about the positive changes I notice in my life.
I also
notice that the work becomes more effortless as trust and support among the
regular members naturally grows, and the Tribe achieves a critical momentum
over the past few months.
One inflection point is when the Tribe leader has a pressing business
engagement
on a Tribe night, and is unable to lead; One of the other members opens up
his
home to the group, and we hold the meeting as scheduled.
Ironically, it turns out to be a landmark meeting, and a testament to the
leader's
commitment to building a strong Tribe over the past many, many months. We
all
realize at this point how dedicated we are to the work, how much we enjoy
each
other's company, and how much the Tribe has taken on a life of its own.
That night, we decide to "go until," and everyone works. My Hot Seat
experience
is intense, as are several others.
Later, the host makes an interesting observation: The folks who are the
least hot
during check in, end up doing the most intense work.
Six weeks later, in an open discussion at the beginning of the meeting, the
same
Tribe member brings up the subject of making it possible for everyone to
work,
every time (our Tribe currently has eight regular members). The Tribe leader
proposes Speed Hot Seats.
Here is my record of that meeting.
-----
Powerful meeting tonight.
I'm a bit of a purist at heart, so when the topic of time-limited Hot Seats
comes up,
it doesn't sit well with me.
I think the book is brilliant, and metaphorically represents a simple trend
following
system. Straying too far from that basic methodology is like heaping a lot
of moving
parts on top of a simple, profitable system that doesn't need to be changed.
But I thought, Hey - what's five minutes (each) ... to find out?
Well, it looks like necessity is once again the mother of invention. We
stumbled
across something great.
My impression is that, as opposed to diluting the essential process, we
distilled it,
and supercharged it. Speed Hot Seat somehow makes the essential process even
more essential, by slightly reforming the experience of experiencing forms.
Five minutes - that's all you've got.
There is no time for chatter. The element of time pressure, instead of
acting as a
limiting factor, brings forms forth quickly and effortlessly. They morph
naturally,
and combine and swell into a crescendo that spontaneously combusts into
forms
integration, with no interruption and no prompting - just one smooth,
continuous,
organic progression.
It is demonstrated that verbal discourse prior to experiencing forms is
technically
unnecessary (though fragmented verbal outbursts and growling and screaming
seem to be a Hot Seat hallmark).
Process management becomes an almost unnecessary formality, and given an
experienced, willing Tribe, can possibly be dispensed with entirely.
The process seems to take on a life of its own, as the Tribe takes on a life
of its
own.
I can identify many moments and precise aspects of previous (extended) Hot
Seats, weeks and even months later. This evening, I am swept away and lost
in time, and later that night, do not remember most of the forms I exhibit.
It is
simply one cathartic, therapeutic, blur.
I am almost freakishly dehydrated at the end--after only five minutes--which
is a distinct feature of extended Hot Seats, for me. It's funny - my old
friend
nausea once again makes an appearance, creeping in at the end. The entire
experience is intensely compressed.
Tonight, two separate Hot Seats go to completion in only 3 1/2 minutes.
But hey - Who's looking at a clock? (We are.)
Check-outs are fast, too. Some of them last less than 15 seconds.
Comments: "Great," "tremendous," "powerful."
This is a bright, dedicated group, aligned in thought and purpose, and I
like
the brief periods of open discussion we occasionally fall in to, which is
how
this concept came to life.
Cool.
The next night, I notice freedom from the heavy flu-like symptoms of "detox"
that I routinely experience after extended, strenuous Hot Seats. The detox
is there, but barely above threshold. And my muscles are slightly sore, but
nothing like the acute lactic acid burn that sometimeslasts a week, or
more.
The 5-minute Speed Hot Seat may or may not turn out to be the end-all,
be-all of TTP, but it is quick, powerful and effective, and a lot easier on
the body.
Thank you for your work. |
Thank you for sharing your process and
for being willing to innovate. TTP is a dynamic, empirical technology.
It grows by experimenting.
The process tends to last until the
sender becomes willing to experience his feelings.
I recall a session at the the Incline
Village Tribe lasting about 45 seconds. I ask a sender who has
considerable experience if he is really willing to experience his feelings.
He thinks about it for a
moment, goes inside, and explodes in
laughter.
Sometimes a process may go on and on for
an hour or more.
It depends on the situation. When
I manage, I suggest ending the process to the sender to check if he thinks
he is done. I also survey the receivers to find out if they still see
business to finish. When we are all in alignment that the sender is at
the Zero Point, I call for a check-out.
If you find your group favoring
speed-seats, or drumming-only, or any particular technique to the exclusion
of others, you might consider taking your "need for speed" into the process
as an entry point.
Speed
does not always
get you there quicker.
Clips:
http://turbinegroup.com/Tim1.jpg
http://www.maritimstart.com/images/Ukens%20bilde/hold-deg-fast.jpg
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