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Questions

(Quotes from Ed in Red)

Thu, 30 Nov 2006

How To Handle a Pesky Telemarketer

OK.

Telemarketing Offers Opportunities

to deal with a large selection

of different kinds of people

and to find the ones

that complement

your Rocks.

Clip: http://www.lieberandassociates.com/

Thu, 30 Nov 2006

Mentors

I see the world as a system in which everyone influences everyone.  Everyone is in some way one of my mentors.

Your question brings several to mind.

Through Reading Books:

Nick Darvas

Bernard Baruch

Jesse Livermore

Arthur Cutten

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Milton Friedman

Through Radio and Television:

Buffalo Bob Smith

George Reeves

Don Herbert

Ernie Kovacs

Through Personal Contact:

Jay Forrester

Ken Olson

Harold Edgerton

Dick Donchian

I don't recall learning specific lessons as much as assimilating attitudes.

Harold Eugene "Doc" Edgerton

(1903-1990)

MIT students especially love Doc Edgerton

for his willingness to teach

and for his kindness.

"The trick to education

is to teach people in such a way

that they don't realize they're learning

until it's too late."

-- Doc Edgerton

Capturing a Moment of Now

Charles Stark Draper (father of inertial navigation) inspires Doc to point stroboscopes at everyday objects. Doc continues on to pioneer strobe photography (photo above), the Rapatronic camera (for photographing atomic blasts) and side-scan sonar (for scanning the floor beneath rivers, lakes and oceans). Jacques Cousteau calls him "Papa Flash."

Clips: http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/collections-mc/mc25/index.html

http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/

photography/images/photograph/

Thu, 30 Nov 2006

For Love or Money

Hello Ed, I found [Stock] on the charts part of your site. I did look it up on yahoo finance and found the dividend at around 60%. It would seem to be like another untouchable beautiful woman ready to take what she could if she could, or maybe she's just willing to put out some for her own pleasure.

I don't know yet and you probably would not give your opinion with the exception of using money management which in this case may be similar to love management .

You might consider taking your feelings about untouchable beautiful women to your tribe as an entry point.

You might find what is standing between you and connecting with beautiful women and with beautiful stocks.

Note: My birthday is August 7.  I like kids and party hats.  I am not the man from Madison.

"Turn your head and you're a dead man."

"Somebody kill me."

Sometimes We Disown Our Own Inhibitions

and designate others to carry them.

Clip: http://www.jokesogsjov.dk/sjove-billeder/

Wed, 29 Nov 2006

Serial Hugger

Juan Mann

from The Daily Telegraph October 31, 2006

Mann's appearance on the famous Oprah couch was seen by a US audience of 22 million viewers.

"I was the only person I knew in my own hometown," he told Oprah.

"So I wanted to get out there and do something that spread a little bit of cheer and cheered me up, and this was the first thing that really came to mind."

The first time he stood in public with his "Free Hugs" sign, Juan says it took an agonizing 15 minutes to receive his first hug.

"This one lady came up and gave me a hug and it was really, really worth it," Juan says.

From that first hug a campaign was born! Thanks to a video on the website YouTube, Juan's movement is spreading worldwide - he is even organizing a global hug day!

Clip: http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/

Wed, 29 Nov 2006

Outrageous

5 million of our older Americans have not signed up yet for their Medicare, Part D, drug plan ... they are old and confused. The government is NOT going to grant them an extension.

However, 12 million illegal aliens are in our country and we are going to allow them to stay, protest, procreate, receive support monies, attend schools, avoid paying income taxes, have our teachers take 300 hours of ESL (English as a Second Language) training at our expense, etc.

WE MUST REALLY DISLIKE OUR OLD PEOPLE......OR WE MUST REALLY LOVE TACOS!!!

Are you sure moving to Mexico and sneaking back into the US as an illegal alien is the only way to avoid a penalty for missing the Medicare prescription program deadline?

Venting periodically to your friends about  outrageous injustice does little to change the system.

You might consider taking your feelings about your taxes supporting illegal aliens to a Tribe meeting as an entry point.

You might be able to resolve your own issues about the matter and learn how to coexist with the way things are. 

Or perhaps you might even choose to become a real pioneer and encourage people to vote for people who are willing to experience their own feelings.

A Choir

Joining Forces to Express Feelings

A Law Firm

Joining Forces to Avoid Feelings

Clips: http://www.firstcong.net/music/

http://www.utah-lawyers.net/

Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006

FAQ is a Part of Daily Process

OK.

This Couple is Viewing This FAQ

(At this very moment)

as part of the morning office ritual

Clip: http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/

Tue, 28 Nov 2006

Rocks Process in a Pill

Ed,

Don't know if you caught this clip on 60 Minutes ...
It's like the rocks process in a pill. Of course experiencing a feeling and and it's positive intention and erasing a memory are two different things. Thought you mind find it interesting.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/

Thank you for the URL.

One of the notions of the Rocks Process is that we learn essential behavior patterns early in life during very stressful events.  During the Rocks Process we use a physical rock as a metaphor for the patterns we learn.

The researcher in your movie clip confirms that adrenalin helps set memory. This is consistent with the Rocks Process notion of deep learning during stress.

In the Rocks Process, we purposefully reenact the critical event in order to access the critical learning.

Your clip examines using Propranolol  as a chemical remedy for PTSD.

In the Rocks Process, Application of Propranolol or other Central Nervous System (CNS) anti-stimulant would likely inhibit the subject's ability to energize the healing state.

The medical community tends to medicate emotional problems such as anxiety with drugs that inhibit feelings. In TTP and in the Rocks Process we promote the feelings in order to examine them, experience them and find their positive intentions.

Another example of drugging feelings: The public (government) school system treats FCS (fidgety child syndrome) with Ritalin.  FAQ suggests that the disease is more likely BTS (boring teacher syndrome) for which the effective treatment is educational vouchers.

The Standard Medical Approach

to emotional problems

is to kill the symptoms.

In TTP we honor the symptoms

as part of the cure.

Inderal

The adrenal medulla issues epinephrine  (adrenalin) into the blood stream in response to stress.

Epinephrine acts to increase heart rate, dilate the pupils, elevate blood sugar and prepare the body for emergency action.

Propranolol (Inderal) is a non-selective beta adrenergic blocker. It acts, in part, to neutralize adrenalin. Doctors prescribe it to treat hypertension.

Clips: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/

shows/2004/10/20.html

http://www.luhs.org/HEALTH/kbase/media/

Tue, 28 Nov 2006

Experimenting with Rocks

Tue, 28 Nov 2006

Feedback from Rocks Process

Parents are Losing their Grip

My mom has not called in several weeks now, she does not make an attempt to communicate with me, neither does my grandma. It feels like they are losing interest in me and their grip on me loosens.

Thank you for sharing your process.

When You Replace Your "Strangle Me" Rock

people mysteriously lose interest

in strangling you.

Tue, 28 Nov 2006

Trend Following vs. Other Trading Methods

Dear Mr. Seykota,

How does trend following yield superior returns to other trading methods?

Barring frequent transaction costs and reckless money management, will they not all approach the average return of the financial vehicle being traded?

In a bull market, one is bound to experience longer uptrend than downtrends just as one would expect longer sequences of heads than tails when flipping a coin biased towards heads.

I do not follow that every trend following method yields superior returns to all other methods for all trades.

I do not know what you mean by the return of a financial vehicle.

After a Busy Day Delivering Bags of Cash

this "financial vehicle returns"

to the garage.

 Clip: http://www.brinks.com.ar/

Tue, 28 Nov 2006

The Dollar

Yes.  Governments eventually debase paper currency to the zero point. This process typically takes a few hundred years.  In the later stages, inflation accelerates and people turn to hard assets, such as gold, to hedge their buying power.

A Trip to the Barbershop

Then: 25 cents

Now: 25 dollars

Clip: http://www.io.com/~n5fc/

Mon, 27 Nov 2006

The Rocks Process is an extension of Classic TTP - much as Algebra is an extension of Arithmetic.

Classic TTP helps people tune up their emotional instrument panels, develop communication skills, locate right livelihood and discover core issues.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006

Working with the Rocks Process

by Charles Faulkner

Here are the steps of the 'reimprinting' process I did with a Chicago Tribe member - The Tribe member comments are under each step.
 

1. Access an undesired state. At this point, a recurrent client will bring up a recurrent issue which will, inevitably be connected with larger 'issues.'

 

For a few weeks I have intense emotional reactions towards my family, I feel I am caught in their same old patterns and don't have a way to break out. I don't feel very hot at this point. Charles asks me to think as far back as possible that creates this feeling for me.

2. Encourage a 'transderivational search' of this feeling to its historical origins.

 

After a few moments I have an image in my mind where I am standing in a circle with my family (grandma to the left, mom to the right and dad in front of me. I am not sure if this is an actual situation from my past, but it feels strangely familiar.

3. Vivify the historical scene so it is experienced as if it is happening now.

 

In my mind, my grandma is making my mom feel guilty for some of the decisions she makes in her life, my mom feels attacked and bitches at my mom, my grandma calls her ungrateful, it just goes back and forth. My dad is just standing in the middle with this stupid grin, not taking any responsibility. I feel helpless, I want them to stop, I feel they don't care about me, I don't understand why they are doing this. I am in the middle of this circle and I can't go anywhere, they are my family and I have to stay here.

4. Anchor this 'negative' imprint experience (physical anchor - chicken shake) (I also used my voice tone, the physical location and gestures as anchors.)

 

Charles gives me a round object (a chicken shaker, seems there are less physical rocks in the city than in Incline.

5. Identify the personification of the source of the 'negative' imprint. (Also known as 'externalizing the problem.')

 

He asks me what this symbolizes and who I want to give it back to. I can't quiet put it in words, first I think it is my mom but it doesn't quiet feel right. I look at my dad and his stupid dirty grin, I feel an intense rush of emotions I squeeze the object and just push it into my dads hands (other tribe member roll playing). I do it again, and actually start pushing my dad away, i think I yell at him as well. It feels good to go through this.

6. Metaphorically enact actual experiences subsequent to the 'negative' imprint. This was a deliberate attempt to follow the Rocks process model.)

 

After a while Charles asks me how it feels to walk away from this circle, I physically get up and walk away, I turn my back to my family. I know they are still there, I turn back around and say I have to stay with them since they are my family. (Interesting fact: I moved to the U.S. from Germany at age 18 to get away from them as far as possible. Emotionally they have been with me all along.) This bothers me very much. I try to walk away again and turn my back on them but I can't.

7a. Dissociate from the 'negative' imprint.

7b. Bring (adult) resources into the 'negative' imprint experience that can transform the quality of the younger you's experience. These resources can be additional emotional states, positive beliefs/attitudes, ideas, and/or some greater knowledge (such as of the future). In a sense these are the 'fingers' of the full (hand) of a transformational resource. All the aspects will be there. Note: These resources are not specific behavioral choices as these change with circumstances.

 

Charles asks me what I (today) would tell myself in that situation. I say: I would take him by the hand and tell him that it is ok, there is other stuff out there, you are your own person, this is not you, this is them. I would tell him that I am there for him and I respect him and support him. I respect his feelings.

8. Have the client re-view his/her younger self reliving the original imprint experience with the new resources. This is both a retranscription of those original imprint memories and a dissociated test of the sufficiency of the selected resources. More resources can always be added if the client is not delighted.

 

I feel a lot of empathy for myself then. Charles [asks me] how I would like to deal with my current situation. I tell him I want to live my life in a way that I think is right, I want to stretch as far as I think is possible and not my parents think. I want to be free of their limited ideas and toxic ways of dealing with each other. He asks me if I know a person that does this. I do, he asks me if I can imagine that person and then imagine adopting his beliefs that I consider worthwhile. I agree to do so.

8a. Add additional resources as necessary and/or desirable.

9. Re-associate the client with his/her earlier experience and relive the past sequence of experiences associating to them up to the present.

 

Up to this point I am feel a range of emotions, but not as intense as I have in other regular tribe meeting. As I imagine taking on this beliefs I am critical at first, how is this gonna work? How can I take on these believes? Out of a sudden I see a little light, I am curious and next thing I know this little light turns into one of the most intense feelings I ever experienced. I have no words for this feeling, there is no name, it is just bright, full of energy, very strong. I lay down on my back I start making noises like I just won the Superbowl, World Series and NBA ring on the same day. I feel intense joy and completeness, I feel very focused.

9. Future pace to upcoming experiences.

 

I feel I am still integrating from this process, things in my life shift. I see a lot of dramas much clearer. As soon as I notice them I can step away from it. I lose attachment to a lot of things and am much more present with what is going on around me. I don't feel bad for not talking to my family, I associate less with them as I realize that they don't want to change and that that is their problem. I still have strong emotions about my mom as she says she want to change and asks me for help. I try to help her but she doesn't take action. In the last 2 or 3 days I feel less compelled to help her. I call my cousins for the first time in years, they are both less than 18 years old. I let them know that I care about them. I spend less time with people I don't really want to spend time with. I only talk to people I enjoy talking to. I stop mourning old relationships.

10. Re-orient to current time/space coordinates.

 

This is a very powerful meeting, I am not sure where I am going, but I know, and that is the biggest shift, that I am on the right path and I am enjoying, without being attached to my destination.

Additional comments from the Tribe member:

Thank you to Charles for having this meeting and for all his support. I am thankful to him for starting the Chicago Tribe 2 years ago at his place, it has been a phenomenal ride since then.

Thank you for sharing your work with the Rocks Process.  TTP is largely empirical and draws on the experiments of the TTP community. 

I suspect there are as many more ways to reprogram deep behavior as there are people. 

I like to use the Rocks process as the Rocks serve as physical tokens. They help organize the process and to keep Hotseat (the client) in his feelings.

Anyone with a working knowledge of Classic TTP can pick up the knack of it by observing it in action a few times and by experiencing it from the Hotseat.

Here is an example of steps I follow in delivering the Rocks Process:

1. Identify the problem.  Hotseat generally tells a story about it.  Challenge him with "I don't see the problem here."  Keep working with him until he shows emotional upset about the situation.

2. Display the Form.  Keep encouraging Hotseat

to get into his form until it is in full bloom.  If he has a core issue, he goes into a signature form.  Keep encouraging the form until he fully involves his body and emotions.

3.  Freeze the form and amplify the feelings.  Have Hotseat stop all motion and also keep making the feelings more intense.

4. Back-Track.  Ask Hotseat to recall a time early in his life when he feels the same way.  This quickly locates the critical event. 

Note: in the process on the left, you rely on a logical process of "encouraging a transdirivational search."  This invites the conscious mind to produce a logical, reasonable and proper response.  The real Rock tends to hide from such logical searches.  By getting Hotseat fully into his form and "out of his mind,"  his feelings locate the real event like a heat-seeking missile.

5. Describe the situation.  Hotseat tells the events in a drama. The story invariably contains some stress for young Hotseat.

6. Role Play.  The Tribe members form an ad-hoc troupe and re-enact the drama. Hotseat plays himself.  Tribe members typically report surprise at how easily they are able to master the nuances of the scene and to produce a vivid reenactment of the situation, all on the first try. As the drama proceeds, Hotseat relives the stress, terror and futility of the situation. 

7. Deliver the Medicinal Rock.  One of the troupe delivers the Rock, saying, "Here, take this, it helps your feelings go away. It's like medicine. It works for me and it can work for you.  Here's how it works.  When you are in this situation (father hitting you) you just do this (shut off your feelings and vow to get him back later).  Hotseat takes the Rock and uses it to medicate his feelings.

8. Review using the Medicinal Rock.  Ask Hotseat to recall events in his life in which he uses the Medicinal Rock.  Start from his age in the role play and work toward the present.

9. Ask if he likes the Medicinal Rock.  He invariably says he sees how the Rock runs his life and how it sets limits on his life. He wants to get rid of it.

10. Remove the Rock.  Re-run the role play. This time, Hotseat refuses to accept the Rock, saying, "It's no good. It's not for me.  I can do better."

11. Build a Responsive Rock.  Work with the entire Tribe to compile a list of wise responses to the situation.  Have Hotseat hold the new rock and squeeze the thoughts and feelings of the responses into the rock.

12. Install the Responsive Rock.  Run the role-play for the third time.  This time, at the time of accepting the rock, a "Messenger from an older and wiser version of you" appears and offers the Responsive Rock and explains how it works.

13. Review using the Responsive Rock.  Ask Hotseat to recall events in his life in which he uses the Responsive Rock.  Start from his age in the role play and work toward the present.  Hotseat typically reports getting much better results.

14. Unify. As Hotseat continues to grow older and review his life with the Responsive Rock, have him emerge into the moment of now and to join the evolving child with the adult who now acknowledges creating it.

15. Quality Control.  Ask Hotseat about the original problem.  He typically reports it is not a big problem now, just some business to finish. 

16. Souvenir.  Invite Hotseat to keep the Responsive Rock with him as a souvenir and reminder of his new response patterns.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006

Magazine Cover

Is it time to back up the truck and load up on stocks?

I don't see much on this cover in the way of emotions, like fear or greed.  I'd rather "stick with the system" rather than try to guess a direction from this cover.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006

Wants the Source for Core Betting

As far as I know, I am the source for the terms, "Core Betting," "Portfolio Heat" and "Exponential Averages of Price."

"Radial Momentum" and "TTP" are still working their way into the public consciousness.

Benjamin Franklin, Inventor

Ben invents physical things,

like swim fins, bifocals, the glass armonica,

watertight bulkheads for ships, the lightning rod,

an odometer, and the "Franklin" wood stove.

Clip: http://bensguide.gpo.gov/benfranklin/

Sun, 26 Nov 2006

TSP Inconsistency

Hi Ed,

studying one more time the TSP Diversification Study I notice that entry and exit dates reported in HG trade log (Panel #1) and in CL trade log (Panel #2) don't match with entry and exit dates in the combo system (HG S-R System + CL EA Crossover System). Entry and exit signals are price related and not influenced by diversification: if I obtain a signal by a crossover at 90-08-07 trading CL alone, I suppose to find the same again trading CL + HG, but this doesn't happen in your multi-market simulation. This has no sense to me; maybe this report http://www.seykota.com/tribe/TSP/

Sat, 25 Nov 2006

Fractals

I do not see how fractals are useful in trading.  As you zoom in on a fractal, you find smaller and smaller elements, all still in proportion.  As you zoom in on the markets and look for micro-moves, your transactions costs do not decrease proportionately.

Fractals

Pretty pictures and formidable mathematics.

Like "Neural Nets", Fractals are useful

mostly in spinning up a lively story

to snow clients.

Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2006

Valuing Clarity

Maybe you answer this and maybe you do not.

Emotions and money do not have the same units of measure.

Apples and Oranges

Broker: You have a margin call.

Trader: No worries. I'm sending two feelings of fear and three sensations of hope to cover it.

Wed, 22 Nov 2006
 

M3 - The Missing Indicator

M3 seems to be rising a lot faster than M1 or M2. The government no longer reports M3.

Clip: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/

Hmmm ...

If You Don't Like The News

you can always

shoot the messenger.

Clip: http://www.theamericanmag.com/

Wed, 22 Nov 2006

$5,000 Account - Risk Management

Ed,

A: Risk enough to make a difference if you win.

B: Risk not enough to hurt you if you lose. 

If these two amounts don't overlap, don't trade.

If A and B Intersect

you have a risk amount that satisfies both

betting enough and

not betting too much.

Wed, 22 Nov 2006

Helping Others

For information on the upcoming workshop, January 5-7, in Reno, see above.

Helping Each Other is Essential

in Tribe work

and in life in general.

Clip: http://www.mountainartistsguild.org/

Wed, 22 Nov 2006

Standing Still

Hi Ed,


It’s a while since my last email. I continue to have some internal turmoil and lots of struggles with myself at times especially when I attempt to block some feelings. Over the past month I make good progress with feeling anger - I am pleased with this as I am less tolerant of BS and quick at putting things straight when they are getting out of line. I enjoy not being Mr. Nice and seem to be getting some respect for it!

I notice how I am at a standstill with most of my endeavors and seem to be at some kind of a cross road. I feel that I am holding back, not living life as I would like to or am capable of. Breaking the script is not easy.

Thank you for sharing your process.

We are using the Rocks Process (see above) to break through some of our signature forms.

Sometimes a Window Appears

in the middle of a wall.

Clip: http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/

Wed, 22 Nov 2006

Trading System Project

Hi Ed,

I started the trading system project in January of this year just after completing the Reno workshop. I searched for system testing software. I bought Trading Recipies. I used this program to duplicate both the exponential average crossover system and the simple support and resistance system. Both work out to the penny. I inserted different system parameters on each system to arrive at the same optimized solutions and I understand how and why this is done.

Tue, 21 Nov 2006

Thank you for sharing your process.

Some Recent Studies

Link cancer to stress

and link remission

to resolution of stress.

Tue, 21 Nov 2006

Apprentice position

Dear Mr. Seykota,

Mon, 20 Nov 2006

Price and ATR


First, thanks again for stimulating such a great project! I’m a year behind the original project, still working on the exponential crossover system.

I have thought a great deal about the position size calculator. I have had some exposure to data analysis and statistics. It’s not uncommon, I’ve seen, for the standard deviation, or range of some measurement to rise with a corresponding rise in the absolute size of the measurement. So, I plotted ATR / ClosingPrice, and, while the graph is very strange looking, it does show a curve. So, I re-ran the simulations with a sliding scale for ATR rather than a constant multiplier, i.e. when the price increases, allow for larger position sizes, and it had a large effect on the final equity value.

Have you seen a similar effect?

Regards,

Mon, 20 Nov 2006

Rocks Process Follow-Up


Dear Ed,


As agreed, please accept this email in line with my commitment to report back to you on our rocks process meeting, I suspect you might post this on your FAQ so I have given some detail about our meeting for the readers.

Our session is very powerful experience for me, after acknowledging my rock that deals with shocking experiences that are ‘out of my control’ by tending to respond by freezing, losing breath, lump in throat, upset stomach and walking away.

We replaced this rock with a new one, I now choose to fully experience my feeling, support others around me to experience their feelings, see if I can help, ask around to see if everything is being done, see if I can prevent the risk, take a moment to think and meditate and allow any insights, ideas and thoughts to come up.

I notice that immediately after the session I am very cautious around my old rock, I don’t even want to touch it. It has a presence about it like reaching out to pat the head of a snarling dog. I notice as I write this email I have left the rock on my desk under some paper since the meeting (I now check and notice I no longer have the same wary feeling around it).

Thank you for sharing your process.

Families Get Together

and pass Rocks

down the line.

Clip: http://venus.ece.ndsu.nodak.edu/

20 Nov 2006

Milton Friedman
 

Yes.

Milton Friedman

Clear Thinker

Extraordinarily Inspirational Teacher

Champion of Freedom

Friedman calls inflation a "disease" and argues that it results not from economic growth or capitalism, but from excessive creation of money by government. He believes that government, by limiting freedom, undermines economic progress. In 1980, he writes that government growth in the US threatens "to bring two centuries of economic progress to an end."

Mon, 20 Nov 2006

Apprentice

Thank you for your interest.  Not working on trading issues, not committing to continuing improvement and experiencing boredom seem to be consistent.

Boredom

One positive intention

is to inform you

to move on.

Sun, 19 Nov 2006

Sun, 19 Nov 2006

Apprentice

Sun, 19 Nov 2006

Thank you for sharing your process.

Our Elders Teach Us How To Do Things

including how to respond

from the gut

in stressful situations.

Clip: http://www.galleryone.com/