|
September 11 - 20, 2006
<==
Previous
| Next ==>
|
Questions
(Quotes from Ed in Red)
|
Answers |
|
Wed, 20 Sep
2006
Trading
Tribe Site
Hi Ed,
Probably received this info already but just to let you know that TT
internet site is not loading and linking to attached link (this was at
10:40pm Wed 9/20/06)
http://sites.godaddy.com/sites.html . |
See reply in next issue. |
|
Wed, 20 Sep
2006
New ideas
see
Chemistry
Ed, I am starting to put things right. This weekend I made a research of
local folklore groups and found out that a colleague in my workplace is
member of the one I liked. I also contacted some friends so that we may
go together to healthy balls regularly. I am researching places to go.
Of course, we shall also experiment
|
OK. |
|
Wed, 20 Sep
2006
Trading
Tribe Site
Sir,
The Trading Tribe site -
www.tradingtribe.com - is down since two days. I am missing a
lot of insights from you, Sir.
If there is any change in the site address please do let me know. I can
hardly afford to miss the site. |
See reply in next issue. |
|
Tue, 19 Sep
2006
Umbrellas
Rocks, huh. What happened to Hats? An even bigger question, what
happened to Ed's website? Did he forget to pay his hosting fee because
the bill was due in the non-existent future? (Yuck, yuck, yuck.)
So for my Rock sound, auditory anchor, I decided to sing War Pigs by
Black Sabbath. This worked great in my shed, my family looked at me a
little weird, but it drew quite a crowd at the super market!
I'm kind of wondering, if Ed Seykota changes his method to Umbrellas, so
that every time you had a drama you took an umbrella stuck it up your
ass opened it, would we all rush out and do it cause "Ed says ... "
It looks like good, old-fashioned, easy-to-learn, works-like-magic TTP
is gone, and me with it. TTP has been a wonderful tool that has helped
me a lot, brought me back to my true Right Livelihood. I want to thank
all of you for your support and suggestions, you're a great group. But
all good things come to an end; it's time for me to move on.
Best wishes,
|
Early TTP continues to provide
benefits in various areas. See the link to Rocks, above.
The Rocks process is an extension of
TTP for people who want to take the work to another level of discovering
personal patterns such as a tendency to express fear of change as anger
and hostility.

Umbrella Process
Use various umbrellas
in various ways
to express your feelings.
Clip:
http://www.adcomarketing.com/images/
umbrellas/traveler-umbrella-colorslarge.jpg |
|
Tue, 19 Sep
2006
TTP for
Docile Women
PS If I can ever be helpful to you re: your
"therapeutic" strategies for middle-aged women, let me know.
Especially
those who are married to or in relationship with Type A personality men.
These are the hardest.
My literature review and experience with Type A personalities is that
"smart" women who want truly intimate relationships escape or walk away
from Type A personalities ultimately - if those types do not change. The
only women, I can discern, who remain with Type A men are women who are
subservient, conciliatory, un-liberated, docile.
|
"Type A" (versus Type B) indicates
reticence about showing emotion, care about showing up on time, use
money as a measure of personal value and dislike dirt.
Myers & Briggs Indicators use:
Extraversion (E) or Introversion
(I).
Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).
Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)
to get a composite indicator such as
ESTJ, one of sixteen possibilities.
In the Rocks Process, we feel that
Rocks (critical behavior patterns) are better indicators of personal
chemistry.

Personal Chemistry
might have to do with
seeing each other
as a way to resolve deep issues.
Clip:
http://www.finseth.com/Bryce/
Chemistry-NaCl.jpg?33,22 |
|
Tue, 19 Sep
2006
Site Down
Ed,
Your web site is still down.
-----
I am unable to connect to
www.tradingtribe.com - it gives me the message:
This site is currently unavailable.
If you are the owner of this site, please contact us at 1-480-505-8855
at your earliest convenience.
Thought you might like to know. |
See reply in next issue. |
|
Mon, 18 Sep
2006
Site Down
Ed,
When I try to go to
www.tradingtribe.com
I get this:
http://sites.godaddy.com/sites.html
-----
Is the website
down? When I try to get to
www.seykota.com I am redirected to
http://sites.godaddy.com/sites.html and it says "Ooops!!! This site
is currently unavailable. If you are the owner of this site, please
contact us at 1-480-505-8855 at your earliest convenience."
-----
When I try
to get to the web site I am routed to
http://sites.godaddy.com/sites.html instead. |
See reply in next issue. |
|
Mon, 18 Sep
2006
Feels
Chemistry for Bitches
I also often find myself feeling "chemistry" with and attracting girls
who already have a boyfriend and are apparently unsatisfied with their
relationship, and seem to be looking for more "options" or playing
manipulative games.
I hate this
behavior on their part, but I seemingly can't help attracting these
bitches. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
The Rock you are carrying might make
your drama pattern inevitable for you.

There is no Accounting for Taste
until you see the rock.
Clip:
http://oraculations.blogspot.com/uploaded_
images/Military%20bitch%201-707513.jpg |
|
Mon, 18 Sep
2006
A Revolting
Rock
Ed, there is an episode in my childhood which I think has a greater
influence on who I am today. Our father used to punish us with a belt or
a whip, out of disobedience or for the sake of discipline.
Nevertheless
he used to be affectionate towards us in our early childhood.
Last night I remembered these episodes, just before sleeping.
As he
sometimes was unfair in doing the beating, I remembered how one day I
revolted against his authority and threatened him. I remember how he was
shocked and surprised. But from that day on he never beat me anymore.
Nowadays I am usually confronted with these memories when I find myself
alone and lonely, such as after asserting myself and expressing my anger
towards a girl who has disappointed me.
I feel I tend
to repeat this episode in myself such as trusting and being affectionate
towards someone, or doing a lot of effort to try to win her affection,
and later having to resort to anger to assert and protect myself. The
incipient relationship also tends to abruptly break up and I usually end
up getting in touch with my "deep inner loneliness". |
Thank you for sharing your process.
In the Rocks model, your father
finally succeeds in transferring the "revolt" rock to you.
Thereafter, in situations involving
conflict and danger to yourself, you apply the "drama-in-the-rock" to
revolt against the other person.
You may even pre-select people whom
you feel might make good candidates for this "revolting" drama.
Part of the Rocks process is to
realize that you cannot escape from the drama by analyzing it or trying
to change it.
Another part is to return to the
critical event and to forgive the rock and set yourself free to respond
in a wider variety of ways.
For more on the Rocks Process, see
the link to Rocks, above.

Some Patterns Tend to Persist
until we go back
and forgive our attachments to them
Clip:
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/images/
whipping_post_550.jpg
|
|
18 Sep 2006
Role of TTP
Sir,
Please explain the role of TTP, particularly, when a trading system,
like the one that is displayed in TSP, is in place to follow the trend.
|
TTP is a set of tools, and does not
include a requirement for deployment.

Tools Don't Have a Role
until you give them one.
Clip:
http://www.flibberkids.com/images/
Large%20Tools%20300x300.gif |
|
Mon, 18 Sep
2006
Re-experiencing
Sir,
Re-experiencing = making those experiences to be felt again (as if they
are happening again). Isn't it ?
Regards,
|
Yes, by re-experiencing critical
events we are opening an opportunity to re-program ourselves on an
emotional, gut level. |
|
Sun, 17 Sep
2006
Trading
Beliefs about the Markets
Ed,
A footnote to my prior email about Hats and Rocks process.
I think I don’t really trade the markets, I trade my beliefs about
the markets.
Some of my beliefs are useful, some of my beliefs are not useful, and
some of my beliefs are harmful to my trading.
Thank you for the TTP process where I can take a look at that.
|
A belief is cognitive content that
you hold to be true.
In addition to trading your beliefs,
you are likely also trading your feelings, about the markets, about your
worth and about yourself.

"Strong and blind belief is a virtue."
"OK then. I will strongly believe
that you don know much of anything."
While focusing on the content of beliefs,
we might miss the lessons
the father and son
are teaching each other
about their relationship.
Clip:
http://www.ntskeptics.org/cartoons/blind-belief-virtue.gif |
|
Sun, 17 Sep
2006
Fond
Farewell From LA Area oldest Tribe
(Beverly
Hills)
Dear Ed
I appreciate our almost 4 years run.
My trend is no longer to be leader. And no one desire to take over.
I appreciate our removal from the TT Directory.
I love the TTP and continue using it, including visiting FAQ.
As always, I appreciate your support, offering TTP to the world. |
Thank you for participating in the
process and for becoming a passing aha. |
|
Sun, 17 Sep
2006
Feedback on
Rocks
Ed Says: As the child matures, he transfers the
drama-in-the-rock from his parents to many other people in his life and
the rock continues to control his entire life. The young adult now
selects partners to fulfill the rock. The rock controls absolutely.
Attempts to break out of the drama by following advice invariable fail.
Indeed, the young adult may solicit advice and allies as part of
extending the drama. Similarly, using logic and reason also fail. The
rock controls feelings and feelings eventually trump logic and reason.
We are finding ways to return the sender to the "crime scene" and to
support the child in rejecting the rock. We call this process "forgiving
the rock." The parent tries to give the child the rock and this time the
child does not take it. He forestalls the "gift." He forgives the rock.
He also comes to see the parent is not evil. He sees the parent as a
rather passive carrier of the rock and that the evil is in the rock.
Ed, the patterns you start to describe, such as the Rock going through
the family tree, were extensively studied by Pia Mellody in his book
"FACING CODEPENDENCE, What It Is, Where It Comes From, How It Sabotages
Our Lives". She has divided her work in two parts: in this book she does
a full discussion of the roots and symptoms of the disease, with a focus
on childhood experiences. In her other book "Breaking Free: A Recovery
Workbook for Facing Co-dependence" she outlines a kind of 12-step
program for recovery.
I myself bought book one and started reading it a while ago. I haven't
finished reading it yet. I have already read about the symptoms and the
concept of boundaries. I am about to read the part two where she
discusses the roots, such as physical, emotional, intellectual,
spiritual and sexual abuse during childhood, and compares a "precious
child" brought up into a functional family and into a dysfunctional
family.
I think her work is useful in helping me becoming conscious of
unhealthy patterns of behavior. At this point I can focus on the key
feelings raised the dramatic situation. Whatever, as I draw from my own
experience and as she and also you acknowledge the patterns are
"insidious and subtle". I also feel there is a distinctive difference
between being intellectually conscious of an unhealthy pattern and being
emotionally conscious of it. Only the latter leads to recovery or "rock
removal".
Whatever, I hope you're aware of the task you try to tackle.
Incidentally I also believe that part of the recovery process occurs
spontaneously as we mature, specially as we interact socially. I
find that one of the key maladies of modern society is the too
individualistic style of living. That often drives us away from
community experience and activities of interdependence or intimacy that
might otherwise spontaneously facilitate the 'process' of becoming
healthy adult individuals. I myself am thinking about starting some
activities such as joining a local group of folklore dancing, going to
healthy balls with friends, etc.
I wish you success.
|
The Rocks process extends conscious
awareness of unconscious patterns toward emotional awareness of them.
When we learn to open ourselves up
to new "instinctive" emotional responses, we can set ourselves free past
the point we can do so by analysis, thinking and declarations.
I support your moving forward and
joining some groups that may give you a field of support on a regular
basis.

Folk Dancing
Good exercise, good fun,
and a good way to make friends.
Clip:
http://www.folkdance.suite.dk/u0/fot2.jpg
|
|
Sun, 17 Sep
2006
Rocks
Ed,
I’ve been reading your papers.
In my experience, the TTP process seems to work great when the feelings
are simple, or socially acceptable. But stagnates when there are
beliefs or global decisions that filter; a complex set of feelings
(multiple feelings simultaneously), or the not socially acceptable
feelings, into simple or socially expressible ones.
We have members of our tribe with signature forms which I believe are
more accurately described in the Rocks process. Where there is a real
feeling causing the recurring destructive drama in the person’s life,
but as in the Rocks process, it is unacceptable to express or is so
unconscious that it is inexpressible on the hot seat. So what appears on
the hot seat is a simple socially acceptable decoy feeling, which
exhibits signature forms, and which makes little or no progress and
stagnates.
The heart of the matter of this stagnation, I think is a belief or
global decision which was put in place in a time of great trauma in an
un-resourceful time in our life (like childhood) that translates the raw
feeling we unconsciously feel into the one that we consciously
experience and which appears in the outside in the world.
It seems to me that you are on the right track with the evolving Rocks
process. Somehow we need to work backwards through the belief (global
decision) to access the source feeling because experiencing the decoy
feeling will never get to the heart of the wound to allow the
healing. In most cases nothing will change until the belief is changed.
The belief has no chance of changing until it has a name, and is
re-evaluated and re-decided in a more resourceful state, that is in
harmony with all other belief and feelings the person has.
I like the analogy of the Hats because people often go around the world
completely unconscious of what feeling is on their hat but it is clear
to the people that spend any time around them what the hat says.
The Tribe gathering is critical here because tribe
members that don’t have that issue can guess from the behavior what the
hat says. The sender can verify the accuracy of the tribe’s observations
when the suggested hat label has the heat of a strong reaction.
I am unclear when the rock gets named. Is it carried without a name and
then gets named in the tribe meeting?
If so, I can see how the Rocks process might work as well as the Hats
version.
Using the Rock like an NLP anchoring process might be very effective at
breaking through the belief into the real feelings on the hot seat.
To do this it seems very important to me that the rock is carried for
some time with no name. That is it carried long enough to have the
feeling with no name strongly associated with holding the rock and
squeezing it exactly the same way when the feeling is very strong.
It probably would be best to have a unique rock each time
this process is started and that squeezing the rock when the feeling is
very strong happens more than a dozen times for the anchor to be strong.
An unconscious or unacceptable feeling then would have some chance of
appearing on the hot seat when the anchor is fired by the sender setting
on the hot seat and squeezing the rock in the same way.
This process could bring the un-named, unconscious
feeling up on the hot seat where traditional TTP works well. If there is
no aha or behavior change then the tribe process of naming the rock
might access the belief that is filtering the deeper feeling.
They could then suggest names for the rock until the
sender reacts strongly to one and writes the name on the rock. Carrying
the rock now with the name on it and squeezing it in exactly the same
way when the feeling is very strong and anchoring that more than a dozen
times again, might bring the feeling up on the next hot seat where
traditional TTP might work well. Once the deep feeling is experienced
then the name and belief might be examined in a resourceful and
supported state where it can be re-decided.
Strong feelings seem to setup beliefs. Experiencing feelings is a way to
get aha's that allow the re-evaluation of beliefs. Most of the major
changes in my life, where I have experienced an immediate and permanent
behavior change, happened when a belief was changed.
I applaud your efforts to evolve TTP to where re-deciding long standing
un-useful beliefs is possible via the Hats or Rocks (or what ever it
becomes named) process. |
Thank you for engaging the
discussion.
For more on Rocks, see the link
above, particularly the new section on the Cartography of the Mind. |
|
Sat, 16 Sep
2006
Ideal Girlfriend - 2
see below
Yes. I am her favorite son. She was very domineering during our
childhood. My two brothers (one younger and another older) already have
theirs. I am left. Now time has come for me to think about starting a
relationship too. |
If you have a rock that fits with
your mother's rock you are likely to move on to attract a woman who has
the same rock as your mother.

We Move Forward
through a series
of pretty good fits.
Clip:
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~psyc351/
Images/Escher.jpg |
|
Sat, 16 Sep
2006
Ideal Girlfriend
see Does It with Mom
LOL. You sound funny. Philosophical questions aside, I start to realize
I am not going to get the girlfriend I want sending you entries to post
on FAQ. But, hey, that's will power! We're both trapped. LOL. |
You already seem to have your ideal
girl friend. |
|
Sat, 16 Sep
2006
Destiny
Ed Says: My experience with TTP is that our
attempts to analyze our own patterns and to overcome them by will power
are futile.
Ed, you're right. In spite of my attempts to deal with conflicts in my
emotional life I typically end up feeling as though I am emotionally
screwed up. Thanks for your patience and for taking your time to give me
some attention. Do you believe there is such a thing as "destiny"?
|
Evidently, your destiny is to send
me the entry on the left, mine to answer it here.

Adam and Eve
Originally Choose Their Destiny
(which is to have Free Will.)
Clip:
http://www.jtoriginals.net/FreeWill.html |
|
Sat, 16 Sep
2006
SEO
Ed Says: "I am open for ideas on how to distribute
TTP on a wider level. As the work becomes more powerful, I envision some
system of certifying Tribe leaders."
This is my suggestion for how to distribute TTP on a wider level:
leverage the web via search engine optimization (SEO).
You don't do anything (ANYTHING!) to optimize your FAQ pages for Google,
Yahoo, MSN.
For example, all the FAQ pages have the default FrontPage title "New
Page 1". Now that is really funny!
You are starting at absolute zero in SEO terms.
You therefore have a HUGE opportunity to increase traffic (and grow
powerful collaborative network effects to advance the work) via SEO.
If you want, I can provide you some SEO expertise in return for TTP
workshop admittance.
The intent of performing SEO is to make the FAQ pages relevant for
specific TTP-related searches people are making every day.
The result is a very findable page for searchers on specific TTP-related
terms using Google, Yahoo, etc.
The SEO steps are HTML edits and text edits on FAQ pages.
For example, if you perform specific SEO steps on the page that this
text appears on, the page can be found easily by folks searching the
following terms: mirror neurons, group empathy, group relations,
empirical process, somatic markers, field theory, affective regulation,
Margaret Donaldson, proprioception, affective neuroscience, etc.
I believe there is little doubt that people searching these kinds of
terms are implicitly interested in TTP, and can rapidly advance the
work. If you are willing to implement SEO, the wider world can find TTP
easily via a single FAQ-page entry point via Google.
I believe the result can be 10 to 20 times the web exposure TTP has
right now, via higher search engine rank on TTP-related search terms.
If you like this idea, I'm willing to provide you with specific SEO
advice, in trade, for admittance to a TTP workshop during the next 12
months.
Are you willing ?
|
FAQ currently receives somewhere in
the neighborhood of a million page hits per year with absolutely no SEO
optimization, banners or commercial ties that might compromise content.
I am open to you sending me a
proposal for exactly what you propose to do, how often you would need to
do it, how long it might take and how much you might like to charge for
your service.
|
|
Sat, 16 Sep
2006
Rocks
Chief,
You demonstrate real commitment to advancing the work, via
collaboration, by posting the Rocks pages. You open yourself up to
ridicule. You love the work.
I attend a few Tribe meetings and enjoy them.
I invite a friend; he asks what to bring. I tell him 'willingness'. He
brings it and gets real results at his very first meeting.
I wonder if stuck TTP participants exhibiting signature forms are really
just unwilling. I wonder if the Rocks process actually attracts the
unwilling, and becomes a venue for meta-drama about unwillingness.
I think Rocks might be an attempt to make TTP work for the incorrigible
person, the unwilling, and others like them.
I think that focusing on figuring out how to trigger willingness is the
best path. I wonder if the emerging H&R processes can trigger
willingness.
|
In TTP and in the Rocks process we
do not aim to "trigger" or otherwise influence willingness.
I hold that such attempts are the
source, rather than the cure for rocks.
In the rocks process, we are very
careful to receive a declaration of willingness from the sender before
we attempt to re-ignite his memories of painful events.

Pain Typically Attends
the Transfer of a Rock
and also the process of forgiving it.
The pain typically arises
when one person forces another
to experience something
he is unwilling to experience.
Before we apply the Rocks Process
we secure the willingness of the sender
to re-experience the pain.
Otherwise we risk
compounding the problem
rather than solving it.
Clip:
http://www.bcysth.ca/photo_gallery/
art_project/pages/grief.htm |
|
Fri, 15 Sep
2006
The Rock is
Off
Ed Says: If you are carrying a rock about a drama
in which you express anger, you may find yourself feeling "chemistry"
with and attracting people who have rocks that compliment yours.
Ed, it looks like the rock is off. Today I called the girl and I had an
honest talk with her. I was able to express my "anger" and demand
"logic" mildly and now things seem to be clear for both of us. Not the
result I expected though.
|
The process of forgiving a rock
typically entails substantial emotional work and the assistance of a
tribe.
The process you describe sounds like
you are just following more of the drama in the "anger and logic" rock.
|
|
Fri, 15 Sep
2006
Forgiving
Rocks
Dear Ed,
I am still feeling gratitude and awe for how you and the Incline Tribe
are developing TTP. It takes courage to admit when something as
effective as TTP has limits and to develop and test new growth
technologies.
I appreciate
that you now present a "cartography" of the process and encourage others
to navigate it individually as it unfolds.
This is a report of some of my own "unfolding journeys" along the TTP
map. Two weeks ago the Incline Tribe works as a team to help another
member go through the rock process.
He discovers
that he has a " I like to hurt women" rock. He is shocked but is unable
to get rid of the rock. Presented with several simulated real-life
encounters, his drama outcome is still the same. He feels despair and
hopelessness The rest of the tribe huddles in the kitchen and comes up
with a plan.
The despairing
member is asked if he's willing to take the hot seat to deal with the
issue. Soon he realizes that the tribe is about to put him through his
worst nightmare (childhood memory).
He is willing
and resists the attack with all his strength knocking some of us on our
butts. It is an unrelenting process until he surrenders to the feeling.
The process is possible only because of the his total willingness to go
back to the pain and relive it. He is finally ready to forgive the 'hurt
women" rock when he feels the full impact of his past behavior.
He later describes the experience akin to a "rape" where the attacker
forces the victim to feel things the victim is unwilling to feel.
Simple words
cannot convey the devastating feeling of the "attack". He is unwilling
to continue inflicting that pain on those women presently in his life.
The next day, he makes a full commitment to his female partner. His
behavior with her is open, honest and deeply caring. She reports feeling
like the recipient of a miracle. Their relationship moves quickly to a
deeper more satisfying level. They manifest joy.
I am writing this in the form of a serial because of its length. I am
planning to write again to report on the continuing revelation of this
work. You see, as our tribe moves through the new process, it rocks! |
Thank you for your report.

Rape
The essential sin
is to force someone
to experience something
s/he is unwilling to experience.
During this process
the attacker may transmit a rock
to the victim.
The Rocks Process
returns the sender
to his memories of the event
and allows him to re-experience it
without taking the stone.
Clip:
http://www.towson.edu/~lasher/Rape.htm |
|
Fri, 15 Sep
2006
Does it with Mom
In my experience with two tribes, most people (80% is my guess) find TTP
and Snapshots easy to learn, easy to put to practice, and a great help.
The new Rocks process seems a bit complicated. I question whether the
average tribe member with no background in psychology would be able to
pull off Transactional Analysis.
I hope you do not abandon good, old-fashioned, easy-to-learn,
works-like-magic TTP.
With the regard to this remark, I don't think anybody has to abandon
traditional TTP. I also would like to share how I view TTP and how I do
it.
I don't have a Tribe and so I usually do it with my mother. We
typically meet at a private place, usually a retired chapel in the
country of my hometown, when I go to visit my family. She's very
religious and so she likes to bring together her rosary beads and pray
with me as she doesn't feel comfortable with tribal concepts.
Before meeting we both make wish lists, of things we want to achieve or
"receive": professional, familiar or even spiritual "gifts". One at a
time we both proclaim our intentions, share them with each other and
also "offer" them to God. We do a mix of TTP and prayer / contemplation
/ meditation. If any k-notty feelings arise we also share them and pray,
not trying to run away from or understand the experience.
From time to time we meet and review our intentions and current
achievements and do it all over again.
As a lot of my goals are for the long range I cannot, up to now,
effectively "measure" the results. Whatever I feel better and find more
meaning, clarity and joy in my everyday life. I've also already
"received" some minor "gifts". Thanks, God.
The bottom line is: I think that intention or "wish", sharing resources
with a community and prayer are very important. They give me a sense of
purpose for the whole process. I compare intention to the "system" I
intend to follow. Then as I experience life sometimes I find myself
stuck, sometimes I find myself moving, sometimes I feel internal tension
or contraction, sometimes I feel harmony or a desire to expand. Then I
wonder: what if I let go, if I surrender myself to this "process"? It
must feel great.
|
Thank you for sharing your process.

A Domineering Mother
is likely to control her son
by making him worry
about her comfort
about processes that
might set him free.
Clip:
http://www.variety.com/graphics/
photos/reviewf/rfivebytenn.jpg |
|
Fri, 15 Sep
2006
Wants a Counter-Trend System
Dear Ed,
I am a dedicated trend follower, but like many of us I have tried to
find a supplementary strategy that would smooth out the draw downs of
trend following systems. During these non-trending periods, a
counter-trend system might help smooth the equity curve. However I have
back-tested every counter-trend system I have ever heard of, without any
success. In your experience, is there such a thing as a good
counter-trend system? |
You might consider beginning your
search with a definition of "good." |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Wants a Catalog of Patterns
I agree with you that a free-form can get a mess, and your example is
quite illustrative.
I notice that you have been quite effectively "teasing out" some k-notty
feelings on FAQ readers and visitors, and that you also start several
projects in your website that you don't finish or follow up. It looks
like you're over-committing or trying different things so as to assess
which works best. I also sense that the whole Tribe project is heavily
dependent on your guidance.
With regard to the catalog of dramatic patterns, I feel it would be
great if you with the help of other tribe leaders might categorize the
most common and relevant ones, and post them on your site or even
publish them. Out of hunch, I sense that these patterns are recurring,
similar and universal. |
You can make a catalog of chart
patterns that has millions of entries, or you can simply follow trends. |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Tinkering
-- I agree
I agree with the person who wrote 'Tinkering'. In my experience with two
tribes, most people (80% is my guess) find TTP and Snapshots easy to
learn, easy to put to practice, and a great help.
The new Rocks
process seems a bit complicated. I question whether the average tribe
member with no background in psychology would be able to pull off
Transactional Analysis.
I hope you do not abandon good, old-fashioned, easy-to-learn,
works-like-magic TTP.
|
Thank you for checking in.
I, too, still find TTP very
effective.
Rocks is a method to extend the
scope of TTP in cases where the sender gets stuck with signature forms
and wishes to move through them.
The process seems to require
management by someone familiar with TTP, TA, NLP, and Hypnosis.

Even Good Vehicles
Can Get Stuck
Clip:
http://lee.org/journal/journal%20010104-
022904/carstuckgirls_Jeep-stuck-Michelle012.jpg |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Rocks
Hi Ed,
At our last tribe meeting I talk to [Name] about the rocks process, I
also re-read your essay several times. I have a wide range of feelings
when thinking about this process: I feel confused, helpless, curious,
fascinated and gripped.
I am wondering if I understand the Rocks model correctly. Our hat is the
outward role we play in life. I am confused about this, when I read the
first version of your essay I think that the hat is the drama we engage
in. As it stands right now, do we choose our own hat? Is our hat a label
covering up our rocks? Can we see what's on our own hat?
Our rocks determine the dramas we engage. This seems clear to me. Do the
results in our lives reflect our rocks?
I feel a strong burning desire to be more. I want to learn more about
the Rocks Process and I want to participate in it. Have you considered
Rocks workshop?
Thank you for your commitment to this work.
|
We are still developing the Rocks
process. If you want to participate, you may apply to IVTT to help
develop it with us.
I consider this work to be a major
breakthrough for the Trading Tribe and I expect to present a workshop on
the methods. |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Weirdoes
Ed Says: Thank you for sharing your process. If
you are carrying a rock about a drama in which you express anger, you
may find yourself feeling "chemistry" with and attracting people who
have rocks that compliment yours. Giving Up A Rock may be all the more
difficult when you are already associating with others whose rocks fit
yours.
Yes, right to the point. I have been flirting with a girl for a while. I
don't understand her behavior. Sometimes I am under the impression she
is very shy / timid / indecisive and is unable to move on to start a
relationship with me.
Sometimes I am
under the impression she isn't interested and / or is playing games with
my feelings and is somehow unable to commit.
Sometimes I
also think that she behaves quite strangely towards me: it's as if I am
trying to communicate or have a relationship with a "rock" instead. Then
I feel like giving up and moving on. Certainly, there is a lot of
"chemistry" here and this is not the first time I get into this
situation with these weird girls. |
OK.

The Rock You Carry
Fit the Rock
your playmate carries
Clip:
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/~nelson/courses/
csc_400/assignments/jigsaw.jpg |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Tinkering
#2
Ed Says: “Rocks is a way to mend the tendency of
some senders to get stuck sending and re-sending their signature form
without making measurable progress.”
How do you define ‘measurable progress’?
|
Thank you for extending the
discussion. I don't have a rigorous definition for measurable
progress. I measure progress by the reactions the Tribe members
share.

Shock and Awe
Some things, like measurable progress
show up in the faces
of your friends and associates.
Clip:
http://www.995.ca/images/surprised.jpg |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Anger and
Logic
Ed Says: "Men who learn to communicate feelings of
love, affection and caring for their spouses as well as communicating
anger and logic find their relationships reaching much fuller levels of
satisfaction."
As I draw from my own experience, I notice some if not a lot of women
are particularly keen at teasing k-notty feelings about communicating
anger and/or asserting oneself.
It looks like
as though they even appreciate it, as though they need direction.
Whatever, I typically get confused and "angry" with such a behavior and
I don't like it.
I have been
"monitoring" how I cope with situations (not only with women) where I
have to assert myself and / or express anger and logic mildly. I
have a history of difficulty in this area and I tend to go from one
extreme to another. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
If you are carrying a rock about a drama in which you express anger, you
may find yourself feeling "chemistry" with and attracting people who
have rocks that compliment yours.

Giving Up A Rock
may be all the more difficult
when you are already associating
with others whose rocks fit yours.
Clip:
http://toyblog.typepad.com/lemon/
broken-rock.jpg |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Wanting
Recognition
Hi Ed,
The issue I bring to the hotseat is about seeking recognition /
acknowledgement about doing such a fine job of advising people on
how to trade markets, of being such a wonderful husband who slaves his
backside off so my family is well provided for of being such an
exemplary father who always is doing his best for his son and of being
such a fine son who takes care of his aging mom even when his more able
siblings do not.
I perceive I setup dramas (which at times are destructive to the
relationship) with my need to be recognized / acknowledged. At the point
when I sense I’m setting up these drama’s, I fail to look for /
acknowledge my feelings at that.
In the hot
seat I replay the scenarios in my head and wait for the feelings to
come. They don’t. While I seem to be on track to my receivers,
internally I find I myself stuck on a few feelings (burning face,
tightness in head), no forms show up. It was like I just don’t have the
energy to go through with it. I don’t seem to be progressing for (what
seemed to me) a long time. Or at least the feelings that came, seemed
‘inadequate’. Clearly, those feelings are not hot. I am asked if I am
willing to feel the feelings. I ask myself and honestly say I do. But
when PM asks if I can crank up the feeling of ‘not feeling anything’, I
look for any manifestations, don’t find any, and so refuse. This is a
first. I’ve actively practiced TTP for 19 months, attended a workshop,
never has a problem with bringing on the feelings.
I now have niggling doubts if I am incapable of strong feelings.
Especially, in flash back. I also have an AHA that if I can’t feel, then
I have a knot about feeling. Since knots manifest in dramas, a good way
to find issues and associated feelings (since they don’t come on call)
is to look for what drama’s I have running in life. This seems like a
good way to break the catch 22 situation.
Except that I can't seem to find any dramas.
I don’t have feelings – so I have a knot about feeling feelings – knots
manifest in dramas – I cant find dramas – now what? Just cruise?
Thanks for everything ED. I think you are doing a wonderful job with
TTP. |
Thank you for sharing your process.
You seem to provide an example of
the kinds of limitations people are encountering with TTP. I
address some of these issues in the Rocks article, above.
TTP provides an excellent forum in
which people can manage anger, learn to unwind k-nots and express
feelings, learn to listen to others, experience sending and receiving
acknowledgment and allowing others to be themselves without having to
fix them.
The issues that people are wrestling
with seem to have roots in another area that I am calling a rock.
A k-not is an unwillingness to express an emotion. A rock is an
agreement to act out a mission, such as revenge. This agreement
typically forms (you accept the rock) during an early childhood episode
in which someone forces you to feel something you are unwilling to feel.
After you exhaust your nominal responses, such as rationality and
defiance, you enter a state of futility, resignation and
perhaps quiet sobbing. During the creation of such a wound, you
may also vow vengeance. This creates a "killer" rock.
Alternatively, you may feel the
wound of unbearable guilt and vow a life of repentance. and accept
a "victim" rock.
Other rocks carry programming for
people to be predators, teasers, perfectionists, etc.
Currently we are exploring ways to
understand this process, including reliving the emotions surrounding the
critical moments of accepting the rock.
We are also encouraging the sender
to simulate life with and without the rock. Typically the sender
surrenders (forgives) the rock, grieves for a while and then finds his
life astoundingly free.
I am not clear at this point how to
convey instructions via FAQ for engaging this process. I am not
clear about the kinds of risks that people might engage by attempting
these processes on their own. I am, at this point, merely
continuing to report developments in the Incline Village Trading Tribe.
In your case, I might wonder if you
are, perhaps, carrying a rock from someone from your childhood whom you
know has a tendency toward stoicism, hard work and personal sacrifice.
We begin the process by finding a
stone that fits our hand and pocket, and then by carrying it around with
us. When we sense we are engaging the drama, we reach for the
rock, and squeeze our feelings into it. After several such
squeezing the rock comes to symbolize our process and we bring it to a
Tribe meeting as a focal point for the journey to locate and re-frame
the critical incident that accounts for the primary choice to accept the
rock.

The Soldier Rock
Invests the sender
with a mission to play by the rules
and to sacrifice himself
for the well-being of others. |
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Stocks in
Historical Up-Trends Long Term
Ed,
Your programming on the TT Chart Books is pretty cool.
I was looking at the Charts tonight and don’t understand how RFIL is in
a Long Term Stocks in Historical Up-Trends list. See attached charts.
Long moving averages on the daily are basically flat and long moving
averages on the weekly are down. A single thruster day seems to make it
qualify for the long term trend listing today.
What is the definition of Short, Medium, and Long Term as used in the
“Stocks in Historical Up-Trends:” area of TT Chart Books?
|
To fully understand the listing you
would likely need the exact formulae and data I use. I do not
publish specifics about either.
In general, you might notice that
for a long-term trend of any large time constant, t, there exists a
one-day move of extent, s, that is sufficient to propel the stock into
the strength listings.
|
|
Thu, 14 Sep
2006
Donchian System
Hello Ed,
My question is about the Donchian trading system shown on the charts
page.
Were there any fees (such as the typical CTA 20% fee) taken into
account? Or are the returns raw?
My guess is that the returns are raw. They are decent for a simple
system. Perhaps it can be improved with optimization or higher bet size.
I don't think any CTA would raise a lot of money with that kind of
performance (drawdown vs. returns).
Also, would you mind telling how "Coal" is a strong stock sector? It has
been going down for a while. Then again it depends on your time frame.
All in all,
I am enjoying your site, especially the trading system
related stuff. I find it eye opening. |
The Donchian system provides a
generic example of the kinds of performance profile you might expect
with a long-term trend-following system. It uses transaction
"skid" as a proxy for both commissions and slippage.
Coal is a commodity-specific group
that an associate suggests placing on the site. Its inclusion does
not imply strength or weakness.

Coal - Just Another Rock
Sometimes you find it
in your portfolio
and sometimes
in your stocking.
Clip:
http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2000backeast/
ENatHist/Members/Reynolds/mvc-002f.jpg |
|
Wed, 13 Sep
2006
Rocks
Hi Ed,
I have read your essay and find a new perspective on drama interesting.
I would like to comment on the following statement:
Ed Says: “We do not develop skills that can
prevent drama in the area of the k-notty feeling. Furthermore, in an
attempt to experience our feelings, we may attract and entrain dramas in
our lives that amplify the very feelings we have in k-nots. “
I agree that participation in TTP can amplify knotty feelings. A
willingness to allow Fred and CM to communicate is like opening an
emotional Pandora’s Box. Once the box is open we have to be willing
to experience whatever feelings come out. I personally call the
phenomena “the big retracement”, because after all the enthusiasm and
quick gains TTP initially provides, a nasty pullback is on the way. I
felt that things actually got far worse before they got better. I
must say the retracement lasted over a year, but I persevered, and
through consistent TTP and Breathwork, I came out the other side. It was
tough work. I experienced feelings that pushed the limits of what I
thought I might encounter. Deep and dark episodes. Raw anger. Self
hatred. Despair.
I still find myself experiencing feelings that make me uncomfortable.
However, I am able to experience them separate from the rest of my life.
They do not spill over and create drama. That is not to say I am drama
free, but I find myself moving rapidly in the direction of my
intentions.
Like another contributor said “TTP is robust and simply works”. I
cannot agree more. We spend 30, 40, or even 50 years creating and
validating dramas, it seems reasonable that it might take a number of
years to unravel such handiwork. Commitment and willingness are
everything.
That aside, I find the addition of the “rock” makes much more sense to
me, as I was somewhat confused before. Even today, I found myself
feeling a certain way, and wondered what label would be on the rock
associated with this feeling. At the very least, I see it as a useful
way to create more focused entry points for TTP.
Thanks for all your efforts. To you I owe much. |
We are now using Rocks to
get the "retracement" time down from a year or two to a week or two.

Pandora Opens Her Box
and releases misfortune on mankind.
Plague, sorrow, poverty, crime,
despair, greed, etc. everything except elpis,
from the Greek, Ελπις,
meaning hope or anticipation of misfortune.
Some scholars equate the vessel
with Pandora's womanhood.
In modern times,
Pandora's Box is metaphor
for the surprising consequences
of technical and scientific development.
Clip:
http://www.howarddavidjohnson.com/
Pandoras_Box_MMV_oil_painting.jpg
|
|
Wed, 13 Sep
2006
Tinkering
I see a few traders who constantly tinker with their trading system,
they can’t stick to simple basic rules.
It almost looks like what you do with TTP.
I practice TTP, I send, I receive, I feel my feelings, I have aha’s, and
I become a better trader. That’s it.
|
Thank you for sharing your insight.
I agree, if it ain't broke, it don't
need mending. If it is broke, get a tinker.
Rocks is a way to mend the
tendency of some senders to get stuck sending and re-sending their
signature form without making measurable progress.

A Tinker
is formerly a person,
traditionally a Gypsy
who travels from place to place
mending pots and kettles
and other metal utensils
as a way to earn a living.
http://sca.lib.liv.ac.uk/collections/
gypsy/images/gal1.jpg |
|
Date: Wed, 13
Sep
Sent in Support of your Further Success
Ed,
Good to talk with you today.
The [City] Trading Tribe met tonight at my place. A good meeting.
Several of the members, including myself, exploring new forms. I tired
various things including: encouraging a repeated role play, accessing
both the familiar feeling / form and the positive feeling / form they
are unwilling to feel and going for the 'don't know' feeling.
In our telephone conversation I mentioned some Transactional Analysis
resources that might speed up clarifying certain distinctions you are
making. A good summary of TA is "Transactional Analysis" by Stan
Woollams. I studied with his school of TA and and vouch for the accuracy
of the text. I found one copy at
http://www.amazon.com/Transactional-analysis-
Stan-Woollams/dp/B0006CZ25A/sr=1-21/
qid=1158124753/ref=sr_1_21/104-6318470-
9015160?ie=UTF8&s=books
A more therapy oriented book is "Transactional Analysis After Eric
Berne: Teachings and Practices of Three TA Schools." This one is pricier
and it does contain more detail on Re-decision Therapy by Goulding.
There is one copy at
http://www.amazon.com/Transactional-analysis-
Stan-Woollams/dp/B0006CZ25A/sr=1-21/
qid=1158124753/ref=sr_1_21/104-6318470-
9015160?ie=UTF8&s=books
Of course, then there's the reissue of the Goulding's own book "Changing
Lives Through Re-Decision Therapy" You can view a bit of it on-line. I
actually do not own this one as I was an advocate of 'Mini-Script'
Theory at the time.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/104-
6318470-9015160?url=search-alias3Dstripbooks&
field-keywords=Redecision+Therapy&
Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
And you may simply want to continue on your own path of discovery. It
has certainly served you well. For the moment, I would ignore my
comments on Re-Imprinting. Any web reference to it will be far too
cognitive and too conscious mind. The Re-Parenting strategies of TA are
closer to your approach. |
Thank you for your support and
guidance.

Good Friends Help Each Other
stay on the path.
Clip:
http://www.galleryone.com/images/
white/white-the%20homeward%20path.jpg |
|
Tue, 12 Sep
2006
Feedback
Ed Says: Early TTP in which we use a healing field
of acknowledgment to encourage the appearance and disappearance of forms
is still an essential part of the work.
You might consider carrying a rock around with you in your pocket.
Whenever you find yourself in one of your recurring dramas involving
frustration or wanting to smash something, reach for the rock and
squeeze your feelings into it. After a few days, you might try putting a
label on the rock that characterizes your role in the drama.
Ed, I am following your draft work on the Rocks Process and I wish to
give some feedback. I feel that TTP is "evolving" in the right direction
as it starts to address issues which are essential to most people.
I think that the rocks technique is great in the sense that it might
provide a rough conscious model through which the sender can identify
their role and stay there with the key feelings when the dramatic
situation arises. I think that you might benefit from your experience
with the Incline Village tribe and FAQ and make rough models of the most
common dramatic patterns in trading or in life.
The intentional communities can support the sender by creating a
"receptive" environment in which the sender feels encouraged to admit
and share his/her dramatic situation and talk about what they think
their roles are. Then usual TTP follows, i.e., the community encourages
the sender to stay there with the key feelings.
I've also always had this idea in my mind: why not evolve FAQ or
create a separate forum so that other "qualified" receivers might also
participate in answering the questions?
I mean, FAQ is
a great introductory vehicle to people that otherwise might be unable to
attend a tribe or just have some problem with starting or joining a
tribe (like fear of intimacy, etc.) or otherwise need anonymity.
Although I think you're doing a great job why not start giving the Tribe
a life of its own? |
I like your idea of a catalog of
dramatic patterns.
Contributors may answer questions
and / or point out problems with my answers.
Creating a free-form forum (one
without adult supervision) is generally an exercise in watching a
chat room seek its lowest level.
I am open for ideas on how to
distribute TTP on a wider level. As the work becomes more
powerful, I envision some system of certifying Tribe leaders.

"Hi, You sound great.
How old are you
and what to you like doing
after school."

"I am 14
and a bit of a fitness fanatic.
I often go power lifting
after school."
Clip:
http://www.ulyssesgoldcoast.com/chat%20room%20secrets.jpg |
|
Tue, 12 Sep
2006
Getting
Your Rocks Off
The Rocks article looks really good - the rocks help move the model
along. I can't read what is written on the illustrating rock. Is is
treasure or teaser or what?
I really like
the practice of carrying the rock and squeezing the drama feelings into
it and bringing the rock to tribe.
It solves the
questions I have about how to move tribe members into the hat process.
Is TTP becoming a way to "get your rocks off"?
|
I think of it as getting some of the rocks
out ... of our heads. At that point we might be able to
concentrate on wearing a hats that proclaim our intentions to engage
right livelihood.

TTP Model of The Sender
Clip:
http://www.spindelvisions.com/
| |