Forex and religion

[Ricex]

Just recently on the site I have been quite surprised by the number of expressions of religious faith that have been posted here, and it made me wonder just how frequent is this amongst traders?

I realise that a huge percentage of users are probably American here and I understand the vocal nature of a lot of extremist Christians in that part of the world, but still it is interesting to see other heavily evangelical Christian communities as well, from Africa for example, posting their religious thoughts on creating personal wealth.

I find it surprising because it is not something we see a lot of in the trading circle, it is a subject rarely talked about in my experience, and yet when it happens there seems to be an irresistible urge from other like minded individuals to affirm their belief, individuals I might add, who are normally very inactive forum members.
I'm aware of course of the existence of special Islamic forex accounts which have no rollover fees because of their belief system, Tadawul FX is a popular broker for that I believe, but even that is contentious with certain interpretations of Sharia Law.

I would be interested to hear opinion from anybody who has a viewpoint on this subject, or how religious people integrate these two vastly different worlds into a trading reality.

(No sermons please)

 

[cowmadagan]

I believe in you ricey...does that count?

 

[cowmadagan]

but a serious question deserves a serious answer.
In Buddhism, everything happens to expand your awareness. Trading the market is a wonderful way to do precisely that, in learning interconnectivity, impotence and later acceptance of the movements of Reality, and controlling your emotions, expectations, and responsibility.
Learning that the market isn't picking on you personally is good, as is learning that you can't be right all of the time.

 

[Ricex]

I believe in you ricey...does that count?

LOL good one.

In Buddhism, everything happens to expand your awareness. Trading the market is a wonderful way to do precisely that, in learning interconnectivity, impotence and later acceptance of the movements of Reality, and controlling your emotions, expectations, and responsibility.

... and do you find that the awareness expansion from trading helps your awareness in other areas of your life?, I ask because trading skills generally I find to be not that useful in day to day living, with the exception of patients maybe.

Which came first for you the Buddhism or the trading?

 

[Eric Alyea]

knowing “When to ACT”

Forex and religion

Felix started it, blame him.
Shooting came 1st for me.
Patience IS NOT waiting. Patience is the art of knowing “When to ACT”.
To soon, not good, to late, not good, TIMING is what works, that's what I "belive" in.
You said no sermons, so I will try not to speak of death and losing a trade. The timing of taking a shot and placing a trade, hmm, is good for me. Bracketing artillery and spotting the shots before calling “fire for effect”, i.e. understanding a retracement, works for me. Long range precision fire on pre-determined targets, i.e. use a computer to place trades from fundamental and technical data, works for me.
Shooting, a believe, a way of life, an antithetical surgeon saving the selected lives that are in your realm by “culling” and having other hazardous living organisms removed... ??well??. It helps to have a value base and morals.
You asked.

https://www.forexpeacearmy.com/fore...our-trading-truly-worthwhile-5.html#post21063

 

[Forexwatchman]

As forex traders, we inherently add absolutely nothing to the advancement or welfare of humanity (the two fundamental drives behind most religious activity) through our profession. We produce absolutely nothing other than or own wealth, we thrive in a market ruled by two of humanities ugliest emotions, namely fear and greed, and as is evident by this very website, our own industry is ripe with scams and frauds that would make Goldman Sachs look like choir boys. The very industry of retail forex wasn’t even possible until very recently, and we continue to see the evolution of our industry carried out year by year for better or for worse.

The point I am making is that I believe we are pioneers of sorts. We can either be just like the dirty scoundrels who we’ve witnessed make millions off of dumb/naive/uniformed investors, or we can be the exact opposite. I believe this is where our religious side comes into being. I believe that religion is a power struggle for most, but also a self-revelation for others, and it’s those who seek a higher level of awareness and existence that religion is genuinely undervalued in its’ ability to create. Religion should be a way to experience some existential enlightenment and order to the apparent chaos of normal life. And through that spiritual awaking, they hope to find some sense of direction and purpose. Thus forex grants one the freedom both financially and time-wise to dedicate our existence to furthering the cause(s) that we find to be of the most important nature. Some traders donate to charity and others give back by teaching others how to break away from a slave-wage job and earn true personal freedom. Ultimately, I believe that some people will always be rotten and others will always be humble while most of us will always be a mixture of both. I just hope that I continue to be more giving than I am taking once all is said and done. The inner peace you find through doing something you love which also enables you to further the causes you love is truly a unique feature of forex.

BTW I wasn’t trying to write a sermon, but it does sound a lot like one as I read back over it.

 

[Pharaoh]

I found the responses of those who jumped in on Felix's 2nd chapter intriguing. Many talked about Christianity, but there were also Jews and followers of Islam who were very supportive of what he wrote. Of course, these 3 religions do share quite a bit of common history, but Felix also tied the basic concept of charitable donations into other religious systems and further showed some very reasonable psychological motivations for generously supporting one's chosen cause(s).

 

[cowmadagan]

Ricex: I find it helps me avoid assuming that things will just 'work out' and it's also made me inclined to take some low effort steps to prepare for the worst (like how I have a closet with a few bags of coins [not silver or gold] in my closet...thanks Pharaoh). I live in a place that gets over one hundred earthquakes per year, and having extra drinking water is like a stoploss.

Forex: one of the two main teachings of Buddhism is the eightfold path, which lists the eight elements in your life that should be cultivated. One is 'right livelihood.' As for us adding nothing to the world, ok, we aren't making art, and the wealth we accumulate isn't falling from the sky. On the other hand, we're causing much less harm than a pimp, or a corrupt police officer, or a corrupt politician. While I don't just sluff off our role in making others lose by saying that we're like one drop of rain compared to the big CDS and banks who comprise the hurricane, we can be confident in the ethics of being trading as it doesn't provide either the opportunity or the mens rea to cause harm in order to help yourself.
At the end of the day, I contend that the only contribution we can make in this world comes from our expanded awareness, which is what most people call 'education.' Our education in economics that we must at least pick up along the way as a trader shows us the consequences of disasters where contributing is helping an able body to their feet, rather than 'giving a man a fish'. Lastly, you can't teach forex unless you've learned forex, and that's 'teaching a man to fish'. Giving a man a source of income is a contribution.

blah blah blah...I've got a 3D rig to finish...

 

[Ricex]

BTW I wasn’t trying to write a sermon, but it does sound a lot like one as I read back over it.

Not at all, I think you make some valid points. I certainly agree that we are about as useful as two coats of paint to society. This is what irks me about the justification used by some religious minded people who have convinced themselves, by clever manipulation of words, that what they are doing is not only acceptable with their deity, but will be actively rewarded.

I'll make an exception for Hades.... though I think his popularity has waned recently.

I really shouldn't be surprised, killing innocent people in the name of one god or another has always been seen as acceptable, why not trading?

Cowmadagan, I see your point about those that can trade helping others "Giving a man a source of income is a contribution." it's probably why most of us are here and why some of us have blogs etc, but really we are only teaching people to do the same meaningless job that we do.

 

[cowmadagan]

meh...you can choose to stop. Watch 'American Beauty' again.