In this podcast (episode #591) and blog, I talk over with Stanford neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, compassion researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, NY Times bestselling creator, and philanthropist James R. Doty about how easy acts of kindness can change our lives, how all of us could make a difference on the planet, the facility of compassion, the true power of manifestation, and so far more!
Dr. Doty has been on the school of the Stanford University School of Medicine since 1997 within the Neurosurgery Department as a professor and more recently as an adjunct professor. He can be the founder and director of the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). He was also a pioneer in the event and use of the CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery device. Additionally, he’s trained as a paediatric neurosurgeon and is an authority in the sphere of minimally invasive and sophisticated spine surgery.
For the last several years, Dr. Doty has focused on the study of the neural bases for compassion and the worth proposition of being compassionate in regard to mental and physiological health, in addition to longevity. His works have been published in a lot of peer-reviewed academic journals. He can be the senior editor of the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science.
Dr. Doty can be the creator of the NY Times bestseller Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart. In this book, he talks about his childhood: his father was an alcoholic, and his mother was chronically sick and depressed. At the age of 12, he was crammed with a way of despair and hopelessness, and with a view to escape his home life, he would ride around on his bike for hours. On one in every of these trips, he found himself in a magic shop at a strip mall, where one small act of kindness modified the direction of his life. A lady treated him with compassion and care, creating an environment, if just for a short while, of what Dr. Doty calls “psychological safety”; she didn’t dismiss him and as a substitute took him under her wing for several weeks. She taught him the facility of mindfulness and being present within the moment, helping him manage among the stress he experienced at home and direct his focus and compassion. This easy act of kindness modified how he saw himself, others and the world around him, and inspired his lifelong journey of higher understanding the human brain and mind, and the way all of us could make a difference on the planet through kindness and compassion. When he modified how he checked out the world, and the world modified the way it checked out him—he was far more open to others, and carried quite a bit less anger and hostility.
A big a part of Dr. Doty’s work today is concentrated on the facility of compassion, and the way we evolved as a species to take care of each other. We, as a species, have a genetic imperative to care; indeed, our offspring wouldn’t survive if we didn’t care, and our bodies reply to this, releasing the hormone oxytocin, often called the “love” or “caring” hormone. This motivates us to care by stimulating our reward centers in addition to helping our physiology to work optimally, allowing us to be our greatest selves and increasing our health and longevity. In other words, after we care and are kind to others, it has a profound affect on us, leading to higher mental and physical health. On the opposite hand, after we are in a relentless state of threat and stress, the alternative happens: our sympathetic nervous system is in a relentless state of stimulation that may negatively impact our health and longevity.
The key’s training ourselves to harness the facility of our parasympathetic nervous system through being compassionate to ourselves and others. This just isn’t nearly specializing in what we’d like, but additionally how we will be of service to others and the way we are able to make the lives of others higher. As noted by the Dalai Lama, if we wish others to be joyful, be compassionate, and if you need to be joyful, be compassionate. Of course, this just isn’t an answer to all our problems, but when enough people understand the importance of kindness and compassion and are trained the way to harness this of their lives and the lives of others, they’ll change the world for the higher. This is why Dr. Doty founded CCARE – to review the neuroscience of compassion and kindness and train others to harness this power of their lives.
In his latest book, Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything, Dr. Doty talks about one other essential a part of his research: the facility of manifestation, or the flexibility to embed an intention into your subconscious in order that your brain network functions in a method to increase the likelihood of this intention coming to pass. As he notes: “For a long time, the practice of manifestation has been widely dismissed as self-involved, materialistic pseudoscience. However, authentic manifestation practices introduce us to different possibilities and lay the groundwork for a kinder, higher world.” In his book, he talks about several specific practices that may change our brain structures: attention, meditation, visualization, and compassion. This “mind magic” allows us to maneuver through the world in ways in which help us see clearly—reclaiming our agency, realizing our dreams, and reaching out to assist others along the trail.
For Dr. Doty, manifestation just isn’t a key to get what we wish as individuals. Rather, it’s a method to harness the facility of the mind to alter our world for the higher. It just isn’t a capitalist tool for individual success and gratification. The narrative of “I would like, I deserve, I must have”, which equates happiness with getting more “stuff”, is fundamentally incorrect and a dead end, manipulating the true power of manifestation as a form of affection. It just isn’t about using external affirmations as a method to define our success or happiness because we fear we aren’t ok or worthy without it, which is a really hedonistic narrative. True manifestation is about searching through the lens of affection, care and concern for others and yourself, and making a narrative of a lifetime of purpose and meaning that doesn’t depend on external things to create a way of self-worth or meaning.
This doesn’t mean you could have to be anti-materialist or not have “nice” things. Rather, it’s in regards to the meaning and value you place on those things: in case you lose every thing tomorrow, what’s going to your mental state be like? If you didn’t have this stuff, how would you see yourself and who you’re at your core? Do your possessions define who you’re? When you reside a lifetime of purpose, you’ll be able to enjoy nice things, but this stuff don’t define who you’re or your price and talent to alter the world in a positive and lasting way, which is what Dr. Doty discusses in depth in Magic Mind.
To practice manifestation, you have to:
- Understand what you’re manifesting and have manifested: what baggage are you carrying that’s impacting your decisions, actions and relationships? Where have you ever been?
- Know what you truly want: what does happiness mean to you? Is what you’re thinking that you wish what you really want? Are you searching through the lens of service to others? Understand that what you wish can have a far reaching impact in your life. How do you’re thinking that what you truly want will impact your life? Will it truly make you happier and more fulfilled? Achievement is transitory, whereas true purpose is sustainable. How will you reply to the down times, while you don’t get what you wish or aren’t joyful, that are a standard a part of life?
It is essential to grasp that with our minds, we each have the important thing to open the doors of our self-created prisons. You just must consider it. This just isn’t to say you can cure an illness by just believing. But we do know that the way you see yourself, and the way you see the world, has a profound effect on how your brain and body function, and it’s you who controls that. Don’t give away your self-agency! Through mindfulness and mind management, we are able to realize our full potential by escaping our own self-imposed prison partitions. Yes, this takes exertions and practice, however it is so price living a satisfying and purposeful life. And, while you change the best way you perceive the world, you’ll change the best way the world perceives you!
For more on compassion, kindness and the facility of manifestation, take heed to my podcast with James (episode #591) and take a look at his incredible work. If you enjoy listening to my podcast, please consider leaving a 5-star review and subscribing. And keep sharing episodes with family and friends and on social media. (Don’t forget to tag me so I can see your posts!).
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Originally published on drleaf.com. Used with permission.
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