The Science Of Manifestation: Can This Stanford Neuroscientist Convince A Skeptical Dan To Give It A Shot? | Dr. James R. Doty

Summary

Podcast Summary: "The Science Of Manifestation: Can This Stanford Neuroscientist Convince A Skeptical Dan To Give It A Shot?" | Dr. James R. Doty

Released July 9, 2025 | 10% Happier with Dan Harris

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Introduction

In this enlightening episode of "10% Happier with Dan Harris," veteran journalist and best-selling author Dan Harris engages in a profound conversation with Dr. James R. Doty, a renowned Stanford neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, and author of Mind Magic. The episode explores the nuanced and evidence-based approach to manifestation, debunking popular misconceptions and presenting a scientifically grounded framework for harnessing the power of intention.

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The Misconception of Manifestation

Dan Harris begins by expressing his long-standing skepticism towards the conventional notions of manifestation, often associated with the Law of Attraction and popularized by books like The Secret. He criticizes the simplistic idea that positive thinking alone can yield material success or even cure illnesses, labeling it as "bullshit."

Dan Harris [00:21]:
"Manifestation... is the power of positive thinking, the Law of Attraction, or that book the Secret. The idea that you can get or achieve whatever you want purely through the power of your thoughts... All of which is very clearly bullshit."

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Dr. James Doty’s Perspective on Manifestation

Dr. Doty introduces a scientifically robust definition of manifestation, contrasting sharply with the pseudoscientific narratives Dan criticizes. He emphasizes that manifestation involves embedding intentions into the subconscious to create neural pathways that enhance the likelihood of desired outcomes.

Dr. James Doty [12:35]:
"Manifestation is the ability to embed an intention into your subconscious, resulting in the greatest likelihood for it to occur. This requires reclaiming the power of your own mind to create or lay down certain neural pathways and strengthen them."

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Reclaiming Personal Power

The discussion delves into the importance of understanding the brain's malleability. Dr. Doty explains that societal influences often undermine individual agency, leading people to doubt their capabilities. By embedding positive intentions and fostering self-belief, individuals can rewire their brains to support their goals.

Dr. James Doty [15:59]:
"The brain is very malleable... You can learn to change your brain and lay down neural pathways."

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Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic Happiness

A significant portion of the conversation contrasts hedonic happiness—the pursuit of pleasure and material gains—with eudaimonic happiness, which stems from purpose, meaning, and altruistic endeavors. Dr. Doty argues that true and sustained happiness arises from being of service to others, which aligns with the parasympathetic nervous system’s optimal functioning.

Dr. James Doty [19:02]:
"Hedonic happiness... is very shallow and transitory. Eudaimonic happiness... is related to purpose and meaning and those feelings are much deeper and longer lasting."

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Dr. Doty’s Personal Journey

Dr. Doty shares his compelling personal story from his book Into the Magic Shop. Raised in a chaotic household with an alcoholic father and a mother suffering from chronic illness, he found solace in a magic shop where he met Ruth, who introduced him to mindfulness and self-compassion practices. This encounter was pivotal in transforming his outlook and empowering his journey to success.

Dr. James Doty [28:25]:
"I grew up in poverty... I walked into a magic shop and met a woman who created a sense of psychological safety for me."

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Six-Step Process for Manifestation

Dr. Doty outlines a six-step process to effectively manifest intentions:

1. Reclaim Your Power to Focus: Utilize meditation and mindfulness to center the mind.
2. Clarify What You Truly Want: Distinguish personal desires from societal expectations.
3. Remove Obstacles in Your Mind: Overcome limiting beliefs and negative self-talk.
4. Embed the Intention into Your Subconscious: Use visualization and repetition to solidify goals.
5. Pursue Your Goal Passionately: Dedicate consistent effort while maintaining flexibility.
6. Let Go of Attachment to Outcomes: Embrace equanimity, accepting both successes and failures.

Dr. James Doty [43:58]:
"These are the practices you have to do, get into the habit of... be consistent."

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Embedding Intentions into the Subconscious

A key focus is on embedding intentions into the subconscious mind. Dr. Doty explains the role of brain networks—the default mode network, salience network, and attention network—in maintaining focus and facilitating the achievement of goals. Techniques like visualization, writing down intentions, and consistent practice enhance this embedding process.

Dr. James Doty [56:03]:
"Sitting in a quiet room, thinking about something you want to happen, and writing down why you want it, how it will be of service—or benefit you—can have a significant effect."

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The Balance Between Goals and Relationships

Dr. Doty emphasizes that while pursuing goals is important, maintaining relationships and altruistic actions are crucial for lasting happiness and fulfillment. He warns against the pitfalls of obsessively chasing goals at the expense of personal connections, drawing from both his personal experiences and extensive research.

Dr. James Doty [53:04]:
"There's nothing wrong with the goal, but the most important aspect is the journey to that goal... relationships, human connection are essential."

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Practical Exercises for Beginners

For listeners new to the concept, Dr. Doty suggests simple practices to start embedding intentions:

• Quiet Reflection: Spend a few minutes in a calm setting contemplating a meaningful goal.
• Writing and Visualization: Write down the goal, read it aloud, and visualize its achievement multiple times daily.
• Value Tagging: Make the intention significant through sensory engagement and repeated focus.

Dr. James Doty [77:41]:
"Take the time in a quiet place to think about something you want to happen... write that down three or four times until you start getting more clarity."

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Conclusion: Harnessing the Mind’s Power

The episode concludes with Dr. Doty reiterating the absence of magical thinking in his approach. Instead, he highlights the profound power inherent within the human mind to effect change through disciplined practice and compassionate action. By integrating these principles, individuals can transform their lives and impact others positively.

Dr. James Doty [80:24]:
"Every day we have the ability to improve the lives of another person... just saying hi can change lives."

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Final Thoughts

Dan Harris wraps up the conversation by acknowledging the depth and practicality of Dr. Doty’s insights, noting that this evidence-based approach to manifestation transcends mere magical thinking. The episode serves as a compelling guide for listeners seeking to harness their subconscious power to achieve meaningful and lasting success.

Dan Harris [84:25]:
"I listen to everything you're saying, it sounds like it's absolutely not magical thinking... you're harnessing the full power of your mind."

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Key Takeaways

• Science-Based Manifestation: Unlike popular pseudoscientific beliefs, true manifestation involves scientific practices that rewire the brain.
• Importance of Intention: Clear, altruistic intentions embedded into the subconscious significantly increase the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.
• Balancing Goals and Relationships: Sustainable happiness arises from balancing personal goals with deep, meaningful relationships and service to others.
• Practical Steps: Incorporating mindfulness, visualization, and consistent practice can effectively harness the mind’s potential.

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Notable Quotes

• Dan Harris [00:21]:
  "Manifestation... All of which is very clearly bullshit."

• Dr. James Doty [12:35]:
  "Manifestation is the ability to embed an intention into your subconscious, resulting in the greatest likelihood for it to occur."

• Dr. James Doty [19:02]:
  "Eudaimonic happiness... is related to purpose and meaning and those feelings are much deeper and longer lasting."

• Dr. James Doty [28:25]:
  "I grew up in poverty... I walked into a magic shop and met a woman who created a sense of psychological safety for me."

• Dr. James Doty [56:03]:
  "Write that down three or four times until you start getting more clarity."

• Dr. James Doty [80:24]:
  "Every day we have the ability to improve the lives of another person... just saying hi can change lives."

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This episode offers a transformative perspective on manifestation, blending neuroscience with compassionate practice to empower individuals to achieve their goals meaningfully and sustainably.

Transcript

[Dr. James Doty]

Foreign.

[Dan Harris]

This is the 10% Happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris.

[Jeff Warren]

Hello my fellow suffering beings. How we doing?

[Dan Harris]

Anybody who's listened to this show for a minute probably knows that I've got a long running beef with the concept of manifestation. I associate manifestation with the power of positive thinking, the Law of Attraction, or that book the Secret. The idea that you can get or achieve whatever you want purely through the power of your thoughts. So, like, make a vision board and you can get a diamond necklace or cure your cancer or whatever. All of which is very clearly bullshit. Back when I was a news reporter, I interviewed some of the proponents of this hogwash and many of their followers who spend tons of money trying to make this stuff real for themselves. And usually, in my experience, it didn't work out so well.

[Jeff Warren]

Except of course for the gurus who made a ton of money.

[Dan Harris]

My friends Jeff Warren and Seben A. Selassie are both meditation teachers who I deeply trust and admire, and they have long tried to convince me that there's a more subtle and legit version of manifestation, and for a long time they had minimal success at this. But then I met today's guest, James Doty, who's a neurosurgeon who's just written a whole book about the science of manifestation, and I've got to tell you, he definitely opened my mind. But I also have to tell you, his version of manifestation bears almost no resemblance to the Secret or the power of positive thinking or junk like that. Dr. Doty recently put out a book called Mind Magic, although as you will hear him admit, there's very little magic involved in this process. Let me just say a little bit about Dr. Doty. He's a Stanford neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, compassion researcher, inventor, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. He's the founder and director of the center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, which is called CCare and it's based at Stanford University. In this conversation, we talked about the art and science of intention setting and the role of our neural pathways. We delve into his six step process for manifestation. We talk about the difference between hedonic and eudaimonic happiness, how caring can ignite your parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn can help you manifest better. Practical tips for embedding an intention into your subconscious and the keys to understanding what we want versus what we need. Three things to say before we dive in here. First, paid subscribers [e-mail] will get a custom guided meditation that accompanies this podcast. It's all about relaxation and it comes from the meditation teacher, Don Mauricio. This is a pretty exciting time in the 10% happier universe. Starting last month, we've been producing bespoke guided meditations to go with every episode.

[Jeff Warren]

Of the show, something I've wanted to.

[Dan Harris]

Do for a long time. The idea is kind of like a lecture lab model. Remember from back in school. The podcast is like a lecture and my subscription product, danharris.com is like the lab where you can pound the learnings from the show into your neurons. So every month we'll have a different teacher. Last month it was Carl I. This month it's Don Mauricio. Head on over to danharris.com to become a subscriber. Second thing to say is we've got a merch sale running from July 7th through 14th. Head on over to shop.danharris.com to scoop up your Dump it Here journal or your 10 Happier Crew neck or your Inner Peace trucker hat. Good deals are coming your way. Check it out. Shop.danharris.com and the third and final thing to say is, and this specifically has to do with today's episode. And it's this. We first posted this interview back in July of 2024, but it made such an impression on me and the audience.

[Jeff Warren]

That we wanted to share it again. We'll get started with Dr. James Doty right after this.

[Dan Harris]

All right, I don't want to misrepresent.

[Jeff Warren]

Myself as a diligent cleaner of this.

[Dan Harris]

House that we live in here, but I do clean once in a while, especially after a party. And when I clean up, I like to know what am I spraying around my house? And here's the truth most people don't know. In the United States, cleaning product companies are not federally required to list all of their ingredients. Not on the bottle, not on the website. That means you could be unknowingly exposing yourself and your family to harmful chemicals every day. Research shows that chemicals in conventional cleaning products can contribute to respiratory issues, skin irritation, even hormone disruption. Some of the chemicals that are found in popular brands can cause long term health problems, especially especially for kids, pregnant women and people with sensitivities. And that is where Branch Basics comes in. Founded by women on their own personal health journeys, Branch Basics was created out of a desire to heal, not to sell cleaning products. Through years of research, trial, and error, the founders discovered the powerful impact that removing toxins from their environment had on their health. And now they're on a mission to help others do the same. Transparency is key at Branch Basics. Unlike most cleaning brands, they proudly list every ingredient on the product packaging and on their website so you always know exactly what you're bringing into your home. Branch Basics is made Safe certified and Leaping Bunny certified, meaning every ingredient is proven to be human safe. No dyes, no fragrances, no harmful chemicals, just simple plant and mineral based formulas that you can feel good about using in your home. Switching to safer products doesn't have to be overwhelming. It starts with simple swaps and Branch Basics makes it easy for you to swap out conventional cleaners for a truly human safe alternative.

[Jeff Warren]

They've sent us a bunch of stuff.

[Dan Harris]

Nice packaging, really easy to use. You ready to clean up your home and your health? Head to branch basics.com to shop their premium starter kit and save 15% off with the code happier@branch basics.com that's 15% off your new Branch Basics Premium Starter kit@branch basics.com with promo code Happier. Make the change today because you and your family deserve better. This is an ad by Better Help.

[Jeff Warren]

These days I am I'm really leaning on my shrinks.

[Dan Harris]

I've got psychiatrist who helps me and then an exposure therapist. Shout out to Paul. Paul and I have been taking flights together as I try to turn the.

[Jeff Warren]

Volume down significantly on my claustrophobia related panic disorder.

[Dan Harris]

Paul has been a game changer for me, as has my psychiatrist who oversees.

[Jeff Warren]

Or quarterbacks the whole situation.

[Dan Harris]

Long way of saying therapy can be really helpful. And for me, you know, this getting back on a plane thing is deeply tied to my livelihood because I need to fly in order to give speeches. That's one of the things I do. So I really need my therapist for this. I should say on this tip, workplace stress is now one of the top causes of declining mental health, with 61% of the global workforce experiencing higher than.

[Jeff Warren]

Normal levels of stress.

[Dan Harris]

To battle stress, most of us can't simply wave bye bye to work. But we can start small and focus on wellness. There are lots of things you can do, you know, taking more breaks during the day, starting a meditation habit, getting in little bursts of exercise. But having a therapist is, in my experience, incredibly helpful. And with over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an App store rating of 4, 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient too. You can join a session with a therapist at the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life. Plus switch therapists at any time. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of experience. Unwind from work with Better Help our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com happier that's BetterHelp. Get H L P dot com happier.

[Jeff Warren]

Dr. James Doty, welcome to the show.

[Dr. James Doty]

Thanks for having me, Dan. It's a pleasure to be with you. I'm a huge fan.

[Jeff Warren]

Oh, thank you. Thank you. I have to say though, I was a little skeptical when I heard this book is about manifestation. Given my conditioning, that's a tricky term for me. So please disabuse me of all sorts of incorrect notions I might be harboring.

[Dr. James Doty]

No, listen, I agree with you totally and I think that's been a problem for a lot of people because that terminology has been used to promote, if you will, woo woo and pseudoscience while denigrating actually the power of our minds to change our situations. And so I certainly get that. And in fact, this book is in some ways the antithesis to a book you may have heard of called the Secret, which was popular several years ago, which promoted this narrative. And it was all about what I want. I, I, I. And this is, as I said, the antithesis of this. This is more about how can I be of service and by doing so actually manifest the things that I need, which is oftentimes in contrast to what we think we want.

[Jeff Warren]

Just to be clear, I have no problem with what some people sometimes refer to as woo woo, meaning, you know, out there, esoteric ideas. In fact, I love stuff like that. I might not believe in it, but I'm interested in talking about it. But for me, and just echoes what you just said, my problem with manifestation is not that it's, you know, unsupported by any evidence, at least the version and the secret. I mean, I do love when things are supported by evidence. But my problem with the Secret and the Law of Attraction and other variations on this noxious theme is that it's damaging. It's not only unsupported by evidence, it's definitely not supported by evidence, but it's also harmful. You're telling people that you can get anything you want from health outcomes to a diamond necklace, literally through the power of positive thinking, which is definitely not true. And it's raising people's hopes in a dangerous way. It's discouraging them from, you know, getting evidence based medical care, something I know you care about a lot as a neurosurgeon.

[Dan Harris]

And it also kind of blames the victim.

[Jeff Warren]

You know, if something bad has happened to you, it's because your thinking isn't sufficiently pristine.

[Dr. James Doty]

No, I think that's exactly right. And that's really the negative aspect. It's the blame where, well, you didn't do enough or you didn't want it enough. And the reality, of course, is that's completely untrue. It also doesn't take into account, I mean, frankly, some things that are structural in our society that limits somebody sort of having everything they want. I think the other challenge and what has misled people is a notion that I want to be successful. And unfortunately, in the Western capitalist narrative, success relates to power, position and money. And if I get that, then I'll be happy. And I think that's also a very dangerous thing, because what happens, of course, is. And I certainly have been through that, if you will, is you climb these mountains thinking that if I just get this, my life will be okay, I'll be happy. And you get there and there's nothing there. And you keep believing that external affirmation is going to make you feel good about yourself. And again, this gets back to what I talk about in the book, is that is a gift you can only give yourself, but it takes work and it takes insight. So people get misled when something is promoted. That, on the one hand, sounds really easy, and it promotes a belief that if I get this, it's all going to be okay and my life's going to be perfect. And, of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

[Jeff Warren]

You referenced your backstory. I do want to get to that because it's very interesting, but just staying with manifestation. So you've made abundantly clear in this young interview, in these. In the opening moments of this interview, that your version of manifestation is not the secret or the law of attraction or the power of positive thinking. All of these what I sometimes refer to as canonical turds that have been popping up in the culture for a hundred years. So I get that, and I, given your background, I totally believe that. So what is manifestation, in your view? And I know you've hinted at this a little bit, but quite directly, what is manifestation per gem?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, I'm not sure if it's per gem, but it's based on the science. But manifestation is the ability to embed an intention into your subconscious, resulting in the greatest likelihood for it to occur. And this one requires reclaiming the power of your own mind to create or lay down certain neural pathways and strengthen them. And people forget that they have immense men's power within themselves. The problem is that in society, oftentimes we give away our agency to others. I'm sure you've been in a situation where you have expressed a goal, a desire, and you have people, even relatives sometimes, who says, oh, that's not possible, you can't do that. And oftentimes, and so many people believe that, yeah, they're right, I can't do it. And then they give up right from the start. But what science tells us, and which has been demonstrated over and over again in a multitude of studies, is that when we understand how our brain works, when we understand how to embed our intention, then this has the ability to change our brains. And I think that's really what we're talking about. And of course, obviously you're very interested in mindfulness, and we know from a variety of studies related to that that your brain does change. But the thing is, it takes work, it takes practice, and you have to sort of do it, if you will, with baby steps. But the first thing you have to do is believe. And one of the challenges for so many people is that they have limited beliefs in their own power. And of course, this relates to what we see so commonly, which is people being hypercritical of themselves or have a lack of self compassion.

[Dan Harris]

So what's the difference between what you're.

[Jeff Warren]

Describing and simply intention, setting and then working on whatever obstacles might come up in the wake of having set any specific intention?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, in some ways it's very much the same. When you set an intention, your goal is to make that manifest, right? I mean, that's what all of us try to do. And in fact, every one of us every day is trying to, if you will, have an intention manifest. The problem for most of us is that we don't understand how to do that. As an example, it's like you're saying, I want to be a marathon runner. Well, if you've never run a marathon, you don't have a coach, you don't have anybody to guide you, then the likelihood of you being successful at that decreases. And in some ways this is a very similar situation.

[Jeff Warren]

Just to put a fine point on this, what you're talking about here in this interview and in your new book is the art and science of figuring out what our intention is, setting it in the right way, and then the practices that can get it into our molecules, into our subconscious, so that over time we can manifest it in consensual reality.

[Dr. James Doty]

I Think that's a good summation.

[Jeff Warren]

You do have a six step plan that I want to go through. But first, what do we need to know about the brain as we enter into this discussion and these practices?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, I think that the brain is very malleable, that you can learn to change your brain and lay down neural pathways, that many of the behaviors that we engage in today are ones, unfortunately that have been laid down during childhood and which as a result limit our ability to manifest. As an example, I'm sure you're familiar with people who seemingly repeatedly pick the wrong partner. And they'll say, how did I get here? I've married an alcoholic three times, who's abusive. I don't understand this. Well, the challenge is, or the problem is that most people don't sit down and say, how did I end up here? What was I already manifesting? And in our development, as an example, in bonding attachment theory, certain things occur. And if during your development you've had a situation, as an example, let's say, with an abusive parent who abuses you and then tells you they love you, then you get these two things mixed up. And this is why so many people repeatedly pick the wrong partner. But the baggage you carry from childhood for so many people is the determinant of many decisions they make and whether that relates to their job, how they interact with people, relationships, partners. So until you sit down and if you will say, what am I? Or have I already manifested and why, I think that's really the first step. And then once you do that, you have to understand that oftentimes we want something and we really believe we want it under a false premise that if I get will make my life better or perfect or I'll be wealthy or in a power position, and therefore everything will work out on its own. And so I think you have to also dismiss that narrative and understand the difference between what you want and how that can have negative consequences versus what you need. And what almost all of us need is to connect with people, to be of service to other people. And actually when we do those actions, that is when our physiology works its best. And that actually is the best time or the best way to manifest when you look through the lens of not what I want, but because oftentimes that's done out of fear or insecurity or shame, which activates our sympathetic nervous system, or our flight, fight or freeze response versus activating our parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest and digest system. It is in that situation that our cognitive brain networks function at their best. And that is when we care about others. And that is the best way to manifest.

[Jeff Warren]

Just to say that back to you a little bit, that we evolved for at least two modes. But two of the modes that we can go into are the sympathetic nervous system activation, which is fight or flight, it's often referred to, where we're adrenalized and on alert and a bit tight and sometimes in a state of panic. And then the other is the parasympathetic nervous system, which, which is, as you said, the rest and digest. And so it is often counterintuitively, the best way to get yourself into that mode is altruism, generosity. It doesn't have to be grandiose, it's not. It doesn't require you running into a burning building, but it's as simple as holding the door open for somebody, having a life where you believe you're connected and useful. So learning how to get yourself into the latter mode, the more relaxed mode, is, based on what you just said, the sine qua non, the precondition for everything that will follow in this manifesting process.

[Dr. James Doty]

No, that's exactly right. Now that's not to say that you cannot manifest other things. My point is, if you want to create the conditions where it's most likely to manifest, that's what you have to do. And I will tell you myself. You mentioned my backstory. I was taught a technique of manifesting, but I had no self awareness as a result. I asked for many of the things that the secret relates to. I want a mansion, I want to be a millionaire, I want a Porsche. And I got everything I wanted. But it led me to feel worse than I had ever felt in my life because there was nothing at the end of that rainbow except loneliness and despair. Because you cannot be happy from people telling you how great you are. Or look at all the toys or things that you have. And in some ways this is the difference between hedonic happiness, which is seeking pleasure, avoiding pain, and frequently it's related to having things. And as a result, what happens with that is that it is very shallow and transitory. And I would say that is from a fear perspective, oftentimes versus the opposite, which is eudaimonic happiness, where you're of service to others or you look at the world through that lens and that is related to purpose and meaning and those feelings, the depth of those feelings, it's much deeper and it's much longer lasting. And fundamentally this is what people ultimately seek. Oftentimes just by the nature of our humanity, many of us, me included, have missteps or make mistakes and we realize that what we were chasing was the wrong thing.

[Jeff Warren]

I find this stuff so interesting because I grew up watching, you know, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on tv and I have long wanted lots of stuff that the evidence would show is not necessarily the best route to actual happiness. And you just described the difference between hedonic happiness or hedonism and eudaimonic happiness, E U D A M I O N I C which is a deeper form of contentment and connection. And the evidence from the research, from what I've seen, seems to show that the latter is way more satisfying and abiding as opposed to the former, which relies on quick dopamine hits. And it's why you see lottery winners and rock stars, you know, flaming out. Because it, that's just not what does it for us in a sustainable way.

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, I think that's the key in a sustainable way. On the short term, it's fine. I think the other aspect, and because people will say to me, they go, so what you're saying, Jim, is you're knocking people living a good life and having things, and nothing could be further from the truth. What I am saying is though, that in your mind, if your purpose is wrapped around those things and being identified with those things, you're going to have a very unhappy life because it is non sustainable and there's nothing there. But the difference is, and look, I live very well. I certainly do not have anything against somebody living in a very nice house. Frankly, I drive a Porsche. I'm not ashamed of that. I've worked very hard. The difference though is that if my house were taken away, if the car was taken away, if all those types of things were taken away, my sense of happiness and self is in no way affected by it versus people who have lived for that. Their life, they feel is ruined if they don't have that, if they don't have people looking at them, admiring them, telling them how great they are. And this is part of the problem in our society because there's a subset of people who chase those things. And what they get out of it is showing these things off to other people who tell them how great they are. Because all of us have an emptiness inside of ourselves that we want to be fulfilled and it cannot be filled with things. But in our capitalist society, oftentimes the average person, or even, and I'm talking about socioeconomic class or the below average person looks at that and has a belief If I could just have that, my life would be perfect. And you know the sad part, which you sort of alluded to, was lottery winners. You look at lottery winners after they get all of this stuff and won, typically within a year or so, they blow all of it. But many of them say that money was the biggest curse that ever happened to me in my Life.

[Dan Harris]

Coming up, Dr. Doty talks about his very interesting personal history. The keys to understanding what we want versus what we need, how to remove the obstacles in your mind, and the practical tips for embedding an intention into your subconscious. I spent quite a bit of time on the Airbnb app recently because I've been booking a house in Barrie, Massachusetts, where I'm going to stay with a friend while we do a meditation retreat. Even though we will be practicing at the Insight Meditation Society where we usually stay in cottages on the actual property. Property, the cottages were all booked up. So my guy Josh and I are getting an Airbnb in town where we will practice for several days and check in regularly with Joseph Goldstein. And Airbnb is just super easy. You just put in the dates, you find a place where you want to stay, and boom, you're done. And I realized belatedly that I needed to extend. I texted a little bit through the app with owner of the house, the shipper friendly. I still in my stay. Really a big fan of Airbnb. And the cool thing is you can use Airbnb as a customer, but also as a provider. While you're away on vacation, you can put your home up on Airbnb. You can make the most of your space, make some extra cash. Feels like a smart thing to do. It's like you get paid for going away. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] SL Host Imagine you're a business owner who has to rely on a dozen different software programs to run your company, none of which are connected. And each one is more expensive and more complicated than the last.

[Jeff Warren]

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[Dan Harris]

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[Dan Harris]

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[Jeff Warren]

Let's just get back to your story for a second. I would love to hear a little bit more. So, as I understand, the broad outlines are you were raised in a chaotic household, an unhappy place, managed to meet a woman named Ruth in a local magic shop who taught you some stuff that you'll tell us about. And on some level it may have worked in that it might have contributed to your eventual success, which you described a little bit, but that given that you wanted the wrong stuff, the success was quite hollow. So can you just elaborate upon some of those basic facts that I threw out there?

[Dr. James Doty]

Your audience may want to learn a little bit more. There's a book that I wrote which is called into the Magic Shop, A neurosurgeon's quest to discover the mysteries of the brain and the secrets of the heart. And actually that ended up being a New York Times bestseller. It's actually been a bestseller in eight countries. It's in 36 languages, I believe. And actually, strangely enough, I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Korean pop music band bts.

[Jeff Warren]

Yeah, of course.

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, they actually used my book as the basis for their third album that's so cool called Love Tear. And there's a song in that called Magic Shop. And the South Korean publisher actually did a special edition based on their video. And you probably know, BTS actually promotes self care, being kind, being compassionate, loving others, loving yourself. And that's probably why they used it. But the story is as follows, that I grew up in poverty. My father was an alcoholic. My mother had a stroke when I was a child, was partially paralyzed, had a seizure disorder, chronically depressed, attempted suicide multiple times. We were evicted from various residences. We were on public assistance and of course, as you know, adverse childhood experiences. When you have things like this, the likelihood of you being successful ends up being very low. Typically, those individuals either abuse alcohol or drugs or have mental health issues. I was fortunate in that. What would happen when the chaos would build up at my home? I would get on my bicycle and ride as far and as fast away as I could. And in this Particular instance, I ended up at a strip mall where there was a magic shop. And I had had an interest in magic. And I walked into this store and I have to tell you, I was 12. And at that age, I already had a sense of hopelessness and despair because I was reasonably intelligent. But I had no way to get out. I had no mentors, I had no financial resources, I didn't know anyone. And frankly, I didn't believe it was possible to change my situation. So I walked into this magic shop and there was a woman at the counter. And it turned out she knew nothing about magic. She was the owner's mother, who just happened to be there because her son was running an errand. But long story short, and I'm sure you've met people like this, she had this radiant presence about her, this smile that just made you feel comfortable. And she created for me what I would call a sense of psychological safety, which is critically important.

[Dan Harris]

And.

[Dr. James Doty]

And I felt I could trust her. I didn't feel she was judging me. And she looked me in the eye and acted as if she wanted to hear what I had to say. And we had a conversation that lasted 20 or 30 minutes. And at the end of it, she said to me, I'm here for another six weeks. If you come every day, I think I can teach you something that could really help you. Now, you have to remember this was before mindfulness or meditation was in the lexicon, and the same with this concept of neuroplasticity. But what she did teach me, and I did show up every day, and it wasn't because I had self awareness, it was because, frankly, I had absolutely nothing else to do. And she was giving me chocolate chip cookies. So I did show up, and she taught me a traditional mindfulness practice on some level, which was an understanding that all of my muscles were tense and I could not focus because I never knew what was going to happen to me. So I had to always be on alert, meaning that my sympathetic nervous system was chronically engaged. And as a result, all the associated negative consequences, release of epinephrine, norepinephrine, release of cortisol, increased heart rate, et cetera. And it's very hard in that situation to attend and focus. So the first thing she taught me was an exercise to relax the body. Then she taught me the ability to attend or focus, which are two critically important things. But just as importantly, she made me understand that I had a negative dialogue going on in my head, which told me, it's not possible. I can't do it. I'm not worthy. I don't deserve love. In traditional practice, as you know, you just let those things float by and you don't turn to them if you will, or hang on to them or respond to them. In this instance though, she actually taught me to explicitly replace those comments with self affirmations and made me understand that I was so critical of myself. But the secondary effect was that she also made me understand that everyone is suffering. And those that training she taught me really changed everything. It made me look at the world through a different lens because my initial narrative beforehand was everyone has judged me, I'm not worthy and I deserve what I get. And also that I was the only one who was suffering. And when I changed how I looked at the world, it changed everything. As an example, even in the interaction with my parents, I used to have a lot of anger towards them because it wasn't that they didn't love me, they had no time for me, they didn't care for me, they didn't make those special efforts. But it wasn't because they didn't love me. It was because they did not have the tools to deal with their own issues. And so I forgave them. And what's interesting is when I changed how I looked at the world, if you will, the world changed how it looked at me. And people would reach out to when I looked at them, not with suspicion or anger, but when I simply sat there and looked through the lens of compassion and the realization of my own suffering. And that really changed everything. But more importantly and related to the manifestation discussion is she taught me a visualization exercise and some of the classic techniques. You know, we mentioned the woo woo and the pseudoscience side of it. There are several components that actually work. And one of these was making a list of your intention, writing the list down, reading the list silently, reading the list aloud, closing your eyes and visualizing what you want to manifest. Problem was, again, as I mentioned earlier, what I wanted to manifest was what I thought society defined as success. And that's what I put on my list. And every one of those things I got. But it led to ultimate unhappiness.

[Jeff Warren]

Thanks for telling that story. It brings us nicely to your six steps for manifestation, many of which you've covered. So I just want to list some of the ones you've covered and then get us to the place in the list where I think you've brought us already. Organically, the first step is to reclaim your power, to focus your mind. I think you've Talked about meditation and other contemplative technologies as being a way to do that. The second is to clarify what we truly want. And so I think you've said a little bit about this, but it might be worth saying a little bit more about how we can do that. How can we not have our priorities set by the larger culture or whoever we're following on Instagram or whatever messed up ideas our parents might have? How can we get clear on this?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, as I said, one of the first things is to examine what you've been manifesting. And I think we've actually discussed that a bit. And then the other thing is what I was saying is how do you clarify what you want? And I think what we've just been discussing helps one do that. As you know, and you mentioned influencers, you look at what they have done surveys on kids in high school, right? What do they want, sadly, is they want to be influencers. They want to be wealthy, they want to be celebrities, or they want to be athletes. Right. I mean, that's literally the majority of kids out there, which is horrible on some level because again, they have been fed a narrative, unfortunately, by the nature of our consumerist society or conspicuous consumption society, that if you get that, you're going to be happy. And I think that there is an irrefutable amount of science that contradicts that narrative. And you simply also have to look at what happens in society. If you look at influencers, many of them pretend, either through filters, makeup, or artificial creation of backgrounds that make them look as though they're in exotic places or doing exotic things, or are very wealthy, carrying different labels, purses or clothes. And yet we know that a large percentage of those people, unfortunately, are very unhappy. And a number of them go into depression or commit suicide. And what's worse, of course, is that there's a subset of their followers who believe the narrative and recognize that they can never be like that and go into depression. And a number of those have committed suicide. And it's clearly evident that path, like it was for me, was a dead end path. And as we were talking about what we do know, and in some ways this is how we evolved as a species. Unlike other species, which often are able to run off into the jungle or forest and function independently, our offspring require us to care for them for well over a decade. And we have a genetic imperative to do so. And what I mean by that is when we care and respond to our offspring, either if they're hungry, if they're in pain, or if they're suffering in some way, what happens to us? It engages our parasympathetic nervous system, and we are rewarded. And one of the neurotransmitters is oxytocin, which I think probably all your listeners are aware of. Oxytocin is released. It stimulates your reward and pleasure centers, and it further strengthens engagement of your parasympathetic nervous system. When your parasympathetic nervous system is engaged, you're open, you're generous, you're thoughtful, and your physiology works its best. Your heart rate variability, which is a measure of health, in some ways, is increased. And while that may seem paradoxical, that's good for you. Your heart rate is often lowered, your blood pressure's lowered. The expression of inflammatory proteins is diminished, the expression of stress hormones like cortisol is decreased, and also your immune system is boosted. And these are very much aligned with what happens when you meditate as well. And in some ways, we have learned that you can create that for yourself through different types of practices. And this is why this is so important to be able to shift to that mode, because that is the mode that we were meant to live in. The stress mode was only supposed to be engaged transiently. As an example, if you were on the savanna in Africa and you saw the grass move and you knew from experience that probably represented a predator, then that system would engage, you would respond, and if you survived, you would go right back to engagement of your parasympathetic nervous system.

[Jeff Warren]

All of that whole argument makes complete sense. I cosign unreservedly. And when it comes to clarifying what we truly want, I guess you could hear somebody like me or you say all of these things and you could take it in, but you and I are like, we have our fingers in the dike. It's just, you know, the overwhelming, overwhelming message from the larger culture is, achieve. Achieve individual achievement and success and conspicuous consumption. That is what is going to give you happiness. Happiness is not, in fact, a team sport, but actually what we know is that the team sport part of that is. Is irrefutably true in the evidence. And so I guess what I'm getting at is like. Or what is making the case enough when it comes to helping people clarify what they want?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, I think you can answer that probably just as well as I. I've had people say to me, well, Jim, I appreciate what you're saying, but I just want to be in the big house and drive the Porsche for a while, and then I'll Decide if I'm unhappy or not. And I can understand that, especially among young people, you want to figure out things for yourself. But no, you're absolutely right. I would suggest though, and it's interesting how there's much more attention on social media because as you know, social media, what they do is they actually hire psychologists and neuroscientists to create addictive patterns of behavior to sell. And this is what advertising does. It's to imply to you that you have a scarcity of something. And that scarcity, or if you want to put it in the context of a whole, that hole needs to be filled. And the implication is that if you fill it with junk, that you're going to be happy. And I think what we're pushing or the narrative we're pushing and the narrative that is supported irrefutably by science is that only leads the hole to get bigger or certainly not filled at all. And the only thing that fills that is connection with others and being of service. As an example, if you look at what we see with the blue zones and of course, as you know, these are the places in the world where people routinely live to be 100. What we know from that is. Now there of course is the narrative of a plant based diet, moderate exercise, not smoking, et cetera. By far and away is the reality that human connection, caring for others, that is more important than any of these other things. And this is also supported by the 85 year old Harvard study on Adult development, which is often referred to as the longevity or the Happiness study. It's the exact same thing. What causes us to be healthy or supports our health? What supports longevity is, is fundamentally deep relationships with others. All the other stuff, the things contribute zero, if not more to having a shorter life and a less fulfilled life.

[Jeff Warren]

Okay, just to reset, we're talking about your six steps to manifest. The first is to reclaim your power, to focus your mind. The second is to clarify what you truly want, which we've just been talking about. The third is to remove the obstacles in your mind. What are you referring to there? Does that take us back to your repeated references to the inner critic?

[Dr. James Doty]

Yeah, absolutely. As you know, I mean, if you tell yourself, I'm not good enough, I'm not worthy, it's not possible, that becomes reality for you. And what people forget is so often they give their own agency away by believing in this external thing that's going to make them whole or make them feel better about themselves. And the reality is first, you are the only one who can give that to yourself, there is no external thing that's going to make that happen for you. And this is, of course, the falsehood of the secret and the law of attraction. And the second is that you have immense power within yourself. And until you believe that, until and accept that, then you cannot change. So this relates to this concept of limiting your beliefs. And what I did as a child is I would use these negative comments to build a prison for myself that limited what I could do. And each time I laid a brick down, it made the walls higher and made the cell darker. And once you reach a threshold where you're completely enclosed and surrounded and you feel you have no place to go, of course that's where severe depression and hopelessness kick in. So you have to truly believe. And we have seen the power of belief. Now, this is not to say I'm not going to take chemotherapy for my cancer, because I just believe that's ridiculous. What it does do is it sets the stage for your own metabolic systems to work at their best. So I would say in the context of, let's say the cancer example, you can maximize your body's ability, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have a cure. You can simply maximize it. And it's just like an athlete. How do you achieve? And we'll get back to achievement in a sec. You achieve by showing up every day by believing in yourself. As an example, there's a study that shows if you believe that you can increase your muscles, let's say, through visualization and some of the techniques I talk about in the book, it has been demonstrated that your muscle mass will increase. Now, is that going to make you an Arnold Schwarzenegger? No. But the point is, though, that simply believing actually has a huge, huge impact. And we look at individuals like Wim Hof as an example, or Tibetan monks. They can control their body temperature, they can control their heart rate. We look at individuals like David Goggins as an example, or Charlie Engel, who were runners. You can do these things if you have control of your mind. Now, I'm not suggesting everyone become a Wim Hof or David Goggins. What I am saying is, though these individuals have mastered certain techniques to change their physiology or their mindset, each of us has that capability. It doesn't mean we're going to become a Wim Hof. What it does mean is that we have the ability to change our circumstances.

[Jeff Warren]

How do we generate that belief? What are the techniques that you would recommend to help us get over the deeply entrenched view we might have that we're worthless.

[Dr. James Doty]

One is to understand that none of us are worthless, that every one of us deserves respect, dignity. And by utilizing some of the practices which are based on different types of meditation practices, that you can gain access to your mind and you can change your belief system. And it's just doing that. Now, of course, many people have tried different types of meditation practices and they'll say, well, I can't do it. And of course, the problem for many people is they're competitive and they're trying to achieve something. It's not a race here. And it's not that if you fail, you're worthless. You just have to keep trying. The other aspect is you don't run a marathon in a day. One of the problems I used to have is I'd say, I'm going to get into shape, and then I'd immediately go out and try to run two or three miles and be highly disappointed and then say, well, forget it, I can't do it. One of the key things I think is looking at through the lens of starting small, demonstrating yourself that it is possible, and whether that's waking up at six in the morning and going for a walk around the block, which is fairly simple for most people, and then increasing that over time, and then you can see that you can create habits. And once you see it is possible, it starts changing your belief system about what is possible for you. Because if you go out and try to run two miles or whatever it is, you sit there and go, God, I can't do that. I can't do it. And then you go back and say, I'm a loser, versus if you say I'm going to get up, that's the first thing early you've done something which you normally don't do. Two, I'm going to go out and I'm going to walk around the block. Fairly simple. Hey, I did it. Do it another day until you're up to three blocks, then you're up to two miles, then you start running. This is a process, but the key things are you have to show up, you have to do it, and you have to be consistent. Those are the fundamental aspects of starting to change how you look at the world, what is possible. And if you want to say removing the obstacles that you had placed there or have been placed there unconsciously through.

[Jeff Warren]

Your upbringing, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Many experts on the show have talked about one of the keys to behavior change being starting small and generating confidence based on your ability to actually meet those modest goals you mentioned earlier, Visualization techniques, are those what might also help us remove the obstacles in our mind? Or are those exercises related to further steps on the six part manifestation plan?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, I think they're all closely related, but yeah, as an example, when I was younger and wanted to be a doctor, I could not visualize that happening initially where I would close my eyes and I could see myself in that position. And what I say is, you know, if you want to say the window was foggy and I couldn't see outside of it, what was possible? As I did these visualizations and exercises and made the list and read them aloud, then that window started getting clearer and clearer until I could absolutely see myself in that position. And as that clarity increases, which again comes along with that power of habit, if you will, then that strengthens that intention until the point where you cannot imagine anything different than that becoming reality. And that's when you're really maximizing that intention. Now, one of the things I just want to get back to quickly is you talked about achievement. And it's interesting because sometimes people get so focused on a goal that actually it becomes a negative for them. And what I mean by that is if you're so focused on the goal that you don't look at anything else, you ignore every distraction, which is of course oftentimes how you achieve the goal and you get the goal. The question is, what did you really achieve? If you've lost your family, if your kids hate you, if your wife's divorced you and you are standing at the top of the mountain and you've gotten the reward, what was the purpose of that? At the end of the day, and this is the problem for people, many people will sacrifice everything to achieve the goal and then have left a lot of lives destroyed, ruined, and unhappiness in their wake. And again, one of the most important things I think is one, and this gets daxed a little bit later to one of the other lessons is there's nothing wrong with the goal, but the reality is the most important aspect is the journey to that goal. And this relates again back to relationships, human connection. And you have to temper the two. How much is that goal worth? If you're standing there alone and you destroyed all these lives along the way versus, yes, you achieved it, but also you focused on maintaining relationships and connecting with others. In fact, interestingly, I was just away for the weekend with four college roommates who I've known for 50 plus years, and we get together every couple years and hang out. And the strength of those relationships, even though none of us are perfect and we may have disparate careers, is this connection we've had for so long. And that's very, very powerful in terms of making us feel good about our lives.

[Dan Harris]

Coming up, Jim talks about more of his steps toward manifestation and finally, how to alert the bloodhound to harness the full power of your mind.

[Jeff Warren]

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[Jeff Warren]

Jim, you've brought us to number four on your list of the six steps to manifest. Again. Number one is to reclaim your power to focus. Second is to clarify what you truly want. The third is to remove the obstacles in your mind. And the fourth, which you just talked about a little bit, but I'd love to get you say a little bit more, is embedding the intention into our subconscious. And so in your view, there are a series of exercises that we can do in order to kind of get this into what my Jewish grandmother might call our kishkis. Your guts, your bones. Can you say a little bit more about what we can do in order to make this happen?

[Dr. James Doty]

Sure. And this will probably be a good time to actually mention these cognitive brain networks and how they work. First, of course, you have to, to make them work their best, be engaged in your parasympathetic nervous system, which is relaxed, open and present. What many people don't realize is that we are indated with sensory information, about 10 million bits of information a second from our sensory organs that mostly maintain homeostasis of our bodily functions, leaving only about 50 to 100 bits of information every second that we actually have conscious thoughts about or control of, if you will. So one of the things is to recognize this and then on a conscious level, embed this into your subconscious. So that's the first part and that's something called value tagging, where you make your intention, if you will, salient, one that grabs your attention, thereby you are tagging it. And once that happens, then other things kick in. So let's go through that. We have one part of our cognitive brain networks, and these are areas of our brain that are not discrete areas of different parts, but are connected during a particular activity. One of those is our default mode network. And this typically is engaged when we're daydreaming or mind wandering or related to self referential thought or related to memory or planning actions. Once that is engaged, or that, if you will, intention is embedded there as something that has been thought of, laid out. Then we engage two other parts, which are our salience network and our attention network. And the salience network is important from switching between the default mode network and what we call the task positive network. And the task positive network contains the salience network, the attention network, the, and the executive control network. And so the salience network is really important in detecting and filtering salient stimuli from the environment to allow us to allocate attentional resources. While the attention network is required to sustain attention or redirect attention to those things that are important to us. And ultimately, and I use as an example the executive control network, which is part of the task positive network as the part that actually is associated with, if you will, making things happen. On a conscious level. And it is the interaction between all of those. In terms of the salience network, I use the analogy of a bloodhound trying to seek out what it is looking for. And the example, and I'll give two, one is as a neurosurgeon, I see patients oftentimes with what would many people say? Well, these are unusual conditions, and obviously for me they're not because I see them all the time. But my point being that I'll have a patient who I'll say, you have, let's say, hydrocephalus. And they'll say, I've never heard of that, doctor. And then two months later, they come back and they the most amazing thing. I've met five people who have the same thing. And the reason is because you have embedded that. And now on an unconscious level, you're listening to possibilities and it's like saying, I was thinking about getting a red Mustang. And then you see five in the next couple days because you are attuned to that. And that is how you embed things in your unconscious or subconscious. The other aspect is that once you are able to do that, then of course you focus on that. And I'll give another example. I am working on a particular project right now that's fairly unusual. And I was in a coffee shop, very noisy coffee shop, and I was sitting there drinking my coffee, thinking about this. And then literally I heard people talking about the exact same thing about three tables over. Well, normally I would never have listened to that at all. Yet that struck me. It led me to walk over, introduce myself. And now we're working on this project together, and that's how it works. And I'm sure you've been in a situation where you're at a noisy party and you'll hear your name even among the din of all the sounds, because your identity is deeply embedded with you. And it shows you how on an unconscious level, you are always turned on. You just don't know it. So you have to define the things that are important to you, and your unconscious or subconscious will seek that out.

[Dan Harris]

Yeah.

[Jeff Warren]

I also think about how when you hear a new word for the first time, you then hear it a bunch afterwards.

[Dr. James Doty]

Exactly, exactly. So this is where people suddenly, when you make these analogies, they go, oh, I get it now. I understand.

[Dan Harris]

And just say a little bit more.

[Jeff Warren]

About what we can do to get important ideas and goals and intentions into our subconscious.

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, and this is again, value tagging. You have to make it important to you. How do you make it important to you, you use your sensory organs. And I'll tell you, when I was a kid, what I did was I made a list of the things I wanted to have happen to me or manifest. I would read the list silently, I would read it aloud, I would visualize it, and I would do it about 50 times a day. And this is similar to what's described in the typical manifestation practices. And the reality is that it's even like religion. We know experientially that as an example, this type of a practice, or actually religion associated with compassion, these have been learned over millennia, that they work and then we typically wrap a dogma around it. And this would explain the innumerable religious practices which are associated with different cultures around the world. And in many ways this explains the same with the woo woo and the pseudoscience that is wrapped around manifestation. There is validity to some of these practices. The key is how do you maximize the ability for them to have an effect. And I think that's really what we're talking about here.

[Jeff Warren]

I don't know if you say this explicitly, but there has to be a plausibility, reasonability, quotient to this. I could do all of these exercises you're describing and I am not going to make it into the NBA. What I know, Dan, I had great. I know Jokic wants me, but he can't have me. A very bright young man could use these practices to get himself into medical school. Right. I. I could imagine that this would. I don't know if it would do the whole trick, but it would help propel the narrative.

[Dan Harris]

And so a young person, or any.

[Jeff Warren]

Person could start visualizing things that fall within the realm of the physically possible, physically, psychologically, emotionally possible, as opposed to dreaming up like I am gonna. I don't know. Although having said that, as I'm. I'm rambling here, I'm thinking a little bit about the Bodhisattva vow, which I know you're familiar with, which comes out of Mahayana Buddhism, which is the, the idea that, you know, beings are limitless. I vow to save them all. So that just setting a, an over the top compassionate goal actually can have some salutary impacts.

[Dr. James Doty]

Yes. If you look through that lens, every action you take is to improve the life of others. And that's ultimately what a Bodhisattva's goal is. They live a life by example who they are and do those actions so that hopefully every interaction they have that is contained with it. But getting back to your earlier statement, yes, I am not going to be the first person to work on Mars. And it's not that I have a limited belief system, but these things have to be in the context of plausibility. But that being said, we never know what is limiting. And I'll give you a quick example for myself. And while my statement may be a one in a million likelihood, the reality is sometimes they do occur. But when I applied to medical school, because of the situation with my family, I missed a lot of classes. I had a grade point average of 2.53. And at the time, the average grade point average to get into medical school was 3.79. And I was talking about how you share your aspirations with people. Of course, I would tell friends and classmates that I was going to be a doctor, and they laughed at me. And they said, what a joke. You have a 2.53 or you failed that class. And in fact, when I went and we used to have a pre med committee interview to even get a letter so we could apply to medical school, when I went to the secretary who made those appointments, can you imagine, she said to me, she said, I'm not giving you an appointment. I said, why? And she said, because it's a waste of everyone's time. And I looked at her and I said to her, I said, well, I appreciate what you're saying, but I am not leaving here until you give me that appointment. And she ultimately did. And again, another aspect of this which was very demeaning was then I walk into a room and this professor is at the end of a long table, sort of like what Putin does, right? And he's sitting with two of his colleagues. He has my file. He takes it, he stands up, he throws it on the desk, and he says, say what you have to say. Let's get this over with. And again, how horrible to do that to somebody. But anyway, fortunately, through my own whatever, I looked at this guy and I said, you know nothing about me. I am not going to allow you to objectify me into a grade point average. And then I proceeded to lecture them for 20 minutes. At the end of it, they were all crying because they had to look at me as a human being. And then they can't look away. Long story short, when that meeting ended, the secretary gave me a brochure for a program for socioeconomically disadvantaged students and minority students at Tulane University in New Orleans. And she said to me, she said, the deadline has passed, but I don't think that's going to affect you. Long story short, I Called the people. They let me into the program. Irvine gave me the highest letter of recommendation they could. I got into that program, was accepted to medical school. Only one I applied to. And now, ultimately, during Hurricane Katrina, the university closed down. They lost their dean. I endowed the dean's chair. So the dean today is the doty professor. I rebuilt the library and I gave the white coat ceremony speech, which is for incoming medical students. And my point is, nobody can predict what anyone is capable of doing. But as you said earlier, and we agreed, yes, it has to be in the context of realistic, but many people would have said it was completely unrealistic and impossible for me to have gotten into medical school. So we have to temper that somewhat. But we do have that power to manifest and change our lives. But we have to have a absolute belief, an absolute commitment and be willing to do the work and whatever is necessary to make that happen.

[Jeff Warren]

It's an incredible story, and it does bring us to the fifth of your six steps in manifesting, which is to pursue your goal passionately, which that story amply demonstrates.

[Dan Harris]

One of the things you talk about.

[Jeff Warren]

Within this, and I think your story touches on this as well, is, and this is your phrase, to be someone that you would like to help. Can you say more about that?

[Dr. James Doty]

Yeah, I mean, I think that when I was talking about how I changed, how I saw the world, and you want to be the person who. People can see that there is something about you and they do want to help you, and this is what people forget sometimes, is it always amuses me and disappoints me sometimes. You'll see people who end up having achieved certain things, and they'll sit there and say, I did it all on my own. Nobody helped me. Well, it's just not true. Everyone, every day, needs people to support them and help them reach their goals. And anyone who says they did it by themselves is lying or delusional. I could not possibly have achieved what I have achieved without a ton of people reaching out and being supportive of my narrative, my dream, my aspirations. And it is those people that make it a reality. But you have to create the environment where they want to help you, and that's by being the person that you want to be. And that exemplifies the goodness, the caring, the love, the compassion for other people.

[Jeff Warren]

Under this fifth step of pursuing your goal passionately, I believe one of the ideas you discuss is diversifying your opportunities. What do you mean by that?

[Dr. James Doty]

The reality is that it doesn't always work out exactly as you plan it. May approximate it. And that's not to say that should be a disappointment. Again, there are oftentimes external circumstances that have an impact on what your goal is or what you're trying to manifest. And in fact, there's sometimes reasons that you do not understand, you do not see that result in you not being able to manifest something. Or the other side is that it's not as if you control the timeline. There are some things that I am still very passionate about that I would like to see manifest, but they've been taking years and years and they still haven't manifested. It has not changed my belief, my passion, my goal. It's just an acceptance that things don't always work out in the timeline or the way we imagine. Like as an example, if you said, I want this job because it's where I want to live, it's the type of company I want to work for. I want to be in that position in six months. Well, it may turn out that you get the job, but it's in a different city and it's not exactly the title you wanted. Well, is that a failure manifestation? No. It may be that actually there are other reasons why you need to move to that city, or there are other reasons why it didn't happen exactly the way and you have to accept that and not translate it into I failed. Manifestation is not a perfect science by any stretch of the imagination. The whole point of the book, though, is to have you understand it, how to maximize it. But that is in no way a guarantee that it will happen. People should not somehow think that this is a magic fix for everything. All we're saying is, in some ways this is like an exercise book. Here are the practices, here's what you have to do. If you follow these, there's a greater likelihood of this happening than not. But it is not a guarantee that this will happen.

[Jeff Warren]

That sounds linked to your step number.

[Dan Harris]

Six, which is letting go of attachment.

[Jeff Warren]

To any particular outcome. Or in Buddhist speak, we often call it non attachment to results.

[Dan Harris]

That you can work hard, you can set your intentions, remove your obstacles, pursue your goal passionately. But we live in an entropic universe where everything's changing all the time. And it's not necessarily the case that.

[Jeff Warren]

Everything'S going to go the way you plan.

[Dr. James Doty]

Right? And as you know, I mean, what is the greatest cause of suffering? Attachment and craving. And if you're able to have the goal and pursue it passionately, but if you don't achieve it, that's okay too. It happens sometimes. And that's just the way it is. But it should not in any way be a reason for you to get discouraged or have some belief that it's not possible. You just have to realize that again, it doesn't always work on our timeline and sometimes it doesn't work at all, but that's okay. And this is one of the challenges. And this actually hits on something called equanimity, this evenness of temperament. Having chased a goal or having wanted to achieve something and not achieving it causes some people a lot of despair and unhappiness. But the problem is when you achieve it for a subset of people, they always want to live with that high all the time, which is not possible. Conversely, there are people who have bad things happen to them and they also translate into, this is horrible, this is going to last forever. And it doesn't. All of these things are transitory and having an understanding that with the highs you may feel good, but oftentimes you don't learn very much. And understanding, sometimes with the down times, those are the places where you learn resilience, where you learn about yourself, where you learn about strengths. And for many people, those are gifts. And if you ask anybody who's lived in these experiences, but the key is, regardless, whichever direction things are going, to understand the transient and impermanent nature of these things and accept it and have an evenness of temperament. And that will prevent a lot of the negative aspects of frankly, living in this world.

[Jeff Warren]

I totally agree. You know, the book is called Mind Magic and I'm just wondering, like, as.

[Dan Harris]

I listen to everything you're saying, it.

[Jeff Warren]

Sounds like it's absolutely not magical thinking. And I see, I mean, this is a compliment. It's like advanced common sense. Set a goal. Follow these exercises to get your goal into your subconscious. Harness the full power of the mind that often we're unaware is even there. Work your ass off, be nice to people, be flexible and non attached to specific results. None of that scans to me as magic. And again, I mean that as a compliment, not a critique, because I'm comparing it in my mind to the magical thinking. And I mean this in the pejorative of the secret.

[Dr. James Doty]

No, you're absolutely right and I did that sort of intentionally. But also the other book is called into the Magic Shop, right? So that makes the connection between the two. Now I'm thinking of my next book, how I'm going to intertwine magic in that. And I haven't got a clue yet, but we'll see how it all goes. Goes.

[Dan Harris]

One question I should have asked you.

[Jeff Warren]

Earlier, because to me, what stands out as the most interesting part of all of this is the idea of embedding intentions into our subconscious. And you made a reference to this, but I don't think I let you really expand on it. You talked about the bloodhound, the internal bloodhound, and there's an analogy you use in the book, the filing clerk and the bloodhound. Can you say more about these?

[Dr. James Doty]

Right. Embedding your intention is in some ways putting a file in the cabinet. But the bloodhound's responsibility is to actually find that intention or anything associated with it. And this gets back to the example I gave of your name being said at a loud party or the example of being in the coffee shop. And the bloodhound was always listening and allowed me to hear those people and relate it to what I had embedded in that file cabinet. And then I acted, which was the executive control network guiding me. And I think I use the analogy of the CEO. That's it. And again, all of these tools. And while you did say there is no magic there, and there isn't. And in some ways, what I'm trying to do is to indicate to people that actually the power we have within ourselves, that is the magic. And I use the analogy. And I think you avoided saying the first sentence in the book.

[Jeff Warren]

No, no, no, you can say it.

[Dr. James Doty]

The first sentence in the book is, the universe doesn't give a fuck about you. But the point is, one, it has no fucks to give. But at the end of the book, what I say is what people don't appreciate, fundamentally, they are the universe. And that's really the key here. You have the power, and all of us are ultimately connected. And when you look through that lens, and in some ways, we're talking about bodhisattvas. If you look at the world through that lens and understand that the other is you, you always make the right decision about how to function in this world.

[Jeff Warren]

If we want to start small and try some of this to try to get a big intention into our subconscious, what's a beginner exercise we can do? A lot of what you recommend involves writing stuff down, but what's a beginner exercise that we could do that wouldn't take a bunch of time that would help us toy with this idea of training our bloodhound to look for something that we really care about?

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, I think one is simply sitting in a quiet room, and you don't have to cross your legs, or you could lay down, but one Is taking the time in a quiet place to think about something you want to happen to you in the sense that it doesn't hurt other people. It's not just about what you want, but it's about doing something that has a larger purpose than yourself, but gives you what you want. And simply thinking about that, and that could be for as little as three to five minutes, thinking about that in a calm space, seeing that, and then just sitting up and writing down why you want it, how it will be of service, how it will benefit you. And just write that down three or four times until you start getting more and more clarity. And just doing that will have a significant effect on you.

[Jeff Warren]

So I was doing something like that today where it was not preceded by meditation or anything of the sort, but I was just kind of have a huge whiteboard in my office. I like whiteboards.

[Dan Harris]

And I was just kind of mapping.

[Jeff Warren]

Out what a successful version of the future of my business would be. Here are the seven or eight component parts. Here's what I think an awesome financial return on each of these might look like in a future state of two to five years. And so I think what I'm hearing you say is like, just get in.

[Dan Harris]

The habit, maybe meditate for a little.

[Jeff Warren]

Bit on specifically visualizing what this would look like. And then get up and write it down on your whiteboard or somewhere else.

[Dan Harris]

And just get in the habit of.

[Jeff Warren]

Doing this semi regularly. That can alert the bloodhounds so that you're. Again, it's not necessarily magical, although on some levels it is kind of magical. But you're just harnessing the full power of your mind. Most of us are just aware of what we're aware of, but there's so much beneath the surface. And this exercise would help you harness all of it.

[Dr. James Doty]

Yeah, and in some ways it's like the tiny habits. If you start doing that for simple things at first, you'll be amazed at what will happen. It's not as if I just made these up out of the blue. I have been teaching this to people and they're in some ways shocked about what suddenly can happen to them. It changes the entire way they look at the world. And in fact, it more aligns them with what is possible. And also it changes their lives in a positive way because it changes their own internal narrative to switch from I to others or from the me to the we. And that is a very powerful effect not only on your physiology, but on your mental state.

[Jeff Warren]

So I'm going to update my little practice based on what you just said, which is, it's not enough just to think of. Here are the seven or eight parts of my business that I hope will be thriving and what the numbers might look like in three or five years. It's also to imagine what's the impact on other people and on my team and on my family from doing all of this work. And that, if I'm hearing you correctly, supercharges the whole thing.

[Dr. James Doty]

That's absolutely the key, and that's absolutely correct, because it's not about you anymore. It's about the impact you're having on other people's lives to improve them. I mean, look at how powerful the message you were sending out through this podcast. It has a huge positive effect on people's lives, and sometimes you don't even realize it. And if you constantly remind yourself that is what this is all about. Yes, the money is all fine, the financial goals are all fine, but at the end of the day, that's irrelevant. Your goal is to have a huge impact on other people's lives, and that is the supercharger of all of this. And it will get you all the other things, but that has to be front and center of every action you take.

[Jeff Warren]

Duly noted and well said. In our remaining moments here, let me just ask you the two questions I traditionally ask people. Is there something you were hoping to cover that we didn't get to?

[Dr. James Doty]

I just wanted to mention a couple other activities that I'm involved with that some people might have an interest in.

[Jeff Warren]

Great.

[Dr. James Doty]

One is the center at Stanford that I run, which is called the center for Compassion and Altruism research and education, CCare, Stanford, Eduardo. And that outlines a lot of the programs we have. The second thing is my website, jamesrdotymd.com, which includes some of the work that I do as well as actually the podcast that I have. And the third is something that I have been working on which may be of interest to your viewers. Not necessarily directly connected to Manifestation, but an app that I've created for people, which is a mental health coach, because in some ways we indirectly touched on this. A lot of the angst that many of us have are reactions fundamentally to the way our society works. And it creates stress, anxiety, and distraction. And this app that I created, and it can be found at HappyHappi AI actually combines an emotion assessment tool with a conversational AI knowledge base of compassion, focused therapy and psychology, which is actually, believe it or not, connected to a human avatar which talks to you. And the great thing about that is for Many of us, especially men and adolescents, we would rather talk to an avatar because it's non judgmental and it's compassionate and empathic and it's also available 24 hours a day. So those are the things that I'm working on that I'm proud of. And for any of your listeners, I hope they check those out. And also I'd just like to leave you also with the reality that some of us forget that every day we have the ability to improve the lives of another person. And a lot of people say, well, I don't have time, I don't have money, I don't have resources. Sometimes just saying hi to another person changes their lives.

[Jeff Warren]

Absolutely cosine on that. And you kind of already answered the second question I was going to ask, which is just to get you to remind everybody of all of the things you're putting out into the world. You just referenced some of them. Your first book is called into the Magic Shop. The new book is called Mind Magic the Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything. I've certainly heard of your work for many years, so it's great to finally meet you directly. Thank you for your time.

[Dr. James Doty]

Well, listen, I appreciate it and thank you for the work that, that you're doing in this world and I hope our paths cross so we meet in person at some point.

[Jeff Warren]

Likewise.

[Dan Harris]

Thanks again to Dr. Doty. Quick reminder, if you want to get a guided meditation tailored to this episode, go on over to danharris.com we're doing tailored guided meditations for every Monday Wednesday episode this month from the great Don Mauricio of Meditation Teacher Wheel Love. Also, don't forget to go over to shop.danharris.com to take advantage of our merch sale while supplies last. That sale ends on July 14th. Before I let you go, I just want to thank everybody who worked so hard to make this show. Our producers are Tara Anderson, Caroline Keenan and Eleanor Vasily. Our recording and engineering is handled by the great people over at Pod People. Lauren Smith is our managing producer. Marissa Schneiderman is our senior producer. DJ Cashmere is our executive producer. Producer and Nick Thorburn of the Bad Islands wrote our theme.