Post by Admin on Sept 22, 2016 15:09:57 GMT -5
Just finished this very readable book by James Doty, MD. Thoroughly enjoyed it. We have an interview of his in another thread here. This book might even serve as an intro to someone considering meditation/mindfulness practice or who is brand new to practice. It's a memoir but also grounded in neuroscience research. I'll be watching what he does with his CCARE institute at Stanford (click HERE).
This is an inspiring book and great for anyone new to meditation or to those who have been at it for years. Below is the Amazon.com summary of the book, followed by some reviews my Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat Zinn and others: If you want to check it out on Amazon CLICK HERE.
This is an inspiring book and great for anyone new to meditation or to those who have been at it for years. Below is the Amazon.com summary of the book, followed by some reviews my Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat Zinn and others: If you want to check it out on Amazon CLICK HERE.
AMAZON.COM Book Blurb:
Growing up in the high desert of California, Jim Doty was poor, with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke. Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end until at twelve he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. Instead he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires. Her final mandate was that he keep his heart open and teach these techniques to others. She gave him his first glimpse of the unique relationship between the brain and the heart.
Doty would go on to put Ruth’s practices to work with extraordinary results—power and wealth that he could only imagine as a twelve-year-old, riding his orange Sting-Ray bike. But he neglects Ruth’s most important lesson, to keep his heart open, with disastrous results—until he has the opportunity to make a spectacular charitable contribution that will virtually ruin him. Part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction, Into the Magic Shop shows us how we can fundamentally change our lives by first changing our brains and our hearts.
Reviews
"In this profound and beautiful book, Dr Doty teaches us with his life, and the lessons he imparts are some of the most important of all: that happiness cannot be without suffering, that compassion is born from understanding our own suffering and the suffering of those around us, and that only when we have compassion in our hearts can we be truly happy."
-Thich Nhat Hahn, Zen Buddhist monk, global spiritual leader and peace activist
"Once in a generation, someone is able to articulate the compelling mystery within his or her life story in such a way that it captures the imagination of others and inspires them to align with what is deepest and best in themselves and allow it to manifest and flower...Behold what is emerging now."
-Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Center for Mindfulness, Health Care and Society and creator of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
"Into the Magic Shop is not only a moving testimony that keeps the reader enthralled throughout the book, but also a powerful exhortation to live a more compassionate and meaningful life. Beautiful and highly inspiring."
-Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk, humanitarian and author of Altruism: How Compassion can Change Your Life and the World.
There are more reviews on the Amazon page HERE.
Growing up in the high desert of California, Jim Doty was poor, with an alcoholic father and a mother chronically depressed and paralyzed by a stroke. Today he is the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, of which the Dalai Lama is a founding benefactor. But back then his life was at a dead end until at twelve he wandered into a magic shop looking for a plastic thumb. Instead he met Ruth, a woman who taught him a series of exercises to ease his own suffering and manifest his greatest desires. Her final mandate was that he keep his heart open and teach these techniques to others. She gave him his first glimpse of the unique relationship between the brain and the heart.
Doty would go on to put Ruth’s practices to work with extraordinary results—power and wealth that he could only imagine as a twelve-year-old, riding his orange Sting-Ray bike. But he neglects Ruth’s most important lesson, to keep his heart open, with disastrous results—until he has the opportunity to make a spectacular charitable contribution that will virtually ruin him. Part memoir, part science, part inspiration, and part practical instruction, Into the Magic Shop shows us how we can fundamentally change our lives by first changing our brains and our hearts.
Reviews
"In this profound and beautiful book, Dr Doty teaches us with his life, and the lessons he imparts are some of the most important of all: that happiness cannot be without suffering, that compassion is born from understanding our own suffering and the suffering of those around us, and that only when we have compassion in our hearts can we be truly happy."
-Thich Nhat Hahn, Zen Buddhist monk, global spiritual leader and peace activist
"Once in a generation, someone is able to articulate the compelling mystery within his or her life story in such a way that it captures the imagination of others and inspires them to align with what is deepest and best in themselves and allow it to manifest and flower...Behold what is emerging now."
-Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Center for Mindfulness, Health Care and Society and creator of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
"Into the Magic Shop is not only a moving testimony that keeps the reader enthralled throughout the book, but also a powerful exhortation to live a more compassionate and meaningful life. Beautiful and highly inspiring."
-Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk, humanitarian and author of Altruism: How Compassion can Change Your Life and the World.
There are more reviews on the Amazon page HERE.