The Power of Compassion | James Doty, MD

Jan 10, 2023

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What if we could scientifically prove that compassion improves our well-being, our cognitive function, our longevity, and societal welfare? Here to explore these questions is our guest on this episode, James Doty, MD, a neurosurgeon, inventor, entrepreneur and writer. As the founding director of Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, his academic focus is the neurobiological effects of meditation, compassion, and altruistic behavior. His bestselling 2017 memoir, Into the Magic Shop, details his path from a troubled childhood to becoming an internationally-renowned surgeon and philanthropist. He has served on the board of a number of nonprofit organizations, including as former Chairman of the Dalai Lama Foundation, and is on the International Advisory Board of the Council of the Parliament of the World's Religions. In this episode, we discuss his unlikely journey to medicine and the incredible insights on compassion he has collected over the years.

In this episode, you will hear about:

Dr. Doty’s difficult childhood experiences and how the kindness of strangers pulled him to medicine - 2:10
How Dr. Doty dealt with the fish-out-of-water experiences in medical school - 11:00
A discussion of negative self-talk and how to overcome it - 17:30
How Dr. Doty went from developing a neuroscience center in impoverished Mississippi to establishing an altruism research lab at Stanford University - 20:19
A discussion of the eponymous incident of Dr. Doty’s book Into the Magic Shop and how it profoundly shifted his view on compassion - 26:06
A review of some of the exciting findings of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education - 32:36
Reflections on how Dr. Doty practices compassion in his daily life - 38:29
A brief discussion of the power of belief and how it shapes our reality - 44:00
A discussion of how the dehumanizing bureaucracy and profiteering of the medical field is failing physicians - 49:55

Dr. James Doty is the author of the best-selling memoir Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart.

He is the senior editor of the Handbook of Compassion Science published by Oxford University.

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