Skipping over the surgery details and wishing for an editor to remove repetition,
INTO THE MAGIC SHOP delivers a compelling adventure of a young man's quest
to get Everything He Wants in Life.

Both successes and dramatic failures are carefully documented with the happy ending
creation of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education. ( )

Fascinating amalgam of science, esoterica, and philosophy that neither bored nor pandered to the reader.

Note: I received this via NetGalley for an honest review. ( )

I really appreciated the story alongside how Dr. Doty was taught how to meditate, and making the relations of love and kindness into manifesting, and the details of the exercises so you're able to perform them yourself. ( )

Hearing Doty speak to the host of On Being Krista Tippet, sparked my interest in his book. The podcast interview touched on his personal story of a dysfunctional family of origin and difficult childhood then outlined a bit of how the trajectory of his life changed. I wanted to know more.

I enjoyed Doty's memoir. Weaving together his childhood experience at the magic shop in Lancaster, California where he met an unexpected teacher, and his adult life as a neurosurgeon, Doty outlines the "magic tricks" of mindfulness — relaxing the body, clearing the mind, opening the heart, setting intentions. The medical research that now backs up what was once considered woo-woo, or easter mysticism was especially interesting.

"When our brain changes, we change. But an even greater truth is that when our heart changes, everything changes. And that change is not only in how we see the world but in how the world sees us. And in how the world responds to us." 151 ( )

Change your brain, change your life. This inspiring book tells you how.