Doty's book, Mind Magic, made sense to me. With one glaring exception.

Well, today I finished reading James Doty's book, Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything. I started off liking the book more than how I ended up liking it. 

The general thrust of Mind Magic is hard to argue with. The human mind is like an iceberg: the conscious tip, which we're aware of, is much smaller than the subconscious bulk, which we aren't aware of.

Yet thoughts, emotions, perceptions, and such mostly bubble up from the subconscious rather than our conscious awareness. We all are familiar with thoughts that appear unbidden and depart without a conscious goodbye. Emotions, even more so.

Still, the conscious aspect of us is important, obviously. Leaving aside the question of whether we have free will (Doty says it doesn't really matter if we do), every experience, whether it be conscious or subconscious, has an impact on us.

This means that we can influence how the subconscious operates through our conscious thoughts, visualizations, intentions, and goals. In this way our mind can become attuned to facilitating what we want to have happen. 

In my first post about the book, I shared a passage from the introduction that summarized the Mind Magic approach.

There is much confusion about manifestation in popular culture, so before I go any further, here is what I mean by the term: manifesting is defining an intention such that it gets embedded into our subconscious, which functions below the level of consciousness. By doing so, we activate brain networks associated with goal orientation that make an intention important, salient, or noteworthy.

In practice, this means that regardless of whether or not that intention is present on a conscious level, brain mechanisms that remain focused on the goal are activated around the clock. Our inner intention now guides our life. By using our inner power to tap the vast resources of our own brain, we gradually decrease the impact of our external environment and begin living from our deepest intentions.

In fact, the first step in successfully manifesting is to separate yourself from the belief that there is an external source for solving your problems and that this external source is what is manifesting in your life. If you want to live a rich, meaningful, and prosperous life, you do not have to appease any power beyond yourself.

I really liked what Doty said here, including how he began his book.

THE UNIVERSE DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU.

It may not sound like it, but this is good news. The universe doesn't give a fuck about you, not because you are not worthy or are out of alignment with the cosmos or have been put under a curse for ten generations. No, the universe doesn't give a fuck about you because it has no fucks to give.

Many of us are taught to spend our lives hoping for something outside of ourselves to fix our problems and make us whole: a winning lottery ticket, a wise guide who knows all the answers, a guru, a guardian angel, or some magical being, force, energy, or genie sitting out there in the universe who will make everything work out for us. For years I longed to believe this, too.

I thought there was a stern cosmic parent tracking all our actions and deciding if we were worthy to receive our dream house or to meet our soulmate or to be cured of cancer. As a neuroscientist and physician, I know today that we have no proof of such a force or being but we have a great deal of scientific evidence of the power of our own minds to produce changes in our lives that may at first appear impossible. This is the practice of manifestation. 

However, I got the feeling after reading the final chapters that either Doty decided to alter the message of the universe not giving a fuck about us, or an editor of his publisher advised he do this, since manifesting is a trendy topic and likely most of those interested in this subject believe that, as in The Secret, the universe actually does bring us what we desire if we approach the "I do give a fuck about you" universe in the correct way.

The best example of this in Mind Magic is in the final chapter before the conclusion, "Step Six: Release Expectations and Open to Magic."

Doty describes the tale of Lynne Twist, an executive for the Hunger Project, who took a trip to Guatemala and  "had an extraordinary experience, led by a shaman in the mountains" that led her to feel she should "devote her energies to the project of protecting the Sacred Headwaters and its Indigenous people."

Soon after, Doty says, Twist received a gift.

"It sounds terrible," she says, "but the gift I received from the universe was malaria." In fact, there were two strains of it at once, one from India and the other from Ethiopia.

For many months she couldn't do her Hunger Project job. When she got better, she realized that she didn't need to go back to that job.

As Lynne describes it, the mystical power of the rainforest and the power of the Indigenous people's voices drew her toward them, and the seduction of the natural world became almost an obsession... "I believe the circumstances of my illness arranged themselves to ensure this huge life pivot or reallocation of who I am and what I was about."

Doty says:

This is indeed a subtle practice, because part of the power of the manifesting techniques is to ground our intention in highly specific and emotionally coded visualizations. However, we have to remember that the high level of detail in our visualizations is for classifying our intention as important within the subconscious, not for actually exerting influence on our external world.

In other words, holding a powerfully imagined and emotionally resonant vision of our intention in our minds allows our subconscious to guide our activity, but the results of that activity come from the world around us and what it needs... The reality is that we rarely need to know exactly how our intention will be realized or how we will reach our destination. We only need to look for the next right step.

Now, I readily admit that these passages are much less objectionable than the craziness of The Secret, which did indeed claim that thoughts alone can change the objective circumstances of one's life. All I'm pointing out is that Doty is skating on the edge of the universe responding to our intentions, though he doesn't quite go that far.

I did end up with quite a few question marks penned in the margin of that final chapter. Also, in the Conclusion, where Doty writes:

In my life, I have experienced the power of manifesting in ways that I cannot explain. When I first began the practice, I devoted all my energy and attention and heart to making sure my family's rent was paid so that we would not be evicted from our apartment. Out of the blue, a man who owed my father for a job showed up at our door and handed me an envelope full of money -- enough to pay our rent with plenty left over for food.

I remember the excitement and joy I felt as I rushed as fast as I could on my bike, with tears in my eyes, to share the news with Ruth. That was my first taste of the true power of the practice. From a neuroscience point of view, I cannot say how I influenced the situation, but the wonder I felt laid the foundation for my belief in manifesting.

Since then, I have had countless similar experiences that may defy scientific logic but nonetheless speak to the inner power of setting an intention in the heart and mind.

To me it isn't a good sign when an author uses the phrase "that may deny scientific logic" in a book whose subtitle says "the neuroscience of manifestation." But I liked the final paragraph of the book, though it seems to be somewhat at odds with what Doty said above.

Lying back and taking in the beauty, abundance, and connection in my life, I remember the good news: it is the realization that the universe isn't separate from you but that you are the universe, and it is only you who can give a fuck. It is only you that can harness the power within yourself. And that is the real magic.

Comments

[Ron E.]

Oh dear, my inbuilt scepticism monitor starts clanging away on reading these excerpts from Doty’s ‘Mind Magic’. I can go along with (in fact it makes sense) that the brain can be stuck in its established prediction processes where it prepares for action based on past experiences, but, with some effort, perhaps through new experiences or engaging in new activities, and really importantly, listening to other’s point of view, our predictions can widen or even change – perhaps for the better.

With regard to Doty’s instance of the lady who, following her illness dropped her job with the Hunger Project, I can only say that something like and illness can perhaps give one a different perspective on life and may well result in a totally different outlook and ensuing life changes.

And Doty’s experience of the man who turned up to pay what he owed to Doty’s father; I have to say that I have more faith in peoples (the debtor) honesty than I have in the power of the universe as to manifesting.

Again, from a purely natural and observational point of view, I don’t see the universe as being separate from us; in fact, it is apparently only our thinking and self-maintaining drives that keeps us feeling separate from ourselves – and each other.

[Appreciative Reader]

Right. So, it is as it appeared to me, basis my partial reading of Doty’s message. His message per se is good and healthy and affirming and positive; however, the manifestation part is woo. In other words, one would have no issues with his message, if only he were to remove both the manifestation label from it, as well as everything else in his message that that entails.

That specific example you bring up here speaks volumes. Doty’s working away to pay bills. But then someone pops up, and unexpectedly hands him an envelope full of money, enough to pay his bills and rent for the next month or two. And Doty connects these two unrelated events, and claims --- only through implication, but nevertheless the claim is unmistakable --- that his working to pay his bills had somehow and to some extent caused the “serendipity” of that man turning up with the money. …So that, no matter that Doty keeps claiming that he’s not into woo-woo land, but nevertheless woo-woo is exactly what his message is (or at least, what the manifestation part of his message amounts to).

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That said, absolutely, his message otherwise, generally, is completely positive, good. And also, I’m struck by the man’s completely transparent sincerity. I don’t know if a book can quite convey that aspect, but if you’d watch that video I’d spoken about, you’d know what I mean. The man seems completely decent, completely honest, and actuated by genuine, deep compassion.

Heh, so that, I found myself loath to doubt his message, when watching that vid! …But of course, that’s nonsense. A claim like this either stands or does not stand, and whether or not one likes the claimant has nothing to do with it!

(Which still leaves one small loose end. The matter of how Doty won back his lost fortune. Was it by using his manifestation message, as Rhonda Byrne had? Or was it basis his practice as surgeon, and his other entrepreneurial ventures, that had already one time made him a many-many-times-multi-millionaire? If the former, then that kind of changes things, for me.)

(But of course, that’s an unimportant detail. Our main concern is the message, not the person. So, no need to drag that detail out, I guess.)

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Thanks, Brian!

Thanks for that clear, unequivocal resolution to the issues I’d raised in my last two comments, in the other thread. Appreciate it.

And thanks also for introducing us to Dr Doty’s work. It’s still a great message, if only we leave out the Manifestation woo. And in any case, and regardless of how it did turn out, it was great to be able to learn about and to explore Dr Doty’s work through your posts.

[Trez]

Mind magic a something that Radha Soami Gurinder Singh Dhilion does on the sangat on stage.

He's known for his darshan as he comes on to the stage the first thing he does is looks from the right to the left side at the sangat in an unusual way doing something to everyonr with his eyes and then sits there doing nothing

This is know as mind magic or some say black magic
The sangat is subdued and under an influence to now listen to the satsang and do whatever is said.
This is mind control and then the sangat is under his influence at a later stage and follow him endlessly and do whatever he says.
They get initiation and repeat the 5 evil names which lead to a place called an hell or Radha Soami dham.
Don't be fooled do that research first before following such an evil path headed by Gurinder Singh Dhilion as Radha Soami Cult

[Spence Tepper]

If we could gain control over our minds that just raises the question of who is the one controlling the mind?

If it's mind controlling mind that's just children running with scissors.

Whether you have faith in an unknown God or faith in an unknown universe it's still faith in things we don't actually understand or know.

But Doty's kind of ethics-free, morally plastic faith doesn't require submission, forgiveness, or acceptance. It doesn't require loyalty to someone else's will or direction, even the simple acknowledgement that others don't exist to serve our goal, but to connect with for a common and higher purpose that requires we put our desires on the back burner.

There is no integrity or character in it. Just send in your visualized order and let the chef, as yur serveant, bring it to your table.

Yah, I'm pretty sure any version even close to reality doesn't work that way.

[Appreciative Reader]

Not quite, Spence. …If you wouldn’t mind my sticking my oar in, just a little bit!

Doty’s “teachings” aren’t ethics-free, on the contrary. And they explicitly bring in ideas of forgiveness and acceptance; and submission as well, in as much acceptance, even when things are hard and even when what we’re looking for doesn’t actually materialize, equates to submission.

True, Doty’s teachings don’t *necessarily* require loyalty to someone else’s will or direction; but in what sane world is that a bad thing?

Also, Doty’s message most certainly does not look at others as “exist(ing) to serve our goal”. On the contrary, Doty explicitly and repeatedly talks about “serving” others, to the extent even of taking the focus off of oneself and focusing on serving others.

As for not connecting with “a higher purpose that requires we put our desires on the back burner”: in an everyday sense, when that higher purpose equates to working towards our own deeper desires, or working to serve others, then Doty’s message is explicitly about that; and if you meant that in some ultimate sense, that is beyond self-actuation and beyond simply serving others for the sake of it and not with any higher ends in mind, well then to imagine there’s any such purpose is itself woo, and this brand of woo Doty keeps well away from, which, far from being a bad thing, is a very good thing.

And, far from lacking “integrity and character”, Doty’s message, Doty’s teachings, are filled to the brim with that.

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No, what’s wrong with Doty’s message is none of what you criticize. Where Doty misses the mark is where he, firstly, mixes in some pure woo in his message, and, secondly, the part about the manifestation per se. Although Doty labels his message as manifestation, but if only he would (or we would, at our end, when reading him) cut out those two specific things from his message, even then what we’re left with is a (very) great deal of very sound, healthy, positive, affirming teachings and methods and messages.

(Well, bar that bit about whether or not Doty climbed back out of his financial hole, and back into opulent abundance, via the very manifestation message he’s now teaching. If that’s the case, then I agree about the lack of integrity: but even so, for very different reasons than what you talk about here.)

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Haha, sorry, Spence, I really shouldn’t have! Old habits!

But I enjoyed reading your exchange with um, very much! And I love that you’re back now, and um’s in full flow as well, just like old times. But I didn’t even think to poke in on that exchange myself, and I really shouldn’t have, here either. Still. I’ve typed this out, and I’ll just click Submit anyway.

Cheers, old friend.