>> Hi, I'm Lewis Howes, New York Times best selling author and entrepreneur.

And welcome to the "School of Greatness", where we interview the most influential minds in the world to inspire you to live your best life today.

And in this episode, neurosurgeon and author, Dr.

James Doty explores the fascinating science of manifestation and how it connects to our beliefs, emotions, and actions.

Dr.

Doty breaks down the difference between the Law of Attraction and manifestation, shining a light on the immense power of our subconscious mind.

And it was a pleasure to sit down with Dr.

Doty, who unfortunately has passed away since we recorded this interview.

He was a very kind man who had a mission to bring his message and more knowledge about manifestation to the world.

And I'm honored to be able to bring this message to you today in this episode.

Let's go ahead and dive in and let the class begin.

♪♪ ♪♪ Kind of walk us through these different steps on the process of manifestation.

So first, I wanted to ask you a question about the difference between the Law of Attraction and manifestation.

Are they the same thing or are they different?

>> Well, if you look historically at the Law of Attraction, it goes back to Hermetics, which is this group in the first or second century AD, and there was this belief in the mind, and they used the terminology, the Law of Attraction.

And of course, then there's a guy, I think his name is Phineas Quimby, who then promoted this further.

And this was in the 18th century or so.

And then, of course -- or 19th century.

And then we had, who was it?

"Think and Grow Rich".

>> Napoleon Hill.

>> Yes, and -- and sort of continued on that path.

So, it is this narrative that there is this universal power that when you want something, if you, whatever, use the right methods, you will get it.

And -- And it's of course, been embraced by the group who sort of promotes woo-woo and pseudoscience.

And that's not to say there's not a kernel of truth, but it's been surrounded by all sorts of other aspects that I think diminish the actual power of it.

>> Mm.

So there is power in the Law of Attraction?

>> Well, you could say it's synonymous.

The manner in which it is used is synonymous with manifestation.

The question is, I think, more importantly, all of us are manifesting every day, right?

Most of us do it very efficiently, right?

>> Right.

>> You know, because everybody sits there and says, "I want X, Y, or Z, or I wish for this to happen."

I think there are techniques you can use that can maximize the potential for your manifesting your intentions.

So learning how the brain works and how those techniques work maximize that.

So you go -- It's like an athlete, as you well know.

You know, if you've never been taught something, you try it for the first time, you sort of stumble through it.

>> Yeah.

>> Frankly, most people stumble through life.

Right?

And then as you practice it, or you learn from people who, you know, have the knowledge, then you perfect it and -- and then you understand the...if you want to say, the neuroscience underpinnings of it and how you make these, what we call cognitive brain networks interact, and then you've taken it from sort of, well, it might happen, I thought about it, to there's a high likelihood it will happen.

>> How -- I mean, how -- People talk about the conscious mind and the subconscious mind.

What is at play when we start to think about things we want to manifest, and actually actualizing them in the physical, material world?

Is it the conscious mind or the subconscious mind that is driving this manifestation process?

>> Well, that's an excellent question.

So the key is how do you get information which sticks into your subconscious.

So just saying "I want this," it may or may not work because, again, we're also distracted by all sorts of stuff.

You know, as an example, we have about 10 million bits of information coming in through our sensory organs every second.

>> 10 million?

>> Million.

Yes.

And we're only able to process, on a conscious level, 50 to 100.

Okay?

So now most of that goes to maintaining homeostasis or functioning of our body systems on an unconscious level.

But we have actually access to our subconscious level, and you can learn that through different techniques and then utilize those to maximize the input.

And so when I say you have 50 to 100 bits, you can use part of that to consciously embed your intention.

If you know how to do that.

>> Interesting.

Wow.

Okay.

And as a, you know, as a brain surgeon and a neuroscientist yourself, what did you learn through working on physical brains, the matter, as well as neuroscience, in terms of, I guess, creating this for your life, a more harmonious, abundant life, studying both the brain and the mind?

>> Well, in some ways, I mean, being a neurosurgeon is a physical task, and it's not as if there are little signs on the brain that tell you where everything is.

Now certainly we know from anatomy generally where things are.

But you have to remember, I mean, there's a subset of people who, you know, we talk about our speech center being on the left side, but there's a subset of people that's on the right side.

>> Really?

>> Yes.

>> How do you know that?

>> You don't, unless there's something that interferes with it or you specifically test for it.

So in general, the anatomy is pretty consistent.

But, you know, it's like looking at somebody, you know, you're tall, there's a short person.

And that's the way the brain works.

Not everyone is wired the same way or has everything in the exact spot.

And in fact, as an example, let's say you play the violin, the homunculus, which is both the sensory and motor area that has different representations of body parts, if you're a violinist, the area associated with your hand, or hands, get dramatically increased in size compared to other parts of your brain.

>> Interesting.

>> And in fact, the same is true with certain types of meditation practices.

Right?

So you can have a profound effect on your brain, uh, physical brain, uh, and certainly you have power over your mind.

And in some ways, that's what we're talking about, is -- and this goes back, you mentioned, the Law of Attraction, you know, all is in the mind.

And I think, in fact, some of the things you talk about, you understand that when you are disciplined and can get access, you can make things happen.

>> Well, one of the things you talk about in the book is this phenomenon of vibration.

And, you know, it's interesting because there's brainwaves, but there's also heart energy, or vibration, as well.

And I think you mentioned about how the heart vibration is actually, I don't know, 10 or 50 times more powerful than the brainwaves, I think.

Correct?

>> Yeah.

Actually, you can measure the vibrational energy from the heart at 5 or 6 feet away.

And, you know, this is where it gets confusing between the woo-woo and the reality, because a lot of people will wrap all sorts of other baggage onto that.

But it's true.

And the interesting thing about that, though, is, and I'm sure you appreciated it, you can meet people who have an energy about them and a presence about them, and it makes you feel good.

Yeah.

And typically these are people who are non-judgmental, accepting, open, and respect who you are as a person.

They don't look down at you and you want to be around those people.

And those people emit this very positive energy.

>> That's interesting.

Yeah.

>> And this idea of vibration has, actually, an influence on things.

>> On other things.

>> Yeah.

Uh-huh.

>> So if I'm acting chaotic and I'm constantly in the state of chaos, if I'm around someone else, I may influence them to create that type of vibration, as well, or vice versa.

They might influence me, if they're calmer, for me to get calm.

>> Yes.

Yes, absolutely.

And in fact -- >> Which one wins?

>> That's a good question.

I mean, it depends on how powerful that energy is.

And that energy can be very powerful, negative or positive.

I think you would agree most people try to avoid being around negative people.

>> Of course.

>> You know, there's a saying that, what do they call them?

Energy eaters, I think, you know.

You're around them.

It's like -- In fact, I got called by a woman the other day, and I just dread getting a call from her, ever, because it always turns into a drama about her.

And you sit there and it's just over and over again, and it's sad because... And we can talk about this more.

All of us carry baggage from our childhoods, right?

>> Yes.

>> And until you are aware that the baggage you carry has an influence on every decision you make, every relationship you have, you can't change.

As an example, I'm sure you've seen situations where individuals repeatedly pick an abusive partner.

>> Yes.

>> Over and over again.

"I don't understand why this happens to me."

Because you have created that energy that allows that to happen.

And I'm not blaming.

I'm just saying that this is true.

So if you never understood, as an example, that while when I was a kid I had an abusive father and, you know, he would be mean to me or hurt me, the problem is, you know, that becomes familiar to you.

And even though it's painful and hurts you, it is something that's associated with a love figure.

>> Interesting.

>> And it's -- it's really very sad, actually.

>> I mean, how -- I mean, a lot of our programming and conditioning sounds like it is wired in us at a very young age, and we have been conditioned by 7, 8, 9, 10 to have a set of beliefs, way of thinking, and a way of feeling around our environments and relationships.

And then we live with it for 10, 20, 30 years, until we start to become aware of it, hopefully sooner.

But we kind of repeat these patterns until there's a breakdown, or there's a sadness or a breakup or something that gets us to wake up.

How hard is it to change our belief systems that have been wired in us for decades?

>> Well, it's very hard.

I mean, you see it every day.

You see people who become addicted to alcohol and drugs.

And, you know, it's not because they want to live that life.

It's because they're in such pain from the baggage they carry and they have no way out.

>> That's the coping mechanism.

>> Yes.

>> The relief.

>> Yes.

And so it's very sad.

And as you pointed out, until there is a profound, painful event that gets their attention, many of them won't change.

>> Is it possible for people to change if they don't go through some type of painful, dramatic event?

>> Well, you know, there's a saying, "The teacher comes when the student's ready."

If the student's not ready, it's hard to change.

Now, don't get me wrong, you know, there are certainly instances where somebody, like, wakes up one day and they go, "I don't like this."

You know, "I feel horrible that, you know, I've just ruined this relationship.

I need to have an internal assessment of myself and talk to some people and to give me insight."

Yes, you can do that.

But it's hard.

And even for me, as an example, as a child, I learned a sort of a manifestation technique from a woman in a magic shop.

And this is actually about my first book, 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 that story is about my own childhood, growing up in poverty with an alcoholic father and a mother who had had a stroke when I was a child... >> Wow.

>> ...was partially paralyzed, had a seizure disorder, and chronically depressed and attempted suicide multiple times, and we were on public assistance.

Well, you know, you can imagine overcoming that baggage is very, very hard.

And... But this is also an example of how one person can intervene and change somebody's life.

And so what happened was I had an interest in magic.

And... And that's actually the name of this book is "Mind Magic".

And it ended up -- When my parents would -- some event would happen, which was traumatic, I would get on my bicycle and ride as far and as fast away as I could.

And I ended up at a strip mall, and there was a magic shop there.

And I walked in and there was a woman there who was, as I described, this radiant person with this incredible smile, whose very presence embraced her, and I was 12.

>> Wow.

>> And I was filled with despair, hopelessness.

And it turned out she was the owner's mother.

She knew nothing about magic.

>> Really?

>> Yes, but we began a conversation, and -- and she was giving me chocolate chip cookies, which was -- >> Great.

Exactly what you needed at that time.

>> But the thing is, she asked me, actually, some personal questions, which, frankly, you know, who wants to tell somebody you're poor, your father's not --?

[ Laughs ] But I answered her questions, and after a while, she said to me, she said, "You know, I really like you.

I think I can teach you something that could really help you."

And what she taught me was what we would now call a mindfulness practice.

Because, as you know, talking about baggage, when you grow up in a unpredictable, chaotic environment, you're essentially in a war zone every day.

>> Yes.

>> As a result, it chronically stimulates your sympathetic nervous system or your flight, fight, or fear response.

And what happens is that affects your brain in the sense that it cuts down options, because you're looking at the shortest distance you have to go to survive.

As a result, you can never relax.

You're always fidgety.

You're always looking around because you never know what's going to happen next.

So she taught me a technique, I would call a body survey now, how to relax your body.

And then she taught me how to concentrate, in this case, by looking at a candle and doing a breathing exercise.

And these are the fundamental techniques associated with mindfulness practice, because then it shifts you from engagement of your sympathetic nervous system to engagement of your parasympathetic nervous system, which is really where we should live.

You're open, you're thoughtful.

You have access to your executive control areas in the brain, in terms of memory and experience, and you're much more creative.

And so when you're able to make that shift, that changes how you look at the world.

The other problem is from these types of backgrounds, but I would say essentially everyone, we have a negative dialogue going on in our head.

>> An inner critic.

>> Yes.

And as much as, you know, people say, you know, I always ask this question when I give a talk and, you know, almost everybody raises their head and then some don't.

And you go, "Look, dude, you're lying, man."

[ Laughs ] Everybody has an inner critic.

It's just some are much more powerful than others.

And so she also taught me to recognize that that wasn't truth.

>> The inner critic?

>> Yes.

Because if you -- and being an athlete, I'm sure you know -- if you tell yourself it's not possible, by definition, it is not possible.

It cannot happen.

And so when people listen to that, they are giving their self-agency away.

And in some ways, this is the nature of how we take control of our manifestation.

And as you know from the first sentence in the book, it says, the universe doesn't give a [No audio] about you because it has no [No audio] to give.

There is not some external entity deciding your fate because you're good or bad guy.

But we have immense power within us to control our destiny.

And when you give it away and listen to that critic, then you're limiting your beliefs.

So the key is, how do you unlimit your beliefs, if you will.

And that is understanding the incredible power you have within yourself.

When you sit there and say every day, "I'm not worthy, I don't deserve love.

It's not possible.

I'm an imposter.

I can't do it."

it's as if you're building a prison for yourself with bricks.

And the wall gets higher and it gets darker, and you feel more and more powerless, and you feel like there's some external force controlling your life.

When you understand within you is an incredible power to change your destiny, and you have that power and finally you recognize it, then extraordinary things can happen.

And this is how you go from you being in charge, or let's say, a belief that others are in charge, to actually you being in charge.

>> But how did -- I mean, how did you learn to break free of the limiting beliefs that you had, the fight or flight symptoms that you were constantly in, which I felt as a kid, as well, and felt very insecure, stupid, and unlovable for many different reasons.

And I was able to back it with beliefs and evidence throughout my childhood.

How did you learn to break the limiting beliefs and create more empowering beliefs to support you, to feel emotionally free and start to attract more of what you wanted in your life?

>> Well, first of all, I don't want to imply that that journey's done.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> You know, sometimes people look at you and they go, "Man, you have it all together now."

None of us have it all together, right?

Every one of us is still a frail, fragile human being who is struggling.

And some of us are a little further on that journey.

Others are continuing to have difficulty.

But interacting with this woman made me see the world through a different lens.

Because when you have negative statements that you tell yourself repeatedly, as I said, that takes away your agency... >> Yes.

>> ...your own power.

>> You feel powerless.

>> Yes.

And -- But the thing is, then, when you're beating up yourself and you're typically the most critical person of yourself than anyone you know, then you look through the lens of being critical to everyone else.

>> Interesting.

So when we are critical of ourselves, does that support us in creating great relationships with others?

>> No, oftentimes it's very damaging because you're always thinking of, "Oh, well, they're going to cheat on me.

They're going to lie," because you're telling yourself these types of narratives.

And so, it's hard to be authentic.

>> When you're critical of self.

>> Yes, yes.

And this goes back to a whole 'nother discussion, if you will, about if you look at the blue zones as an example, obviously we're jumping around all over the place here, but -- >> Loma Linda's right down the street an hour away, one of the blue zones.

>> Yes.

Of course.

But if you look at the blue zones or you look at the work of the Harvard longevity or Adult Development study, it's called.

>> Yeah, yeah.

>> But this is the work of Robert Waldinger.

Centuries ago, when we lived in villages, we were born there.

We had a community that, even with our flaws, still loved us and watched out for us and taught us lessons.

We had our parents, our siblings, our grandparents in proximity to us, and the very nature of that, actually, you don't have that negative dialogue going on.

Okay?

It is a negative dialogue that's extraordinarily unhealthy.

Because, you see, when you're always stressed and anxious and negative towards yourself, well, what does this do?

This stimulates your sympathetic nervous system, which then does what?

It results in the production of inflammatory proteins, which, of course, are associated with chronic disease states.

It depresses your immune system.

It increases the levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which on a chronic basis are very bad for you.

Your cardiac function is impaired, your blood pressure is increased.

So all these negative aspects are activated when you're constantly hyper critical.

>> Wow.

>> Right?

And then you don't feel that good.

>> Right.

You feel tired, you feel exhausted, drained.

>> And the other aspect is, as an example, with my own parents, I used to have a sense that it wasn't that I wasn't loved, but I was ignored.

I couldn't understand why they would do these actions.

And I was angry all the time.

And when I changed how I looked at the world, it made me much more sympathetic and kind because I realized everyone is suffering on some level.

And the issue wasn't that they didn't care.

The issue was they had not had tools to help themselves.

>> To heal, to process, to regulate.

>> Exactly.

And so, you know, I'm sure you've known people.

You watch them go through their lives and they constantly struggle because no one has ever shown them a different way.

And that's the only way.

And sometimes, I think you're probably thinking, yes, I've shown them a thousand times and they don't listen.

>> They're not willing.

>> Yes.

>> They've got to be willing to apply, right?

>> It's back to the question of the teacher.

>> If they're ready, too, yeah.

>> Yes, yes, yes.

But the reason I was saying that, though, is that, in many ways, sets the stage for how you're going to respond.

So this interaction with this woman, I was able to self-regulate.

>> She taught you skills.

>> Yes, she taught me a mindfulness practice.

>> And you were ready for it.

>> Exactly.

And so I realized, once I was able to relax, once I was able to be present and attend -- Because you can't learn anything or change if your mind is always somewhere, right?

In my example, growing up, you know, I never knew what was going to happen.

So I'm always worried about something happening to me.

But the action is here between you and I. It's not about possibilities.

And this also limits people's power, right?

Because if you can't focus and attend, you can't accomplish.

Right?

And if you're always distracted, it's -- it's not possible.

So she taught me to relax.

She taught me to be present.

And -- And then strange things happen because you're feeling a different type of energy coming from others and yourself.

And that energy has an influence.

As an example, I'm sure that you've seen the situation and -- where you get a bad vibe from somebody on the street and you cross the street.

>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> Well -- And you are picking up something on an intuitive level.

But the thing is, if you have anger and hostility yourself, you are emanating that to other people.

And what I tell people is when I changed how I looked at myself, it changed how I looked at the world.

And that changed how the world reacted to me.

>> And how the world looked at you as well.

>> Exactly.

So after this period of time with this woman, I was much more open.

I was thoughtful, I was generous, I was kind, and I -- because I understood I had been in pain and was in pain, but so were other people.

So it changed how I looked at them.

>> Wow.

>> And I think that's a very critical aspect of sort of maturing and sort of being on a path of self-development.

>> That's beautiful.

What would you say then is the -- What is the -- the number one thought and number one emotion that blocks us from the ability to manifest greater?

>> Fear.

What type of fear?

>> Well, it's insecurity.

It's shame.

And it's -- This results in you limiting your beliefs.

And so in some ways, what we're talking about here, actually, is a decision between fear and love.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> Right?

You know, I'm sure you've known people, you watch them go through their lives and they constantly struggle because no one has ever shown them a different way.

When you love, you're open, you're generous, you're thoughtful, you're kind because you've engaged the parasympathetic nervous system.

>> This topic is extremely Interesting for so many people because a lot of people are suffering and they want to have a better life, but they don't know how to create the life.

So bringing neuroscience research and your own practical lessons into this work, sharing it here for people for free, creating it in a book, people can follow the program, and everything else you're sharing with the world, I just really acknowledge you for the contribution you are making, currently, on humanity, and I'm grateful for the wisdom and the lessons that you share.

So I wanted to share that with you.

>> Well, thank you, I appreciate that.

That's very kind.

>> Yeah.

You're welcome.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and found it valuable.

Stay tuned for more from the "School of Greatness", coming soon on public television.

Again, I'm Lewis Howes, and if no one has told you lately, I want to remind you that you are loved, you are worthy, and you matter.

Now it's time to go out there and do something great.

If you'd like to continue on the journey of greatness with me, please check out my website, lewishowes.com, where you'll find over 1,000 episodes of the "School of Greatness" show, as well as tools and resources to support you in living your best life.

>> The online course, Find Your Greatness, is available for $19.

Drawn from the lessons Lewis Howes shares in the "School of Greatness".

This interactive course will guide you through a step by step process to discover your strengths, connect to your passion, and purpose, and help create your own blueprint for greatness.

To order, go to lewishowes.com/TV.

♪♪ ♪♪