Into the Magic Shop: The Alphabet of the Heart

I recently listened to a video on Tulane Medical School website on Compassion given by Dr. James Doty. I really enjoyed the way he shared his magical life story and then his daily pneumonic that helps him start the day and whenever he gets stressed he repeats it. I was able to type a google search and found his Alphabet of the Heart that he shared. Here is an excerpt from his book Into the Magic Shop. I look forward to using this great resource!

Excerpted from Chapter 11: The Alphabet of the Heart

by Dr. James Doty

Just as I had made a list of my goals so many years before, I made another list of ten. A list of the ten things that open the heart.

I sat with it. I read it over and over, and then I suddenly saw it as a mnemonic, CDEFGHIJKL. It was a way to remember each aspect of what I had learned. The alphabet of the heart. While I continued the components of the meditation practice that I was taught in the back of the magic shop so many years before, I began a new practice each morning of reciting this new alphabet. After relaxing my body and calming my mind, I would recite this alphabet and set one quality from the list of ten as my intention for the day. I said them in my head over and over again. I found that it centered me, not only as a physician but also as a human being. It allowed me to start my day with a powerful intention. 

THE ALPHABET OF THE HEART

C: Compassion is the recognition of the suffering of another with a desire to alleviate that suffering. Yet to be compassionate to another, you must be compassionate to yourself. Many people beat themselves up by being hypercritical, not allowing themselves to enjoy the same kindness that they would offer to others. And until one is truly kind to oneself, giving love and kindness to others is often impossible.

D: Dignity is something innate in every person. It deserves to be acknowledged and recognized. So often we make judgments about someone because of how they look, or talk, or behave. And many times such judgments are negative and wrong. We have to look at another person and think, "They are just like me. They want what I want -- to be happy." When we look at others and see ourselves, we want to connect and help.

E: Equanimity is to have an evenness of temperament even during difficult times. Equanimity is for the good times and the bad times because even during good times there is a tendency to try to maintain or hold that feeling of elation. But trying to hold on to the good distracts us from being present in the moment just as trying to flee from the bad does. Grasping at that feeling of elation is not realistic, not possible, and only leads to disappointment. All such ups and downs are transient. Keeping an evenness of temperament allows for clarity of mind and intention.

F: Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts one can give to another. It is also one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves. Many have used the analogy that holding anger or hostility against another you feel has wronged you is like drinking poison and hoping it kills the other person. It doesn't work. It poisons you. It poisons your interactions with others. It poisons your outlook on the world. Ultimately, it makes you the prisoner in a jail where you hold the key yet won't unlock the door. The reality is that each of us in our lives has wronged others. We are frail, fragile beings who at various times in our lives have not lived up to our ideal and have injured or hurt another.

G: Gratitude is the recognition of the blessing that your life is -- even with all its pain and suffering. It takes little effort to see how so many in the world are suffering and in pain. People whose circumstances allow little hope of a better life. Too often, especially in Western society, we look at each other and feel jealous or envious. Simply taking a few moments to have gratitude has a huge effect on your mental attitude. . . . You suddenly recognize how blessed you are.

H: Humility is an attribute that for many is hard to practice. We have pride about who we are or what we have accomplished. We want to tell and show others how important we are. How much better we are than someone else. The reality is that such feelings are actually a statement of our own insecurity. We are searching for acknowledgment of worth outside of ourselves. Yet doing so separates us from others. It's like being put in solitary confinement, and it's a lonely place to be. It is only when we recognize that, like us, every person has positive and negative attributes, and only when we look at one another as equals, that we can truly connect. It is that connection of common humanity that frees us to open our heart and care unconditionally. To look at another as an equal.

I: Integrity requires intention. It requires defining those values that are most important to you. It means consistently practicing those values in regard to your interaction with others. Our values can easily disintegrate, and the disintegration can at first be imperceptible. If we compromise our integrity once, it becomes that much easier to do it again. Few start out with such intent. Be vigilant and diligent.

J: Justice is a recognition that within each of us there lives a desire to see that right be done. It is easier when we have resources and privilege to have justice. Yet, we need to guard justice for the weak and the vulnerable. It is our responsibility to seek justice for the vulnerable, to care for the weak, to give to the poor. That is what defines our society and our humanity and gives meaning to one's life.

K: Kindness is a concern for others and is often thought of as the active component of compassion. A desire to see others cared for with no desire for personal benefit or recognition. The extraordinary thing is that research is now finding that your act of kindness not only benefits those who receive your kindness but benefits you as well. The act of kindness ripples out and makes it more likely that your friends and those around you will be kinder. It is a social contagion that puts our society right. And ultimately kindness returns back to us, in the good feelings it generates and in how others treat us . . . with kindness.

L: Love when given freely changes everyone and everything. It is love that contains all virtues. It is love that heals all wounds. Ultimately, it is not our technology or our medicine but our love that heals. And it is love that holds our humanity.

. . .

This mnemonic connects me to my heart and allows it to open. It allows me to begin each day with intention and purpose. And throughout the day, when I am stressed or feel vulnerable, it centers me in the place I wish to be. It is the language of my intention. It is the language of the heart.

Excerpted from "Into the Magic Shop"
Copyright © 2017 James R. Doty.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

James Doty, MD is a clinical professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University, where he also serves as director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). Dr. Doty is also an inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He serves as Chairman of the Board at the Dalai Lama Foundation, Vice-Chair of the Charter for Compassion International, and is on the International Advisory Board of the Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Dr. Doty authored the New York Times bestseller Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart.