Hacking your brain for happiness | James Doty | TEDxSacramento

Dr. James Doty explains the neurological benefits of Compassion. "Project Compassion" has now turned into a leading research and educational institution and the only institution solely focused on the study of Compassion, Altruism and Empathy.

Compassion improves the world; yet the world around us seems ever in need of greater feats of compassion. How, then, can we create more compassion and inspire compassionate acts? And how is it that the brain and the heart work together to create compassion in the first place? James Robert Doty, M.D., tackles these tough questions, examining the neural, mental, and social bases of compassion. He serves as Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and Founder and Director of Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) – of which the Dalai Lama is the founding benefactor. He serves as Chairman of the Dalai Lama Foundation and as a member of the International Advisory Board of the Council of the Parliament of the World's Religion. He has just release his first book, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx