A review by wildfl0wersss
Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty

4.0

alhamdulillah finally i finished reading this book. it's my first book finished at the start of 2022. in my opinion, the author's ideas about compassion and kindness, the magic of mind and heart collaboration, his CDEFGHIJKL, and visualizing meditation method are amazing and inspiring. his writing is eloquent and touching. i love those scientific facts about the benefits of calming the mind and opening the hearts and being kind and compassionate on one's health and life. i can understand all his stances and stories, except when he told about those medical terms and surgery procedures. it still appears abstract to me since i only know the basic science that primary and middle school taught me. the stories and narrative were able to make the readers cry in some parts and wrinkle their foreheads in some others.

nevertheless the ideas of his that i oppose since the author claimed himself as an atheist are that there's no God or the Supreme Being who creates everything in this universe, and that we can create everything, achieve anything we want in life with only the power of our mind and heart. those ideas aren't aligned with my belief as muslim with an islamic worldview. there was just something itching me when i read them. it just doesn't make sense for me because it's contradictive with his idea about humility.

but overall, this book taught me about the importance to believe in myself, to not belittle my capability to achieve my dreams, to be compassionate and kind to myself and others, and even to ponder and understand more about the teachings of my deen that related to the topics in this book.