Pineal power
by Chris Bennett
The pineal gland is the key to psychedelic enlightenment.
The pineal gland, located in the centre of the brain, is about a quarter of an inch in size, reddish-gray, and weighs about one-tenth of a gram. Unlike other parts of the brain which come in pairs, the pineal gland is singular. Its location in the center of the brain and presence in other species indicates it is an older part of humanity's evolutionary brain system.
The pineal gland is present in all lower vertebrae. In other species, like birds, reptiles and frogs, the pineal gland is called the parietal eye or "third-eye" as its functions closely resemble that of an actual eye. In these other species, the pineal gland has components of an actual eye, with a cornea, rod and cone. It is considered to be the vestige of a functional sense organ of early primitive vertebrates.
Directly affected by the light taken in through the eyes, the pineal regulates sleep, menstrual cycles, mating seasons, hibernation, seasonal flight patterns and many other "instinctual" behaviors.*1
Tryptamine trippiness
Psychedelic researcher Dr Rick Strassman has explained how the pineal gland "is quite active in synthesizing compounds related to serotonin, an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers allowing communication among individual nerve cells. Most typical psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and DMT are active in brain sites which are also affected by serotonin. In addition, most of these drugs are similar in their chemical structure to serotonin."*2
Strassman states that most of the above substances belong to the "tryptamine" class of drugs, and proposed that the pineal gland produces "one or two endogenous tryptamines found in human blood and cerebrospinal fluid. This latter fluid continually bathes the brain, and compounds found in it most likely affect brain function."*2
Strassman also explains how "psychedelic drugs, meditational states, spontaneous near-death experiences and other phenomena which may induce stereotypic death/rebirth and paradisal/hellish states act via the pineal gland."*3
Lyttle points to the universal mystic vision of God as an all-consuming white light, and postulates that on a physiological level, this experience is produced from chemical reactions in the pineal gland which is extremely light sensitive. "Light, the eyes and the 'third eye' or pineal gland form a triad which directly controls and regulates normal or altered consciousness and many bodily functions? these three factors are also directly related to, or implicated in, mystical states and the 'psychedelic' experience."*4
Visions of white light are not only associated with mysticism and psychedelic explorations, but are also a prevalent image recorded by those who experience the near-death state. A reason for this recurring theme in near-death states may be found with Dr Strassman, who suggests that after death, as the pineal gland shuts down, some of the chemical present in it may turn into "psychedelic" drugs!
According to Dr Strassman, the pineal gland may not only play an important role in death, but also in birth, possibly even in rebirth...
The pineal gland first becomes visible in the human fetus at the same time as does the clear differentiation of the fetus into female or male gender. The time for both of these events is 49 days, the period of time that, according to several Buddhist texts, the life force of a deceased individual coalesces around its next corporeal existence. If the life force does indeed enter through the pineal, the manifestation of this coming and going would be the release of psychedelic tryptamines, which would mediate the visionary experiences associated with near-death, and near-birth states.*2
Spiritual traditions
Certain initiatory cults, such as Tantrism, Kundalini and Gnosticism, acknowledged the role of the pineal gland in the spiritual process. The spiritual/instinctual life force was seen as a serpent, due to its physical structure extending from the genitals, through the spine and up into its single all-seeing eye in the pineal gland.
These spiritual systems focussed around the raising of this primordial serpentine energy, based in the genitals and at the core of the pro-creative process. Through certain yogic practices this energy can be reversed and forced to travel up the spine into the brain, where it is reputed to cause "enlightenment".
In the Kundalini system, which has seven distinct energy centers, the pineal gland has been variously identified with the "Ajnes Chakra" and alternatively the "Sahasrara Chakra". Both pre-Christian Mithraic and second century Gnostic texts also distinctly refer to the pineal gland in relation to seven distinct energy centers and this serpentine energy.
Not surprisingly, a common experience of those who have successfully raised their kundalini is the vision of all-consuming white light. More importantly, the devotee who successfully raises the kundalini experiences a radical switch in consciousness, obliterating the sense of individuation, and enters Nirvana.
Another potential reference to this curious little gland may occur at the end of the New Testament book of Revelation, where we find that the elect will know God intimately, "his name will be in their foreheads," which is where the pineal deeply lies. Noting the gland's strong connection with light, the rest of the passage is interesting: "There will be no more night; they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light."*5
Likewise in the Qabalistic tradition, the primordial archetypical man, Adam Kadmon, shines forth with a light from his forehead that was rich in complex patterns and linguistic symbols. Similar imagery occurs in the Persian tradition of the light-like sacred fluid, the "vivifying and spermatic" xvarenah. "Ahura Mazda is preeminently the possessor of xvarenah, but this 'flame' also springs from the forehead of Mithra and like a solar light emanates from the heads of sovereigns."*7
This mind-light from the forehead is also identical with the Eye of Shiva, which when opened in the individual burns away the concept of ego-bound consciousness, and when opened collectively has the potential to burn away the ties and fetters of the Old World Order.
Perhaps if enough modern psychonauts achieve the pineal experience we can push this new frame of mind onto the rest of ego-bound humanity. Here at the turning of the millennia, in the apocalyptic year of 1999, never has the potential for the state of mind which has been the goal of yogic sages, and psychedelic voyagers alike been so possible to attain for humanity as a whole.
Through philosophy we can understand it, through science we can identify it, through psychedelics we can experience it. So ask yourself "Are you experienced? - 'Cause I am!"*8
*1 The Columbia Encyclopedia, W. Bridgwater & S.Kurtz, Ed.'s, (Columbia University Press 1968).
*2 Strassman, Rick J. M.D.; Buddhism and Psychedelics: A Personal View, (1995)
*3 Strassman, Rick J.; The Pineal Gland: Current Evidence For Its Role In Consciousness, Psychedelic Monographs & Essays, Vol. 5, Thomas Lyttle, Ed., (1991).
*4 (Lyttle 1994)
*5 (Rev 22:24-25)
*6 Scholem, Gershom; Kabbalah, (Dorset Press 1974).
*7 Eliade, Mircea; A History of Religious Ideas, Vol.1; (University of Chicago Press 1978)
*8 Jimmy Hendrix
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/79.html
Showing posts with label pineal gland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pineal gland. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Fluoride & Pineal Gland
Fluoride & Pineal Gland
The Pineal Gland
Up until the 1990s, no research had ever been conducted to determine the impact of fluoride on the pineal gland - a small gland located between the two hemispheres of the brain that regulates the production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate the onset of puberty and helps protect the body from cell damage caused by free radicals.
It is now known - thanks to the meticulous research of Dr. Jennifer Luke from the University of Surrey in England - that the pineal gland is the primary target of fluoride accumulation within the body.
The soft tissue of the adult pineal gland contains more fluoride than any other soft tissue in the body - a level of fluoride (~300 ppm) capable of inhibiting enzymes.
The pineal gland also contains hard tissue (hyroxyapatite crystals), and this hard tissue accumulates more fluoride (up to 21,000 ppm) than any other hard tissue in the body (e.g. teeth and bone).
After finding that the pineal gland is a major target for fluoride accumulation in humans, Dr. Luke conducted animal experiments to determine if the accumulated fluoride could impact the functioning of the gland - particulalry the gland's regulation of melatonin.
Luke found that animals treated with fluoride had lower levels of circulating melatonin, as reflected by reduced levels of melatonin metabolites in the animals' urine. This reduced level of circulating melatonin was accompanied - as might be expected - by an earlier onset of puberty in the fluoride-treated female animals.
Luke summarized her human and animal findings as follows:
"In conclusion, the human pineal gland contains the highest concentration of fluoride in the body. Fluoride is associated with depressed pineal melatonin synthesis by prepubertal gerbils and an accelerated onset of sexual maturation in the female gerbil. The results strengthen the hypothesis that the pineal has a role in the timing of the onset of puberty. Whether or not fluoride interferes with pineal function in humans requires further investigation."
http://www.maya12-21-2012.com/dna.html
http://maya12-21-2012.com/2012forum/index.php?topic=3677.0
The Pineal Gland
Up until the 1990s, no research had ever been conducted to determine the impact of fluoride on the pineal gland - a small gland located between the two hemispheres of the brain that regulates the production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate the onset of puberty and helps protect the body from cell damage caused by free radicals.
It is now known - thanks to the meticulous research of Dr. Jennifer Luke from the University of Surrey in England - that the pineal gland is the primary target of fluoride accumulation within the body.
The soft tissue of the adult pineal gland contains more fluoride than any other soft tissue in the body - a level of fluoride (~300 ppm) capable of inhibiting enzymes.
The pineal gland also contains hard tissue (hyroxyapatite crystals), and this hard tissue accumulates more fluoride (up to 21,000 ppm) than any other hard tissue in the body (e.g. teeth and bone).
After finding that the pineal gland is a major target for fluoride accumulation in humans, Dr. Luke conducted animal experiments to determine if the accumulated fluoride could impact the functioning of the gland - particulalry the gland's regulation of melatonin.
Luke found that animals treated with fluoride had lower levels of circulating melatonin, as reflected by reduced levels of melatonin metabolites in the animals' urine. This reduced level of circulating melatonin was accompanied - as might be expected - by an earlier onset of puberty in the fluoride-treated female animals.
Luke summarized her human and animal findings as follows:
"In conclusion, the human pineal gland contains the highest concentration of fluoride in the body. Fluoride is associated with depressed pineal melatonin synthesis by prepubertal gerbils and an accelerated onset of sexual maturation in the female gerbil. The results strengthen the hypothesis that the pineal has a role in the timing of the onset of puberty. Whether or not fluoride interferes with pineal function in humans requires further investigation."
http://www.maya12-21-2012.com/dna.html
http://maya12-21-2012.com/2012forum/index.php?topic=3677.0
Pineal Gland, the Internal Eye
Pineal Gland, the Internal Eye
By Leonardo Vintiñi
MIND’S EYE: Buried deep within the center of the brain, the pineal gland has a structure similar to our lateral eyes.
For thousands of years, the pineal gland was recognized as the human body’s connection to deeper realms of thought—a window into other dimensions. While this notion has faded with the passing of time, science has begun to focus its efforts toward understanding the secret functions of the “hidden eye.”
The Pineal Gland
In my youth, chats with my father embraced both the scientifically observable and the paranormal. One of the most exciting topics I can remember was the phenomenon of near-death experiences, in which patients report temporary excursions outside their physical body while exhibiting clinical death. My father used to stress that over his years of study in medical school, he learned that organs permitting humans to observe scenes from outside their bodies do no exist beyond the physical eyes.
Twenty years later when I found myself in the corridors of the same university, an anatomy professor revealed a mysterious fact that my father had failed to mention during our discussions. He talked of a secret sheltered in a network of cells so small and hidden, yet still able to control vital metabolic processes. It was a hidden eye.
The Third Eye
Imagine a visual organ able to peer at spaces beyond our physical world. What strange creature possesses such curious abilities? Humankind. The pineal body, a tiny glandular treasure nestled in the center of the head, is not only capable of perceiving external light much like our pair of lateral eyes, but its actual structure is also similar to the common eye in a more primitive state.
The pineal gland performs a host of important bodily functions, such as sexual development, metabolism, and the production of melatonin. Yet scientists have found features present in the pineal gland that elude a simple explanation. Because of the unique structure of this organ, scientists have concluded that it must have once served some now latent functions. Modern medicine has revealed that this gland buried deep within the center of the brain contains photoreceptor cells. Yet the predominant opinion is that these features merely describe latent abilities from an earlier age in our evolution.
According to science’s evolutionary understanding of the pineal body, this organ once existed as a disordered system of nerve fibers located outside the surface of the skull. It specialized in capturing changes in light, providing its owner with more escape possibilities in the event of a predator’s attack. This understanding sees the pineal gland performing functions similar to the eyes, the only difference being in its curious insistence on receding inside the skull.
A recent hypothesis proposed by David Klein, head of Neuroendocrinology at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), suggests that primitive retinas had exercised the dual function of both capturing the image and producing melatonin. He believes that over time this latter function had migrated to the pineal gland, an emancipated organ, while the degeneration of the retina as a product of melatonin in mammals continues without coherent explanation.
Even though nowadays the pineal gland is recognized as being good for secreting endogens, it’s certain that it still contains an important photosensorial capacity, a bodily process that is scientifically recognized.
Surprisingly, if both eyes were removed and the anatomical path from the frontal area of this gland was exposed to light, this organ could still respond to stimulus in a similar manner as the lateral eyes. This fact has some researchers considering whether the pineal gland is more than a degenerated eye.
What if many of the still misunderstood processes of the brain reside in this small conical space?
A Window to Heightened Awareness
According to Dr. Sérgio Felipe de Oliveira, Master of Science at the University of São Paulo’s medical school and director of the Pineal Mind Clinic, an increase in pineal activity is intimately related with psychic activity such as visions or meditation.
Furthermore, besides the multiple endogenous functions of the pineal gland (control of the hypothalamus and biological rhythms, and protection from free radicals) it is also responsible for emitting N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), known by some as the “spirit molecule.” The liberation of this molecule is considered to be one of the most powerful hallucinogenic neurotransmitters known to man. It increases during sleep, in certain meditative states, during near-death experiences, as well as with the ingestion of hallucinogenic plants.
Skeptics question the validity of these supposed episodes of heightened awareness into other dimensional planes, preferring instead to believe such experiences to be merely chemically induced phenomena limited to the brain. But they have trouble offering a reasonable explanation for the relationship of the liberation of DMT (and the consequent formation of images in the pineal) with near-death experiences.
Such is recognized by Dr. Rick Strassman, who has conducted exhaustive studies of the effects of DMT in humans. Research of this kind begins to approach the pineal gland as more than a vestigial eye relegated to producing hormones, but as an inborn window into other planes of existence.
This view of the pineal gland is not new. It represents the sixth chakra of ajna spoken of in the Vedic tradition, the window of Brahma as it is known in Hinduism, the Celestial Eye as the ancient Chinese call it, the Niwan Palace as it is known by Taoists, or the “Seat of the Soul” according to Descartes.
Could this tiny cone hidden at the center of the brain embody the potential to peer into realms that science is simply unable to grasp?
By Leonardo Vintiñi
MIND’S EYE: Buried deep within the center of the brain, the pineal gland has a structure similar to our lateral eyes.
For thousands of years, the pineal gland was recognized as the human body’s connection to deeper realms of thought—a window into other dimensions. While this notion has faded with the passing of time, science has begun to focus its efforts toward understanding the secret functions of the “hidden eye.”
The Pineal Gland
In my youth, chats with my father embraced both the scientifically observable and the paranormal. One of the most exciting topics I can remember was the phenomenon of near-death experiences, in which patients report temporary excursions outside their physical body while exhibiting clinical death. My father used to stress that over his years of study in medical school, he learned that organs permitting humans to observe scenes from outside their bodies do no exist beyond the physical eyes.
Twenty years later when I found myself in the corridors of the same university, an anatomy professor revealed a mysterious fact that my father had failed to mention during our discussions. He talked of a secret sheltered in a network of cells so small and hidden, yet still able to control vital metabolic processes. It was a hidden eye.
The Third Eye
Imagine a visual organ able to peer at spaces beyond our physical world. What strange creature possesses such curious abilities? Humankind. The pineal body, a tiny glandular treasure nestled in the center of the head, is not only capable of perceiving external light much like our pair of lateral eyes, but its actual structure is also similar to the common eye in a more primitive state.
The pineal gland performs a host of important bodily functions, such as sexual development, metabolism, and the production of melatonin. Yet scientists have found features present in the pineal gland that elude a simple explanation. Because of the unique structure of this organ, scientists have concluded that it must have once served some now latent functions. Modern medicine has revealed that this gland buried deep within the center of the brain contains photoreceptor cells. Yet the predominant opinion is that these features merely describe latent abilities from an earlier age in our evolution.
According to science’s evolutionary understanding of the pineal body, this organ once existed as a disordered system of nerve fibers located outside the surface of the skull. It specialized in capturing changes in light, providing its owner with more escape possibilities in the event of a predator’s attack. This understanding sees the pineal gland performing functions similar to the eyes, the only difference being in its curious insistence on receding inside the skull.
A recent hypothesis proposed by David Klein, head of Neuroendocrinology at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), suggests that primitive retinas had exercised the dual function of both capturing the image and producing melatonin. He believes that over time this latter function had migrated to the pineal gland, an emancipated organ, while the degeneration of the retina as a product of melatonin in mammals continues without coherent explanation.
Even though nowadays the pineal gland is recognized as being good for secreting endogens, it’s certain that it still contains an important photosensorial capacity, a bodily process that is scientifically recognized.
Surprisingly, if both eyes were removed and the anatomical path from the frontal area of this gland was exposed to light, this organ could still respond to stimulus in a similar manner as the lateral eyes. This fact has some researchers considering whether the pineal gland is more than a degenerated eye.
What if many of the still misunderstood processes of the brain reside in this small conical space?
A Window to Heightened Awareness
According to Dr. Sérgio Felipe de Oliveira, Master of Science at the University of São Paulo’s medical school and director of the Pineal Mind Clinic, an increase in pineal activity is intimately related with psychic activity such as visions or meditation.
Furthermore, besides the multiple endogenous functions of the pineal gland (control of the hypothalamus and biological rhythms, and protection from free radicals) it is also responsible for emitting N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), known by some as the “spirit molecule.” The liberation of this molecule is considered to be one of the most powerful hallucinogenic neurotransmitters known to man. It increases during sleep, in certain meditative states, during near-death experiences, as well as with the ingestion of hallucinogenic plants.
Skeptics question the validity of these supposed episodes of heightened awareness into other dimensional planes, preferring instead to believe such experiences to be merely chemically induced phenomena limited to the brain. But they have trouble offering a reasonable explanation for the relationship of the liberation of DMT (and the consequent formation of images in the pineal) with near-death experiences.
Such is recognized by Dr. Rick Strassman, who has conducted exhaustive studies of the effects of DMT in humans. Research of this kind begins to approach the pineal gland as more than a vestigial eye relegated to producing hormones, but as an inborn window into other planes of existence.
This view of the pineal gland is not new. It represents the sixth chakra of ajna spoken of in the Vedic tradition, the window of Brahma as it is known in Hinduism, the Celestial Eye as the ancient Chinese call it, the Niwan Palace as it is known by Taoists, or the “Seat of the Soul” according to Descartes.
Could this tiny cone hidden at the center of the brain embody the potential to peer into realms that science is simply unable to grasp?
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