The Third Eye - A Speculation

[Planewalker]

Bear with me, I will communicate this idea step by step.

Many meditation techniques focus on the "third eye" that lies pretty much in the center of your face, between the brows. You probably have seen the red dot Hindus use to mark that spot.

Though most of our physical functions seem to work automatically, it is possible to intentionally take influence. The means of doing that is concentration, visualization, raising emotions... let's make it simple and sum all those up under the term "meditation techniques".

The pineal gland is located quite exactly in the center of the human skull and the brain. If you would project it on the face, the location would be somewhere between your eyes. The pineal gland is also called the "third eye". The pinealocytes (cells of the pineal gland) have a strong resemblance to the photoreceptor cells of the eye in many non-mammalian vertebrates (humans are mammalian vertebrates) and is photosensitive in some of them. In humans, the pineal gland receives signals from the eyes to trigger the production of hormones.

The pineal gland produces melatonin, which is important in the regulation of the circadian rhythms of several biological functions. Some supplemental melatonin users report an increase in vivid dreaming. Extremely high doses of melatonin (> 50 mg) dramatically increases REM sleep time and dream activity and many psychoactive drugs, such as cannabis and LSD also increase melatonin synthesis. Melatonin promotes sleepiness.

Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an entheogen (a specific type of drug) that evokes intense dream-like visions. It is structurally related to serotonine and melatonin. It naturally occurs in many plants and animals, including humans. It is speculated that endogenous DMT is not only responsible for near-death experiences and dreaming, but also for the perception of the reality we believe to exist in. It is also speculated, that endogenous DMT is also produced in the pineal gland.

Now let's put the parts together...

A meditation focusing on the third eye seems to be an attempt at intentionally manipulating a biological function. Often the meditation techniques implicate the visualization of light. As we know, the function of the pineal gland really is influenced by exterior light levels. Light (the blue spectral band to be precise) does not increase, but rather inhibit the production of melatonin though. It is unknown, what determines the level of DMT production though, if the pineal gland is responsible for that at all.

My conclusion is that it may be possible with such a meditation to control the release of melatonin or other neural transmitters and trigger a state of altered consciousness or at least increase the vividness of dreams. Of course practice makes perfect. I didn't do any attempts yet, but I would suggest, not to visualize light, but utter darkness and concentrate on the correct location that is not at your forehead, but the center of your head, inside your head. A combination with WILD seems promising to me. It's time for experimentation.

Feel welcome to give your input on this.

[moxley]

And here I have always been thinking that the pineal gland was on the side of the brain somehow (I once watched a video that made it look like it was on the side). Oh well, you learn something new every day.

I like the connection you make between the mental exercise and the physical effect, sounds good to me. You have seen the lucidology videos, so I can simply reference them here: In one of them, I think it was from the earlier 101 series, the author talks about the pineal gland as a doorway to great pleasure or horrific pain. I think he said something about mentally 'stroking' the pineal gland in one vs the other direction would have the respective effects (great bliss or absolute terror). I am not sure how trustworthy that information is, but I think projecting total darkness on the gland could have a similar, terrifying effect. But then again, we wont know until we try

Btw, I think keeping your mental focus on the third eye area has another important function of keeping your physical eyes in one fixed place. In my opinion it is important not to let your eyes go to all kind of different directions (in NLP this references the so-called eye-cues, where you can read what part of the brain someone is accessing by watching where his eyes go). I think by keeping your eyes in a fixed place, you are minimizing your brain access and are thus able to reach low brainwave states more quickly and effectively. Just another theory, though.

[SouRce]

Planewalker Wrote:The pineal gland is located quite exactly in the center of the human skull and the brain

There was an experience I had the other day and im not sure if there is any correlation with this or not. I woke up from some light dreams and had some vibrations which helped me exit my body enter a dream. Shortly after, I woke up again and my body still felt light...the vibrations came on again and I was able to exit my body. When I woke up again, my body still felt the Exact same way. but the difference is that for the first time I felt like I felt my mind actually merge back with my brain. Even after I felt like I was my brain again..my body still felt exactly the same...so the only thing stopping me from exiting again was the merger between my mind and brain.

So I feel like if I can practice at reversing that feeling or merger, maybe it will make my exits easier. I guess I'll start with different ideas involving my third eye.

-SouRce

[moxley]

Hey Source,

I am not sure if I quite understand you. Maybe you could elaborate what you mean by "merging brain and mind". What does this feel like. Do you mean that you just didnt feel your physical body before? Or your head only? Or something totally different?

How exactly do you want to reverse the merging feeling? It sounds like you are trying some exercise to put your awareness away from your body.

[Planewalker]

moxley Wrote:I am not sure if I quite understand you.

I guess Source means the reengagement of the subtle body with the dense physical one. There is speculation that the pineal gland is the "seat of the soul", an organ that allows the spirit to connect to the body.

[SouRce]

Planewalker Wrote:There is speculation that the pineal gland is the "seat of the soul", an organ that allows the spirit to connect to the body.

That actually puts things more in perspective for me...I can see how that corresponds with what I felt.

moxley Wrote:Maybe you could elaborate what you mean by "merging brain and mind". What does this feel like. Do you mean that you just didnt feel your physical body before?

Its actually exactly the opposite. During the three different times that I woke up, my body felt EXACTLY the same...There was no difference between my body when I was able to exit it and when I wasn't able to exit it. The only difference was that when I was back in my body the last time, I felt my mind or my awareness, connect back with my physical brain. The thing that interested me about it was that my body(including head, ears, and facial features) still felt exactly like it did the other two times I woke up and was able to exit my body. The only thing was that my mind or awareness now felt grounded in my brain...and I couldn't exit anymore.

And maybe Im looking too far into it now but If I think about myself when im in a dream or out of body, I dont think I feel as grounded in my head as I do when Im awake.

moxley Wrote:How exactly do you want to reverse the merging feeling?

I plan on thinking about the feeling, and once I have a clear idea of how it felt...ill try to encourage it on by imagining It in my minds eye but focusing more on my awareness rather than my physical brain If that makes any sense. And i'll focus on more or a releasing/opening feeling than a connecting/merging one.

Hopefully this makes some kind of sense because its hard trying to put these feelings into words.

-SouRce

[moxley]

SouRce Wrote:And maybe Im looking too far into it now but If I think about myself when im in a dream or out of body, I dont think I feel as grounded in my head as I do when Im awake.

I think I know what you mean. Even when lucid, awareness and consciousness of the self feel "different". Often when I start WILDing, I feel very drowsy and mentally exhausted, even though I am conscious of my state. Interestingly, this almost never happens when I spontaneously get lucid at night.


I hope you will be succesful with your attempts, please keep us up about any progress.


moxley

[windgods]

(11-07-2009 07:20 AM)Planewalker Wrote:  The pineal gland is located quite exactly in the center of the human skull and the brain.

Reading this post helped me to verbalize a method that I've migrated to over the years naturally and from study of ideas from other people.

After mostly focusing between the eyes for years, I started concentrating on the parts of my body according to theory of chakra locations.

It has just occurred to me now that when focused on the Third Eye chakra and then the crown chakra centered at the top of the head, the intersection would be the location of the pineal gland.

Concentration at this intersection is helping me to immediately feel calm and at peace.