The pineal gland: Interface between the physical and spiritual planes?

Function

* Causes Feeling of Sleepiness

* Converts Nervous System Signals to Endocrine Signals

* Regulates Endocrine Functions

* Secretes the Hormone Melatonin


Overview: the Pineal Gland Center of the Physical Brain

If anything could be called the center of the physical brain, it would have to be the Pineal Gland. This solid cone-shaped structure located at the roof of the posterior third ventricle is about the size of a grain of rice and weighs approximately 100 - 180 milligrams. It begins its composition at about the 36th day of gestation when two small cell masses-anlages-fuse together to form the gland. Almost undetectable at its beginning and still when it reaches differentiation at around birth, the gland is centered between the cerebellum and is attached to it. The gland is part of the circuitry involved in the translation of all visual messages received through the retina. Even though pineal glands have until recently been considered functionless phylogenetic relics, vestigiality has been imposed on the gland for no valid scientific reason as many advances in the past few decades have demonstrated its multi-faceted functions in humans and mammalians. The gland has also been referred to as the epiphysis, parietal eye, and in spiritual realms as the third eye. The pineal appears to be involved in synchronization of bodily functions(s) with the environment as a “regulator of regulators” and more recent research has demonstrated that the gland performs a pivotal, and perhaps critical role, in the identification of specific patterns of malignancies to include breast cancer and lymphomas. Strikingly, it has been changes in pineal activity that have been useful indicators in the identification of these other diseases and we see that changes in pineal activity and expression are indicators in compulsive behavior that leads to substance abuse and affective disorders.


The Mysterious Pineal Gland
Seat of the Human Soul - Keep the Pineal Healthy & Maintain Youth

Supernatural Powers

Philosophers and Spiritual Adepts have long contemplated the function of the Pineal. For example, the Ancient Greeks believed it to be our connection to the realms of thought and French philosopher Renee Descartes referred to it as the seat of the human soul. Most mystical traditions and esoteric schools have known this area to be the connecting link between the physical and spiritual worlds and consider it a powerful source of ethereal energy initiating supernatural powers. Thus, the hormones released by this gland play a part in the stimulation of the higher-mind and the development of intellectual pursuits. Toxins in this gland indicate the spirit is weak due to lack of will combined with an invasion of the psyche.
Function

On a physiological level, the Pineal is activated by light, and controls the various biorhythms of the body through the secretion of the hormone melatonin. It is integral to the life cycle and sends signals to the reproductive system set a child’s birth in motion. Working in harmony with the Hypothalamus Gland it directs the body's thirst, hunger, sexual desire and biological clock which determines our aging process. Edgar Cayce said, ‘Keep the pineal gland operating and you won't grow old – you will always be young!’


Pineal Gland Chakra

Melatonin is implicated in many human activities, and perhaps human behavioral disorders. Melatonin regulates the human daily body rhythms, most notably the day and night cycle, and perhaps the depression and tiredness some people feel during long periods of overcast skies and short days during the winter months is in response to an over production of melatonin? If this is true, I wonder how melatonin production effects blind people? Are blind people more susceptible to depression because of a melatonin imbalance?

Melatonin can be found throughout the animal kingdom. In reptiles and birds, the pineal gland is found close to the skin; it needs no interaction with with the eye to sense whether it is day or night. Interestingly enough, this is where the term "third eye" originated. The pineal gland is therefore the master clock for these animals. For mammals, however, the pineal gland is subordinate to the eye and the suprachiasmatic nucleus because light severely stops the production of melatonin.

Medical dissection has revealed that the front section of the pineal gland is equipped with the complete structure of a human eye. Since it grows/exists inside the human skull, it has been called a vestigal eye.

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Now, there has been some confusion as to what the human "Third Eye" is and where it is located. This confusion seems to stem mostly from the location of the pituitary and pineal gland and the similarity of their names.

The "magical" Third Eye and the Ajna chakra have been mentioned in many religions as dwelling between the eyes, eyebrows, center of the forehead, etc., and its association with light.

In the 2nd century, Galen was the first to mention the Third Eye to the West. He believed it to be a valve that regulated thought.

18th century French scientist and philosopher Rene Descartes believed it was the chief interpreter of vision and the "seat of the human soul."


In 1644, Descartes' theory of vision and interaction with the pineal gland is expressed in this woodcut. He believed light particles interacted with the eyes and the image seen (the light particles themselves) were then transmitted to the pineal gland - the pineal gland being the nexus between the mind and the body.

"In man, soul and body touch each other only at a single point, the pineal gland in the head."

This drawing depicts an external stimulus being transmitted into an act of will by pointing, an act sent by the pineal gland.

In 1918, Nils Holmgrenin, a Swedish anatomist, referred to the pineal gland as the "Third Eye" because he discovered cells that looked very much like retina cone cells in the tip of the gland in frogs and dogfish sharks. AND, recent discoveries have found that the pineal gland in the Western Fence Lizard contains a photo-receptive element scientist called a "third eye" that protruded from the top of its head. Interesting. - SOURCE: www.suneye.org

Now let me ask you a very interesting question: While napping or just falling asleep, have you been able to see the room you are sleeping in, or room(s) of your house/apt while your eyes have been closed?! You feel, you KNOW your eyes are closed, yet you can see as if your eyes were open!!!??


The Third Eye and the Pineal Gland

To activate the 'third eye' and perceive higher dimensions, the pineal gland and the pituitary body must vibrate in unison, which is achieved through meditation and/or relaxation. When a correct relationship is established between personality, operating through the pituitary body, and the soul, operating through the pineal gland, a magnetic field is created.

The negative and positive forces interact and become strong enough to create the 'light in the head.' With this 'light in the head' activated, astral projectors can withdraw themselves from the body, carrying the light with them. Astral travel, and other occult abilities, are closely associated with the development of the 'light in the head'. After physical relaxation, concentration upon the pineal gland is achieved by staring at a point in the middle of the forehead. Without straining the muscles of the eye, this will activate the pineal gland and the 'third eye'.

Beginning with the withdrawal of the senses and the physical consciousness, the consciousness is centered in the region of the pineal gland. The perceptive faculty and the point of realization are centralized in the area between the middle of the forehead and the pineal gland. The trick is to visualize, very intently, the subtle body escaping through the trap door of the brain. A popping sound may occur at the time separation of the astral body in the area of the pineal gland. Visualization exercises are the first step in directing the energies in our inner systems to activate the 'third eye'. The magnetic field is created around the pineal gland, by focusing the mind on the midway point between the pineal gland and the pituitary body. The creative imagination visualizes something, and the thought energy of the mind gives life and direction to this form.


Opening The Third Eye

Opening the Third Eye is directly related to the 6th chakra; the psychic chakra, located on the middle of the forehead above the brows. It is closely associated with the "pineal" gland. The pineal gland id dormant in most people,as is the true 3rd eye. French Philosopher Rene Descartes believed the pineal gland to be "the seat of the soul" where mind and body met.

In the average person, the pineal gland is atrophied and dormant. The following exercise will change that. Please read this thoroughly, as much of the exercises I write of are very advanced and can cause problems if one does not do them correctly.

The pineal gland is like a grape in size; like a raisin in most people where it remains dormant.

Opening the third eye/pineal gland:

This is done with a specific tone and chant. You only need to do this exercise for 3 days, afterwards, it is permanent.


"Power Of Pineal Gland 2" (3rd Eye) All Seeing Eye Experience



Fluoride Deposition in the Aged Human Pineal Gland

In conclusion, this study presented evidence that fluoride readily accumulates in the aged pineal. Fluoride may also accumulate in a child's pineal because significant amounts of calcification have been demonstrated in the pineals from young children [Cooper, 1932; Wurtman, 1968; Kerényi and Sarkar, 1968; Tapp and Huxley, 197 1; Doskocil, 1984]. In fact, calcification of the developing enamel organs and the pineal gland occur concurrently. If fluoride does accumulate in the child's pineal (this needs verification), the pinealocytes will be exposed to relatively high local concentrations of fluoride. This could affect pineal metabolism in much the same way that high local concentrations of fluoride in the developing enamel organ affect ameloblast function. Research is presently underway to discover whether fluoride affects pineal physiology during childhood: specifically pineal synthesis of melatonin.


The pineal gland.

What is it?

The pineal gland, the most enigmatic of endocrine organs, has long been of interest to anatomists. Several millennia ago it was thought to be a valve that controlled the flow of memories into consciousness. René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher-mathematician, concluded that the pineal was the seat of the soul. A corollary notion was that calcification of the pineal caused psychiatric disease, a concept that provided support for those who considered psychotic behavior to be rampant; modern examination techniques have revealed that all pineal glands become more or less calcified.

Anatomy

The pineal organ is small, weighing little more than 0.1 gram. It lies deep within the brain between the two cerebral hemispheres and above the third ventricle of the spinal column. It has a rich supply of adrenergic nerve fibers that greatly influence its secretions. Microscopically, the gland is composed of pinealocytes (rather typical endocrine cells except for extensions that mingle with those of adjacent cells). Supporting cells that are similar to astrocytes of the brain are interspersed.

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Melatonin was previously known to cause the skins of amphibians to blanch, but its functions in mammals remained uncertain until research discoveries in the 1970s and '80s suggested that it regulates both sleeping cycles and the hormonal changes that usher in sexual maturity during adolescence. The pineal gland's production of melatonin varies both with the time of day and with age; production of melatonin is dramatically increased during the nighttime hours and falls off during the day, and melatonin levels are much higher in children under age seven than in adolescents and are lower still in adults. Melatonin apparently acts to keep a child's body from undergoing sexual maturation, since sex hormones such as luteotropin, which play a role in the development of sexual organs, emerge only after melatonin levels have declined. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that children with tumors of the pineal gland often reach sexual maturity unusually early in life, presumably because the pineal's production of melatonin has been hampered. Melatonin also seems to play an important role in regulating sleeping cycles; test subjects injected with the hormone become sleepy, suggesting that the increased production of melatonin coincident with nightfall acts as a fundamental mechanism for making people sleepy. With dawn the pineal gland stops producing melatonin, and wakefulness and alertness ensue. The high level of melatonin production in young children may explain their tendency to sleep longer than adults.


The Pineal Gland (Custom Homeopathics)

Pineal Gland Calcification

The important question, of course, is what impact calcification in the pineal gland has on those of us with FM/CFS/OA/Lupus/toxicity, outside of the fact that we feel like we are a 150 years old when we are only 55.

The pineal has wide ranging effects, and affects most aspects of our body's functions. Its most commonly know function is to produce melatonin.

The Pineal Gland and "Brainfog"

In the tasks of daily life, calcification in the pineal gland affects our brain's ability to function. Increased calcification impairs our sense of direction(21) and explains how we can become disoriented and miss a turn off on a road we've driven a 100 times. The effects of disturbed sleep on memory are well documented. Studies have shown increased pineal calcification is significantly related to sleep disturbance and day time tiredness.(22)

The Pineal Gland and Hormone Regulation

a) Human Growth Hormone - Calcification of the pineal gland, and the resultant sleep disturbance, means we don't get the deep sleep that is necessary for the production of Human Growth Hormone, a hormone needed to repair muscles.(23)

b) Hypothalmic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis - The pineal gland, through its production of melatonin and its effect on serotonin, affects many neuroendocrine functions. Reduced melatonin, through various pathways, disrupts cortisol rhythms, and significantly impairs the sensitivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.(24) As well, one study has shown a reciprocal relationship between the pineal and pituitary gland,(25) so that if the pineal is impaired, it affects the pituitary. This has a whole cascade of effects on the other glands and hormone production.

c) Reproductive Hormones - The pineal gland is instrumental in our sexual development at puberty for both sexes. Menstrual cycling and menopause are associated with melatonin fluctuations,(26) as is pregnancy, with melatonin increasing 200-300% in the first 20 weeks of gestation. Melatonin stimulates the production of progesterone. It is argued that compromised pineal gland function may be implicated in spontaneous abortions not due to chromosomal anomalies.(27) Pathologies of the pineal gland have been associated with disruption of reproductive hormones,(28) and administered melatonin has been shown to alter the semen quality in healthy men.(29)

d) Thyroid - One study shows that administering melatonin produces changes in thyroid hormones.(30)

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Melatonin's interaction with serotonin, and its resultant role as an anticoagulant has been demonstrated repeatedly.

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The role of melatonin in "taking out the garbage" and protecting us from building it up in the first place, is explained best in the following (emphasis and paragraphing added) : "Melatonin, the chief secretory product of the pineal gland, is a direct free-radical scavenger and indirect antioxidant. In terms of its scavenging activity, melatonin has been shown to quench the hydroxyl radical, superoxide anion radical, singlet oxygen, peroxyl radical, and the peroxynitrite anion. Additionally, melatonin's antioxidant actions probably derive from its stimulatory effect on superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase;-and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and its inhibitory action on nitric oxide synthase. Finally, melatonin acts to stabilize cell membranes, thereby making them more resistant to oxidative attack.

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When a disease is predominantly experienced by women, scientists tend to look first for a chromosome link, and feminists look to social/medical establishment factors. We think that while both of these factors may come into play, neither provide the total explanation. Since, so far, studies have shown no significant differences in the calcification rate among men and women, we think it is the cascade of effects that happen after the pineal calcification that results in more women than men experiencing this symptom cluster. Comparatively, men have a much simpler hormone system than women. Puberty does not produce the hormonal cycling in men that it does in women. Procreation is hormonally a simple affair for men and life changing for women's hormonal balance. Men do not experiences the huge surges in melatonin that women can. While men may experience menopause, its effects are much milder and less wide spread than women's. With women's hormonal balance so complex and easily disrupted, it would stand to reason that they are much more vulnerable to the effects of pineal calcification and the cascade of events within the body chemistry that it produces.