The belief that human existence oscillates between the real and the spiritual is transcultural, and one could almost say transhistorical. pineal gland, more than an anatomical element, is the objective sample of the importance that this dualistic vision has had for humanity. Because when science and spirituality have come together in the study of this body is when an authentic synthesis of the diversity that characterizes the human has taken place, emerging from it important knowledge in different fields.
About the pineal gland there is a long history of studies and debates that go from the medical to the physiological and the philosophical. Now, thanks to neurosciencewe know that the main function of this organ is to regulate circadian rhythmssuch as sleep and wakefulness through the secretion of the hormone melatonin.
Why is the pineal gland of interest to spirituality and science?
In the West, the pineal gland has always been associated with the soul. From the first philosophical approaches in Ancient Greece and to the physiological studies of Claudius Galenus (Galen) –who made the first detailed description of the pineal organ–, all ended up centering their hypotheses on the body-soul duality in this organ.
Some time later, Descartes would take up all this again and suggest that the pineal gland is a physical instrument of the powers of the soul, and its bodily headquarters. Hence the sentence «I think, therefore I am» has a much deeper connotation than is attributed to it, because it raises the primacy of the spirit over the bodywhich is nothing more than an extension (a body-machine) to communicate with the environment, according to this philosophical hypothesis.
The Cartesian soul, and the even older «third eye» belief present in Ancient Egypt, as well as Hinduism, Taoism, and other Eastern religions, maintain an almost mystical link with the most recent findings in neurology regarding the pineal gland. Although perhaps this is simply because science can never distance itself too much from the spiritual and philosophical beliefs that surround it.
To verify this, it is enough to know two of the most recent neuroscientific findings on the pineal gland and its curious similarity with ancient beliefs.
The clairvoyance of the prophets and the DMT produced by the pineal organ
Many of the ancient practices and traditions – including Christianity – have had their own clairvoyants and prophets, who have been said to have a third eye. In Hindu philosophy and its Vedic literature, this «third eye» is the sixth chakra (ajna). This allowed, as it was believed, the observation of one’s own spiritual life.
Now we know that the pineal gland releases DMT, the «spirit molecule», as part of a mechanism that appears to be immunoregulatory. This substance, ingested in large quantities through, for example, ayahuasca tea, can be a powerful psychedelic. But the brain is unable to generate enough DMT to release a psychedelic experience.
So it’s hard to believe that DMT had something to do with the visions of the Biblical prophets, as Rick Strassman puts it in DMT: The spirit molecule.
But a study from the University of Wisconsin showed that yoga practice is capable of releasing DMT, which appears to be an anti-stress response. If true, this would not only be key to anyone making spiritual pilgrimages in search of a less overwhelming reality, but also key to updating our understanding of the world and checking why ancient practices are current, even from a scientific point of view.
The transmigration… of dreams
Buddhism related the pineal gland – or at least the point that hypothetically should be between the eyebrows – with transmigration, while Platonic and Pythagorean theories believed in the liberation of the soul after death.
Thanks to advances in neurology and to the extensive physiological literature on the pineal gland, it is known that it regulates circadian cycles: a primary function, perhaps as important as the one performed by the heart. This mechanism works through the retina, which stimulates the suprachiasmatic nucleus –our biological clock– with various chemicals, depending on whether it captures light or darkness. In turn, this nucleus activates certain mechanisms and releases other chemicals into the superior cervical ganglion, which has direct connections to the pineal glandto which it sends neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine.
Norepinephrine helps the amino acid tryptophan to convert to serotonin, and serotonin to melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Thus, the pineal gland is essential for us to dream. And if well dream It is not equivalent to performing a transmigration –the journey of the individual soul to other bodies– is undoubtedly the closest thing to reincarnation that we can experience –because, somehow, in dreams we reincarnate in another skin and travel to another world, even if it is oneiric–.
Are these similarities between the functioning of the pineal gland and the beliefs that are based on it, simply coincidences? We do not know. But even asking ourselves about it opens new closures to human knowledge, both scientific and spiritual and philosophical, and allows these disciplines to feed on each other, which is essential in these times. In addition, we can take advantage of this knowledge:Did you know that activating the pineal gland is possible?? what about turmeric benefits this organ in multiple ways?
That is why there is no doubt: curiosity is the only limit to knowledge and to the expansion of our spirit.
*References:
It might interest you