Is the Pineal Gland the Third Eye or the Anja Chakra?
Posted: Monday, October 04, 2010
by Donovan Baldwin
No Diet 4 Me
I could have titled this little article, "Play Mystical for Me". Sorry. I just couldn't resist it.
Anyway, about mystical concepts: I like them. I don't always believe them, but I like them. I like to believe that most mystical concepts and constructs arise out of something in the real world. I guess it's all those years of reading Charlie Chan and Nero Wolfe mysteries, not to mention Mr. Sherlock Holmes of 221B Baker St., London, that makes me think that somehow we can find the links and clues which lead us to the real facts of the case.
I have been interested in many Eastern practices since my teens. I experimented with yoga, judo, karate, and transcendental meditation before the Hollywood crowd or the public media became aware of their existence. I read widely, if not wisely on many of the concepts assumed, taught by, and embodied in those disciplines.
At the same time, I developed a strong interest in health and fitness; an interest which grew to incorporate not only the body but the mind as well. One thing I learned to be a genuine, proven fact, is that there is an unbelievably, for most people, strong bond between the body and the mind. Each exercises a great degree of control over the activities, health, and destruction of the other.
Have we gotten to the Pineal gland yet? I have an appointment.
Almost there.
One thing which I found extremely interesting about many of the practices and disciplines which came to the western world from Asia is that so many times, they seem to have arrived at some truth about, or explanation of, the internal workings and linkages within the body and the brain, through observation and thought. It was almost as if they could see within the body, and expressed what they found in some metaphysical manner using the terminology of their time and place.
When translated, many things sound a whole lot deeper than they are, but still...
This whole idea of being able to see something beyond the physical reality which surrounds us sounds mystical. But, what if it was simply the extension of some explainable physical condition or process that we could touch and feel. We might not need to scientifically quantify and categorize all parts of it, just as we are still unsure exactly of what "love" is...but it exists.
Well, the Pineal gland (Whew! Finally got there.) has a few unique attributes. Not big ones per se, but interesting, at least to me.
It reacts to light.
That's it? All that big philosophical hoo-hah up there to get to that?
Well, let's go a little further. Remember, these are just thoughts, not proven science...at least not all of it.
The Pineal gland, believed by some to be a vestigial remnant of a once larger organ, reacts to light. It produces Melatonin, a chemical which helps control the body's circadian rhythm, the cycle of day-night, wake-sleep. Tied, directly or indirectly, to these cycles are many functions of the body relating to health, both of the physical body, and the mind.
The full range of the Pineal gland's influence and activities is still not completely understood, but some research tends to show a possible link between at least one of its activities and the internal production of a chemical which is illegal in the real world because it is a hallucinogen.
Now, the third eye.
In some Oriental philosophies, the "third eye", often located by some in the same general area as the Pineal gland, is a construct which allows us to see beyond the physical world. It is sometimes assumed that this "seeing" is of things much deeper that what most see, and which allow for explanations most would not understand...or believe.
Some have speculated that the Pineal gland, the third eye, and the ajna chakra are essentially related at some real level while providing some "mystical", i.e. not yet understood or defined, insight, also at a real level still to be identified and quantified by science.
I also think to myself, that at one time, we, as a race, lived in very close proximity to what is collectively described as "nature". I think it could be "natural" that development of some sort of organ which allows us to "see" somewhat beyond the reality surrounding us might have been a fact at one time. However, even if this is so, it cannot be proven and is just an intellectual journey I like to take from time to time.
However, sometimes when I am having a little trouble understanding something, I use what I have learned in meditation and yoga and try to focus that mystical "third eye" on the problem. It may be only the placebo effect, but, for me at least, it seems to work.
The Pineal gland is real. A lot of what it does is known. The ajna chakra and the third eye, real to some, can only be described by those of a scientific point of view as "mysticism". Maybe so, but as long as I feel that I am somehow able to tap into something which I do not understand, but which seems to work for me, I'll keep my third eye open for the truth.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Donovan Baldwin is a 65-year-old accountant, amateur bodybuilder, freelance writer, certified optician, and Internet marketer currently living in the Atlanta, Gerogia area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he has been a member of Mensa and has been a Program Accountant for the Florida State Department of Education, the Business Manager of a community mental health center, and a multi-county Fiscal Consultant for an educational field office. He has also been a trainer for a major international corporation, and has managed various small businesses, including his own. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he became interested in Internet marketing and developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. He has posted a series of articles on The Law of Attraction , and other self-improvement issues at xtramoney4me.net/internetmarketing/reviews/law_of_attraction_articles/index.html .
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)You write the same way my husband does! What an interesting way to talk about mysticism. Like you I'm not sure I believe in it but I don't discount the possibility. A very fun read Donovan, as usual.~ GraceThank you, Grace. I am not sure when a woman compares me to her husband if that is a compliment or not, but I will assume it is. :) - Don
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