The power of sound vibration to shift consciousness pt 3 - The Pineal activation

In my third blog post in the series on the power of sound vibration to awaken consciousness, I specifically want to talk about the Pineal gland in the brain as the “seat of the soul” as Descartes called it.

The Pineal is the topmost endocrine gland and associated with the seventh or top chakra. It has a relationship with the Pituitary gland, the sixth chakra in subtle terms. Both cranial-sacral work and ancient Daoist practice describe the endocrine gland system in the body as a crucial gateway that joins the physical body with the more subtle experience that we may call our soul or spiritual experiences, our states of consciousness.

Besides the top two in the brain as mentioned, we also have the hypothalamus, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands and ovaries/testes. While the nervous system of the body used electrical impulses, the endocrine and the glands use hormones to direct the body/mind which in turn create states of mind within us based on those hormonal releases. We may feel these emotions that are triggered by the hormones and even identify them to be our true state of mind but they are purely chemically induced.

As soon as we realize that the emotions that seem to drive us on, sometimes uncontrollably, are not actually our selves, but our hormones, we can learnt to distance ourselves from them and to no longer identify with them. Anger, lust and greed can be conquered by one who is able to objectify the emotions and separate them from the self that is feeling them. I am feeling these emotions but I am not these emotions, we can tell ourselves.

Now besides the various lower endocrine glands, the top two in the brain, namely the Pineal and Pituitary play the most important roles out of all in the matter of higher or so-called spiritual states of consciousness. It is the hypothalamus that aids in linking the endocrine and nervous system so is key in the brain. It also activates the Pineal, and is curiously linked to the limbic system where our emotions are computed, so to speak.

When entrained with the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus actually has the ability to affect the organs and their healthy functioning in the body and curiously our emotions as well. So the endocrine with its glands make up the tools for cultivating not only excellent health and emotional strength but also ultimately heightened states of consciousness. All are inter-related. One way in which the glands in the brain are activated is by sound. By vibrating sound, through chanting the correct syllables, or by humming the appropriate note, a frequency is emitted that causes the glands in the brain to also vibrate.

The skull is an echo chamber, along with the sinus cavities, and the pituitary is sensitive to this vibration. It literally is activated by intoning. This is part of the reason behind the regular chanting by monks of the various spiritual traditions in India, Tibet and even the west when we think of the Catholic tradition of monks chanting Latin prayers. Even the other Semitic traditions also focus on reciting or intoning prayers or mantras of their own.

The Pituitary is in a soft spot just above the soft part of the palate or roof of the mouth. If you push your tongue up against the top palate, you are approaching the region there of the pituitary. It is very easily stimulated by sound from the mouth and nasal cavities. Take for instance the sound of the mantra OM. When intoned carefully, it is full of resonance which acts as a catalyst or stimulant to the Pituitary and hypothalamus, triggering them to then also release the hormones that affect the other glands. In this way we can stimulate good physical well-being but also activate heightened states of consciousness from the Pineal.

Ultimately when the pituitary begins to vibrate in synchrony with the pineal gland, we are inspired to grow and renew ourselves both physically and spiritually. Healthy hormones are released from the Pineal, like serotonin and Melotonin to facilitate rest, sleep, rejuvenation, and they also counter the bad hormones caused by stress. The lesser known but more esoteric understanding is that the Pineal also releases DMT, which is able to evoke what one may call a heightened or altered state of consciousness that will facilitate the mystical experience or religious experience in all of us.

These spiritual experiences may be interpreted by each person differently, according to the culture and myths or legends with which they were raised or trained, and that’s ok, but they are all based on the common element in the brain of all humans, namely the Pineal and its hormonal release. So one should always respect the subjective interpretations of labels given tot he experience of spirituality by the other, because ultimately it is alluding to something transcendent which cannot always be describes so easily in words or concepts as it is, and therefore some kind of mythic parable may need to be used, or some such reference to label the shift in consciousness experienced when the finer hormones are released and circulated through the brain from the Pineal and Pituitary, triggered initially by the Hypothalamus.

The fact is that spirituality or even religious experience is a science. Consciousness is a science, and it is based on biology or brain chemistry and electromagnetic frequency within our biochemical machine of the body and brain. And there are techniques for activating these endocrine glands so that they work at peak performance. Sound vibration is just one such tool, as practised by traditional and ancient spiritually-based cultures for millennia. Mantra recitation, chanting and intoning are all powerful tools to activate the endocrine glands for increased good health which is a by-product of improved consciousness.

It is a feedback loop where we can use the mind and intelligence to subtly activate the brain so that it releases the desired chemicals, which in turn feed the body via all the other endocrine glands, and finally boost the mood, the awareness, and on top of that our compassion for all living entities. This is symptom of a more realized soul and something we can all aspire to. It’s all in the mind and you are the conductor so orchestrate your mind - with your intention- to release the hormones required and you will go far in this lifetime, beyond your wildest imagination and dreams. That is what life is really about but unless you are ready for it or actively seek it out or are receptive to this kind of truth, it may pass you by as you cling to simplistic interpretations of what is a deep and profound existence in the temple of the divine known as the human body.