Chapter 3

Many different ancient traditions say there is a physical gland nestled deep within the center of the brain, where telepathic thought transmissions and visual images are received. This tiny pinecone-shaped gland is known as the epiphysis or pineal gland, and is about the size of a pea. In fact, the word “pineal” comes from the Latin pinea, which means “pinecone.” Ancient cultures all over the world were fascinated by the pinecone and the pineal-gland-shaped images, and consistently used them in their highest forms of spiritual artwork. Pythagoras, Plato, Iamblichus, Descartes and others wrote of this gland with great reverence. It has been called “the seat of the soul.”

The pineal gland is not technically a part of the brain; it is not protected by the blood-brain barrier. (1) It exists in the approximate geometric center of the brain’s mass, has a hollow interior filled with a watery fluid, and receives more blood flow than any other part of the body except the kidneys. Since it is not protected by the blood-brain barrier, the fluid inside the pineal gland gathers an increasing amount of mineral deposits, or “brain sand,” over time–which have optical and chemical properties similar to the enamel on your teeth. (2)

Wilcock goes into detail about the significance of pine cone/pineal gland symbolism “featued in sacred art and architecture from all over the world.” I would advise you to check out his free online documentary The 2012 Enigma for more. It is extremely important for research/historical reasons, but is not new or particularly interesting to me, so I’m going to skip much of this chapter.

Medical Investigations of the Third Eye

According to Dr. Richard Cox in USC’s Health & Medicine journal, Descartes “perceived the mind as some sort of out-of-body experience expressed through the pineal gland.” (34) Cox reveals some surprising facts about the pineal gland:

‘Under the skin in the skull of a lizard lies a light-responsive “third eye” which is the evolutionary equivalent of the bone-encased, hormone-secreting pineal gland in the human brain. The human pineal is denied access to light directly, but like the lizard’s “third eye,” it  shows enhanced release of its hormone, melatonin, during the night. . . . Dissected, the reptile’s pineal looks much like an eye, with the same shape and tissue. The pineal . . . uniquely remains the major source of circulating melatonin, [which tells us] when to go to sleep at night and when to get up in the morning. . . . The presence of light reduces the pineal gland’s secretion of melatonin, and darkness stimulates production. Since daylight and darkness affect the gland’s production of the hormone, the pineal functions as a kind of internal timepiece.’ (35)

Wilcock goes on to talk about “piezoluminescence.” Microcrystals were found in dissected pineal glands that “expand and contract in the presence of electromagnetic fields.” (41)

Piezoelectric crystals can be used to tune in to radio stations without any electricity. The electromagnetic waves that are jittering all around us make these crystals expand and contract constantly. These movements can then be detected and amplified to make sound. (42) Some, if not many, piezoelectric crystals also give off varying amounts of light–in a process known as piezoluminescence. (43)

Then follows the obligatory Dr. Rick Strassman/DMT references. Dr. Laurence Johnston discusses the controversial idea that the pineal gland is responsible for secreting dimethyltryptamine:

DMT is structurally similar to melatonin. The biochemical precursor to both molecules is serotonin, a key neurotransmitter whose pathways are involved in mood and targeted in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. DMT also structurally resembles other psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin, and is the active agent in the  ayahuasca brew Amazon shamans use to provoke out-of-body experiences. . . .

Trace amounts of DMT have been found in humans, particularly in the lungs, but also in the brain. Strassman emphasizes that the pineal gland is theoretically more capable than virtually any other tissue to produce DMT, including possessing the prerequisite biochemical precursors and transforming enzymes. However, we do not yet know for certain whether DMT is made by the pineal. (45)

There is also reason to believe cellular phones and other microwave-emitting devices are damaging to the pineal gland. And fluoride, of course. I am quite familiar with these discussions so I am not transcribing too much detail. What Wilcock is eventually driving at here is that The Source Field communicates with us directly through the pineal gland, primarily through resonance of photons.

Works Cited

2 Mabie, Curtis P. and Wallace, Betty M. (1974)  “Optical, physical and chemical properties of pineal gland calcifications.” Calcified Tissue International. 16, 59-71.

34 Cox, Richard. The Mind’s Eye. USC Health & Medicine. Winter 1995. In Craft, Cheryl M. (ed)., EyesightResearch.org. http://www.eyesightresearch.org/old/Mind%27s_Eye.hm (accessed December 2010).

35 Ibid

41 Baconnier, S.S., Lang, B., et al. (2002) “Calcite microcrystals in the pineal gland of the human brain: first physical and chemical studies.” Bioelectromagnetics 23(7): 488-95.

42 Field, Simon Quellen. Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids. Chapter 4: Radio. Sci-Toys.com. http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/radio/homemade_radio.html (accessed December 2010).

43 Harvey, E. Newton. The Nature of Animal Light. (Triboluminescence and Piezoluminescence.) Project Gutenberg, November 26, 2010. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/34450/34450.text (accessed December 2010).

45 Johnston, Laurance. “The Seat of the Soul.” Parappalegia News, August 2009. http://www.healingtherapies.info/PinealGland1.htm (accessed December 2010).