• Gregory
    4.6k
    Introspection is a funny thing. You may think you know your body and your brain well from it, yet science may come along and say you have the whole thing wrong. This is what happened to Descartes. From Augustine he got the idea that the "soul" was "simple" (unextended like a point) yet in every part of the body. Descartes thought the soul "joined" ("united") to the body "directly", "particularly", and "immediately" via the pineal gland. In modern times some believe that this gland (which Descartes once referred to as a penis and which certainly has an influence on sleep and reproduction) is a left over from our reptilian past. Some go even further, claiming it has ancient reptilian cones and rods which from which (in spiritual experience) you can see from, thru your very eyeballs, into the world and see the world for what it truly is. In the Western world Descartes's views of the pineal gland are most famous I think. Augustine thought the body was clay and its animal and vegetable souls are subsumed under the intellectual soul. Descartes however resurrected the Alexandrian idea of "animal spirits" and even said that there was actual physical fire within our hearts. Descartes account of the imagination as a hybrid of material images in the pineal gland and spiritual images in the soul is most interesting; he thought the soul more united to the matter of the pineal gland than to the spirits that flowed through it but learns from the spirits.

    So here is what I am getting at: if the pineal gland is really a vestigial third eye, why is it connected to sleep? My instincts are telling me that Cartesianism leads to Buddhism, but I don't know what the connection between Buddhism and sleep is. Could it be possible that we are really reptiles? Is all our making of distinctions and differences a symptom of brain matter that we evolved to have to our own disadvantage? We might throw "fish brain" into the mix but I think reptiles have a higher degree of awareness. Finally: is it possible that reptiles have the highest degree of awareness of all planet's species?
  • Jack Cummins
    5.1k

    It will be interesting to see what kind of reactions you get from people on this site. When I was studying biology as part of nursing I remember joking to another student that if we asked to write about a gland in the exam, I was going to write about the pineal gland. The other student looked shocked. Of course, I was joking but as I was going to go into the psychiatrists branch of nursing, I was quite curious about the whole question of the role of the pineal gland, or the third eye.

    I think that the link between the pineal gland and sleep is that it is involved in the production of Melatonin, which is a hormone involved in sleep patterns. This is connected to the ability to sleep in the day rather than night. Some people, especially night workers find that Melatonin enables sleep when their ability to sleep has been messed up by the disruption of having to sleep at unusual times. I managed to buy a bottle of Melatonin capsules and I found they helped me sleep a bit better, although not as much as the course of sleeping tablets my doctor once prescribed for me.

    One of the main side effects of Melatonin is vivid dreams. That is interesting because it could be due to the role of the pineal gland. I have very vivid dreams generally, as well as borderline sleep imagery , especially when under stress. I wonder if this could be related to the role of the pineal gland too.

    When you link the idea of the gland identified by Descartes to Buddhism, I think that the link is by means of the chakra system as conceived in Eastern philosophy. These are the main energy centres(or wheels), and other important ones include the heart chakra and, the root chakra as well as the crown chakra. The belief in the chakras is connected to a belief in a subtle body. The idea of a subtle body is important in the field of complementary medicine.

    One important area of thought about the whole chakra system, especially the third eye is the belief in Kundalini. This has been written about by Gopi Krishna, who spoke of kundalini as an energy force, which runs from the base of the spine and genitals right up to the through the head to the third eye chakra. It can awaken spontaneously, through meditation practice or through the use of psychoactive drugs. Gopi Krishna speaks about the intensity of his own kundalini awakening , which he saw as an with 'madness', involving heightened but devastating experiences, involving sexual awakening and visionary experience. Somehow, he managed to balance his own kundalini experience.

    The whole area of kundalini and the third eye is relevant for thinking about psychosis, although this is not the view adopted within mainstream psychiatry, which is focused more upon the role of the neurotransmitter, dopamine. The role of dopamine has been central to the whole development of antipsychotic medications.

    However, the field of understanding the chemicals is one that is developing, and perhaps the area of the pineal gland (third eye) will be a missing link in understanding psychotic experiences. The most obvious aspect of this is the whole area of drug induced psychosis. Certainly, psychiatry has widespread recognition of the connection between the role cannabis smoking has in triggering psychotic episodes.

    I am a bit tired, so don't really want to go into it fully but it is worth you looking up the ideas of David Icke in relation to reptiles. He is on the fringe, and went as far as suggesting that certain people, including the royal family in England shapeshift into reptilian forms. I am not saying that I agree with Icke's views and he has come under public attack, but I find his writings to be fun, simply because he has such an alternative perspective.
  • Wayfarer
    20.6k
    This thread ought to be deleted purely on the basis of its ridiculous title.
  • Jack Cummins
    5.1k

    I disagree and hope that Gregory is very successful with the quirky, incongruous title of the thread. Perhaps it will entice people into some lateral thinking.
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