On Feb 19, 2009, at 12:04 PM, BillyG. wrote:
By opening this door, (the Ajna chakra) one consciously transcends to
pure consciousness. MMY never spoke much about this because it is a
very high state of spiritual development, and few (if any) meditators
of any discipline have reached this lofty state of consciousness.
Charlie used to say the number of people enlightened on this planet
could stand under a small umbrella.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k_0Hwn7yac&feature=related
http://www.crystalinks.com/thirdeyepineal.html
The Pineal and Melatonin
. . . there is a small gland in the brain called the pineal in which
the soul exercises its
function more particularly than in any other part.
Rene´ Descartes (1596–1650)1
In the seventeenth century, it was plausible to suggest that the
pineal gland was
the ‘‘seat of the soul.’’ Why? Look where it sat: right in the
midline, just below the
back end of the corpus callosum. From this central location, the
pineal was
flanked on either side by a bulging thalamus, and could look down on
the superior
colliculus.
Still, it seemed rather small to account for a soul—a mere 8 mm or so
long.
The fact that its glandular structure shrunk after puberty also
contributed to its
being viewed as a kind of vestigial structure, corresponding to the
rudimentary
third eye of some lower vertebrates.
Had Descartes known about melatonin, he might have been surprised.
Indeed,
its unusual hormonal properties have surprised many contemporary
neurobiologists.
First characterized by Aaron Lerner in 1958, melatonin has since been
shown to be an important hormone that activates specific receptors
both in brain
and body.
After it was found that melatonin was made from serotonin, it was
then discovered
that the first step in this conversion involved a particular
transferase enzyme.
This enzyme was induced by norepinephrine (via cyclic AMP). Moreover,
a different enzyme was involved in the second step. Its activity was
markedly
reduced by the amount of ambient light.
How is this relevant to current meditation research? These two steps
in melatonin
synthesis inform us that meditation’s stress-relieving effects might
reduce
melatonin levels by reducing the release of norepinephrine. On the
other hand,
melatonin levels could increase if you closed your eyes during
meditation and
reduced the amount of light.
Zen-Brain Reflections by James Austin, MD
Certain types of meditation will therefore reduce stress hormones in
the body, others actually increase stress hormone levels!
