Is the pineal gland really a third eye?
How a small organ in the middle of the brain became the centre of a spiritual story.
The pineal gland is a small, pine-cone-shaped endocrine gland in the middle of the brain.Its job is to make melatonin and set the rhythm of sleep and waking.Because output changes with light, it is wired to signals from the eyes.That much is physiology.
The nickname 'third eye' rests on one real fact.Some animals, such as certain lizards, have a separate light-sensing organ on top of the head.The pineal gland is evolutionarily related to it.So saying it has something to do with light is correct.
In the 17th century Descartes wrote that the pineal gland was where the soul met the body.His reason was that it is one of the few brain parts without a left-right pair.No scientist accepts that explanation now.The sentence outlived the theory and is still quoted in these sources.
The red-pill sources add two more things.One is that the gland produces DMT and causes visions and spiritual experience.The other is that fluoride in tap water hardens it and shuts that capacity down.Calcium really does build up in the gland as people age.
The problem is the next sentence.Nothing supports the jump from 'calcium accumulates' to 'spiritual ability is blocked'.A single fact carrying an unverified conclusion is the pattern again.
The first two are physiology; the last two are laid on top.
Read further
- The Pineal Gland: A Universe Inside the BodyHow a small organ in the brain spreads all the way to Egyptian gods and Rockefeller's frequency