The pineal gland or epiphysis, is a small endocrine gland. It is located near the center of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join. It is also referred to as the pineal body. Pineal gland - Location. The pineal gland is a small, pea-sized, (8 mm in humans) reddish-gray body located above the superior colliculus and behind and beneath the stria medullaris, between the laterally positioned thalamic bodies. It is part of the epithalam ...

Including:

• Pineal gland - Location
• Pineal gland - Structure and composition
• Pineal gland - Function
• Pineal gland - Mythology

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Pineal gland, Pineal gland - Location, Pineal gland - Structure and composition, Pineal gland - Function, Pineal gland - Mythology

Read more here: » Pineal gland: Encyclopedia II - Pineal gland - Location

The pineal gland is responsible for the production of melatonin, which is regulated in a circadian rhythm. Melatonin is a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan. The production of melatonin by the pineal gland is stimulated by darkness and inhibited by light. The retina detects the light and directly signals and entrains the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Fibers project from the SCN to the paraventricular nuclei (PVN) which relays the circadian signals to the spinal cord and out via the sympathetic system to superior cervical ganglia (S ...

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Pineal gland, Pineal gland - Location, Pineal gland - Structure and composition, Pineal gland - Function, Pineal gland - Mythology

Read more here: » Pineal gland: Encyclopedia II - Pineal gland - Function

The tertiary colour Indigo is manifest at the convergence of Violet and Blue within the Light Spectrum.

Indigo is the colour of the 6th chakra - often referred to as the Ajna Chakra or "Third Eye" - partly because of its position over the Pineal Gland and between the brows, and partly because of it's association to paranormal "vision" - seeing beyond the capability of the eyes. Whereas Blue is the colour of transition - "the door to the other side" - Indigo, is the "other side". It is the colour of "synthesis"-which is the act of assembling "seemingly" separate - unrelated criteria into a complete or whole understanding. This translates through the human consciousness as KNOWING - but not knowing how you know.

(See also: Indigo Children, What is Indigo Children, Parenting Indigo Children, Adult Indigo, Indigo Children Channeling)

Sahasrara Ajna Vishuddha Anahata Manipura Swadhisthana Muladhara Bindu Ajna (Ājña, IPA: [a:ʤɲʌ]) is the sixth primary chakra according to the Indian Tantric tradition (Shakta). Ajna - Description. Ajna, ( 'command' in Sanskrit ) is positioned at the eyebrow region and it has two petals, said to represent the psychic channels Ida and Pingala, which meet here with the central Shu ...

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• Ajna - Description
• Ajna - Practices
• Ajna - Other Associations
• Ajna - Alternative names

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The word Merkaba (Hebrew: מרכבה "chariot, tank", derived from the ancient Hebrew consonantal root r-k-b with general meaning "to ride (an animal, in a chariot)") is used in the Bible (Ezekiel 1:4-26) to refer to the throne-chariot of god, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four Cherubim, each of which has four wings and four faces (of a man, lion, ox, and eagle). In medieval Judaism, the beginning of the book of Ezekiel was regarded as the most mystical passage in the Bible, and its study was discouraged, except by mature individuals with an extensive groun ...

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• Merkaba - Notes

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In Hindu mythology and Buddhist mythology, Amrita is the drink of the gods, which grants them immortality. The word itself literally means "without death" In Yogic Philosophy (see yoga) amrita is a fluid that can flow from the pineal gland down the throat in deep states of meditation. It is considered quite a boon: some yogic texts say that one drop is enough to conquer death. It is also a common first name in India and Nepal, as the masculine "Amrit" and the feminine "Amrita." More recently, Amrita has become a eup ...

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• Amrita - Reference

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1mg, 2.5mg, 3mg, and 5mg capsules; 1mg/mL or 1mg/4mL liquid; .5mg and 3mg lozenges; 2.5mg sublingual tablets; 1mg, 2mg, and 3mg timed-release tablets Indicated for: insomnia jet lag sleep disorders Melatonin, 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine, is a hormone produced by pinealocytes in the pineal gland (located in the brain) and also by the retina and GI tract. It is naturally synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan (derived from serotonin) by the enz ...

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• Melatonin - Medical uses of melatonin
• Melatonin - Safety

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A brain tumour is any intracranial mass created by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells either normally found in the brain itself: neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or spread from cancers primarily located in other organs (metastatic tumors). Primary (true) brain tumours are commonly located in the posterior cranial fossa in children and in the anterior two-thirds of the cerebral hemispheres in adult ...

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• Brain tumor - Causes
• Brain tumor - Classification
• Brain tumor - Symptoms
• Brain tumor - Diagnosis
• Brain tumor - Treatment and Prognosis

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The pineal gland consists mainly of pinealocytes, but four other cell types have been identified: interstitial cells, perivascular phagocyte, pineal neurons and peptidergic neuron-like cells. The pineal body has nervous tissue, and consists of follicles lined by epithelium and enveloped by connective tissue. These follicles contain a variable quantity of gritty material, called brain sand, acervuli, or corpora arenacea, which is composed of calcium phosphate, calci ...

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Pineal gland, Pineal gland - Location, Pineal gland - Structure and composition, Pineal gland - Function, Pineal gland - Mythology

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Pineal Gland: A small gland located between the cerebral hemispheres of the brain that secretes melatonin.

(See also: Pineal Gland, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Medulla Oblongata Pineal gland, nadis, trideni, and {SD 2:296; BCW 12:616, 700}

(See also: Medulla Oblongata Pineal gland, nadis, trideni, and, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Pineal Gland, Conarium, or Epiphysis Cerebri A small organ in the brain with a fancied resemblance to a pine cone; technically called the epiphysis, as being an "upgrowth" from the embryonic tissues which later form part of the ventricular or hollow center of the brain, which space is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord.

The pineal gland is described as a rounded, oblong body, about one-third of an inch long, of a deep reddish color, connected with the posterior part of the third ventricle, and intimately related to the optic thalami which physiologists find to be the organs of reception and condensation of the most sensitive and sensorial incitations from the periphery of the body.

Thus this organ is in central relation to the coordinating organs of all the senses and sensations, and to the thinking brain which perfects and coordinates ideas. Its purpose, however, remains a mystery to the medical profession. A standard anatomy says: "The ancients had a grotesque theory that the epiphysis is the favorite and peculiar abiding-place of the human soul. Modern morphologists have shown it to be the homologue of the third eye which some reptiles possess."

Blavatsky, repeating the ancient belief, says that this concealed third eye is the "seat of the highest and divinest consciousness in man -- his omniscient spiritual and all-embracing mind" (Key 121). She sketches the evolutionary history of this Deva Eye (SD 2:294 et seq) which was the only seeing organ in the beginning of the present human race, when the spiritual element in the then humanity reigned supreme over the as yet unawakened intellectual and psychic elements in the nature. Later on, as the ethereal and psychospiritual early races became self-conscious and physicalized, they used their spiritual and intellectual powers and faculties for selfish and sensual purposes. Meantime, the third eye withdrew, pari passu, into the central cavity of the developing brain. There it has remained until the present -- a symbol of that past spiritual vision which we will regain as we progress consciously along the upward arc of the evolutionary cycle. As to scientific evidence of a once active third eye of objective vision in animals, the Hatteria punctata, a lizard type found in New Zealand, is pointed out. This land, being a part well above the waters of the ancient continent Lemuria, the home of the third root-race, would be likely to retain some remnants of early types of the creatures which once existed when "the third eye was primarily, as in man, the only seeing organ" (SD 2:299).

An ancient commentary says that by the middle of the fourth root-race, the "inner vision had to be awakened and acquired by artificial stimuli, the process of which was known to the old sages" (SD 2:294). Even now, the adept, with trained will, can arouse this ordinarily quiescent organ into activity, so that he becomes illuminated throughout and by it with a vision of infinitude. It was this sublime vision which overwhelmed Arjuna when Krishna, acting as the Logos within, gave the aspiring human monad the divine eye (BG ch 11). The analogy of enlarged vision holds good, in degree, when the spiritual teacher arouses the chela's latent ability to see for himself hidden truth.

Descartes reasoned that the seat of the soul was the pineal gland which, he said, though it was tied to the brain, was yet capable of being put into a kind of swinging motion by the animal spirits that cross the cavities of the skull. He was right about the cavities being open during life, and about the organ's response in oscillations; and what the ancients called animal spirits, is otherwise expressed in theosophical literature as circulating currents of the nerve-aura of occultism.

In the adept, the third eye is aroused by aspiration and concentration of his human will upon the attainment of union of his mental with his spiritual faculties. By this conscious effort, he rises to the higher powers of will which, in its ordinary automatic and emotional phases, is usually diffused throughout the activities of the animal body and brain, by way of the main organ of will, the pituitary gland, the psychic associate of the pineal center. The x-ray may yet reveal ethereal emanations of nerve-aura in the human brain, as living evidence of the interrelation of mind and matter. Meantime, concrete examples of such interaction are found in the pineal gland, in the form of "brain sand," or (acervulus cerebri).

See also EYE OF SIVA; THIRD EYE; CYCLOPES; DEVAKSHA; TRI-LOCHANA

(See also: Pineal Gland, Conarium, Epiphysis Cerebri, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

"Consult your pineal gland" is a common saying in Discordianism. Some Discordians seem to regard the pineal gland as the source of answers to life's most difficult questions. The pineal gland produces trace amounts of DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a psychedelic chemical which is believed to play a role in dreaming and other mystical states. It should also be noted that the pineal gland was also used in Descartes's explanation of Cartesian Dualism as the "seat of the soul" and the connection between the material and immaterial world. And in some cases it is ref ...

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Discordianism, Discordianism - Founding, Discordianism - Organization, Discordianism - POEE, Discordianism - Popes in Discordianism, Discordianism - Philosophy, Discordianism - Chao, Discordianism - The Law of Fives, Discordianism - The Original Snub, Discordianism - The Curse of Greyface, Discordianism - Law of Eristic Escalation, Discordianism - The Pentabarf, Discordianism - Flax, Discordianism - The pineal gland, Discordianism - Discordianism as a religion

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In the West, Ajna has been associated with the Pineal gland, a light-sensitive gland in the brain which produces Melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for bio-rhythms in living organisms, such as when to wake, and when to sleep. Various occultists have tried to make kabbalistic assocations with Ajna, and it has been associated variously with the sephirah Kether, Da'at and the primal duality of Chokmah and Binah ( who represent a similar archetypal concept to that ...

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Ajna, Ajna - Description, Ajna - Practices, Ajna - Other Associations, Ajna - Alternative names

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The foundational document of Discordianism is the Principia Discordia written by Malaclypse The Younger (most likely an alias of Greg Hill). This book contains many references to an earlier source, The Honest Book of Truth. From the quotations, the HBT seems to be arranged like the Bible, consisting of verses grouped into chapters grouped into books grouped into the HBT itself. The Principia includes (on page 00041) a large portion of (or possibly all of) a chapter of "The Book of Explanations" which recounts how the HBT was re ...

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Discordianism, Discordianism - Founding, Discordianism - Organization, Discordianism - POEE, Discordianism - Popes in Discordianism, Discordianism - Philosophy, Discordianism - Chao, Discordianism - The Law of Fives, Discordianism - The Original Snub, Discordianism - The Curse of Greyface, Discordianism - Law of Eristic Escalation, Discordianism - The Pentabarf, Discordianism - Flax, Discordianism - The pineal gland, Discordianism - Discordianism as a religion

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Julius Axelrod - Analgesic research. In 1946, Axelrod took a position working under Bernard Brodie at Goldwater Memorial Hospital. The research experience and mentorship Axelrod received from Brodie would launch him on his research career. Brodie and Axelrod's research focused on how analgesics (pain-killers) work. During the 1940s, users of non-aspirin analgesics were developing a blood condition known as methemoglobinemia. Axelrod and Brodie discovered that acetanilide, the main ingredient of these pain-killers ...

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Julius Axelrod, Julius Axelrod - Early life and education, Julius Axelrod - Research, Julius Axelrod - Analgesic research, Julius Axelrod - Catecholamine research, Julius Axelrod - Pineal gland research, Julius Axelrod - Political views

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Pons, Cerebellum, Medulla oblongata Tectum, Cerebral peduncle, Pretectum, Mesencephalic duct Epithalamus, Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Subthalamus, Pituitary Gland, Pineal Gland, Third ventricle Basal ganglia, Rhinencephalon, Amygdala, Hippocampus, Neocortex, Lateral ventricles ...

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Central nervous system, Central nervous system - Parts of the CNS

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The very idea of a Discordian organization is something of an oxymoron. Nevertheless, some structure is indicated in Principia Discordia. The most general group, presumably including all Discordians (and potentially others), is The Discordian Society, whose definition is "The Discordian Society has no definition" (Principia Discordia, page 00032). Within the society are sects of Discordianism, each under the direction of an "Episkopos" (Greek, "overseer", source of English bishop and episcopalian), who receives di ...

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Discordianism, Discordianism - Founding, Discordianism - Organization, Discordianism - POEE, Discordianism - Popes in Discordianism, Discordianism - Philosophy, Discordianism - Chao, Discordianism - The Law of Fives, Discordianism - The Original Snub, Discordianism - The Curse of Greyface, Discordianism - Law of Eristic Escalation, Discordianism - The Pentabarf, Discordianism - Flax, Discordianism - The pineal gland, Discordianism - Discordianism as a religion

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A summary of part of the Discordian philosophy appears on pages 00049 and 00050 of the Principia Discordia. The following is a quote extracted from Principia Discordia (All Rites Reversed): HERE FOLLOWS SOME PSYCHO-METAPHYSICS. If you are not hot for philosophy, best just to skip it. The Aneristic Principle is that of APPARENT ORDER; the Eristic Principle is that of APPARENT DISORDER. Both order and disorder are man made concepts and are artificial divisions of PURE CHAOS, which is a level deeper ...

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Discordianism, Discordianism - Founding, Discordianism - Organization, Discordianism - POEE, Discordianism - Popes in Discordianism, Discordianism - Philosophy, Discordianism - Chao, Discordianism - The Law of Fives, Discordianism - The Original Snub, Discordianism - The Curse of Greyface, Discordianism - Law of Eristic Escalation, Discordianism - The Pentabarf, Discordianism - Flax, Discordianism - The pineal gland, Discordianism - Discordianism as a religion

Read more here: » Discordianism: Encyclopedia II - Discordianism - Philosophy