Many who have studied the workings of the pineal gland realize it has earned the name ‘the seat of enlightenment’ for good reason. The pineal is a transmitter of the spiritual or divine self as well as the grosser, earthly or physical self. Science is just beginning to unravel how this tiny endocrine gland in the center of our mind is able to turn humankind’s barbarous cravings into a yearning for oneness with Cosmic Consciousness or the ‘Kingdom of God Within,’ – while giving us the physical ability to realize it.

Modern medicine is altogether ignorant of the ‘ductless’ glands. The scientific study of endocrines and their hormones, in fact, is just shy of forty-five years standing, although about 170 years ago a French savant, Theophile de Bordeu, entered some study of the subject, including the making of an elixir which was injected into the skin of his subjects. His presumption that spirit was freed through a chemical process alone was wrong, however, he was correct in understanding the importance of neurochemistry in awakening the Cosmic Mind.[1] This does not mean that scholars and shamans, yogis, and seekers of spirit going back thousand of years are not well versed in the alchemical magic the pineal can induce.

Though a guru might tap a student on the forehead, giving what is called ‘shaktipat’ to induce an enlightened awareness or kundalini experience, all the guru is really doing is observing that a yearning spirit is ready to experience a dissolution of ego. When the time is ripe within any individual, be it from yogic practice, a karmic predisposition, a near-death experience or any number of other ‘priming’ activities, a neurochemical process unfolds from the tiny ‘spirit’ factory within the pineal itself.

The Neurohormonal Cascade of God Consciousness

There are a few neurohormones produced by the pineal which are key to unlocking the secrets of the ages. When these hormones are released, under rare and specific circumstances, a spiritual big bang occurs. 

Melatonin production is instigated by the pineal gland in periods of darkness via indirect stimulation from the optic nerve, and this neurohormone modulates our sleep-wake states. Melatonin allows waking self-consciousness to rest, so that our body consciousness can focus on its work of repairing itself without the meddling distractions of the ego/body consciousness and the various physical activities of the body associated with being awake. Melatonin silences self-consciousness, but METAtonin goes one step further. It allows the consciousness to remain in-tact while freeing it from the confines of the ego-based physical body.[2]

METAtonin production takes place when the pineal gland internally secrets an enzyme called methyltransferase (INMT) that catalyzes two methyl groups to combine with a serotonin molecule. Melatonin is a linguistic derivative of serotonin (serotonin + one methyl molecule), METAtonin, then, is a derivative of Melatonin (melatonin + one methyl molecule). Each of these is a higher octave of the previous one. Hence METAtonin, a higher octave of melatonin.  Each of these hormones neurochchemically shapes the state of consciousness in a distinctive manner.

METAtonin allows self-consciousness to remain active and simultaneously separate from the sleeping body. Unlike melatonin, METAtonin is not produced on a daily basis, and instaed is very rarely produced except in crucial situations; also it is not primarily delivered to its target, the central brain, via the blood. Once DMT enters the blood supply, it is immediately destroyed by the DMT scavenger monoamineoxidaise or MAO. For this reason, unlike all other hormones, it is very difficult to measure METAtonin, endogenous DMT, levels in the blood.

When METAtonin is Activated

When METAtonin is activated the mind is given a jet-pack into a level of consciousness that frees it altogether from the physical confines of reality. Many who experience this the first time fear the out-of-body of egoless state because it is so unfamiliar, but shamans and spiritual adepts who have shaped their neurochemistry appropriately can not only enjoy the elevated consciousness, but tap into its many lessons once they return to their physical form.

LSD and other Chemical Stimulants of METAtonin or DMT

Some make the distinction that when a person uses an outside source of chemical stimulation to change their state of consciousness, they enter a state of altered consciousness; when one is experiencing a higher state of consciousness that is stimulated by a natural, internal, endogenous hormone, they have entered a state of enhanced consciousness; but many herbal remedies and chemical drugs, even diet can affect our endogenous hormones.

The Attack on Our Endogenous Hormones

Seratonin, Melatonin and METAtonin – all hormones of the pineal – are under environmental attack daily. Without the proper workings of our neurochemical messengers, we cannot experience the ego-less state. Quite simply, our connection to the ‘Kingdom of God Within’ is cut off. In the Druidic culture the ‘nectar’ released by the pineal is considered the Holy Grail. In the Hindu culture it is called ‘amrita’ or ambrosia. This is why there are stories of knights fighting to obtain a golden cup – but what they refer to is the hormonal cascade created by a healthy pineal.

There are a thousand different practices in every living and and non-living culture which were aimed at creating our own endogenous METAtonin to free the mind from its physical prison.

Fluoride, processed food, refined sugar, pharmaceutical drugs and other modern chemical toxins cause the pineal’s ‘nectar’ to shut down. Fortunately, there are ways to reverse this process and reclaim the experiences that await a properly secreting pineal gland.

The Many Stages of METAtonin Release 

When the pineal is ‘primed’ by good diet, practices like meditation and yoga, or simply a person’s unwitting dance with death in a near-death-experience which causes a rush of hormones which awaken METAtonin processing, many stages of experience, both intentional and unintentional can be expected:

1. Through meditation or other methods of mental concentration, the pineal is awakened and a feeling of ecstasy or bliss is induced.
2. A state of inner peace or God Consciousness as described by Buddhists, Hindus, Tibetans, American Indians, Sufis, Amazonian tribes, and hundreds of other cultures is experienced. This is called Satori or Samadhi.
3. A vision-quest is induced in the Native American Indian culture which sends a young aspirant on a journey out of body that helps them to glean knowledge they would not have access to in-body.
4. Dreamtime, as experienced by Australian Aborigines in which great boons are found by travelling an astral landscape.
5. Glee or God-state as the Sufis felt in a whirling dervish.
6. Rapture
7. Creative Ecstasy. Many of the most lauded works of art, music, architecture, etc. were created in this state.
8. Remote Viewing
9. Transcendent Sex
10. Near Death Experience
11. Loss of Gravity
12. ‘Night Flight’ which happens when METAtonin is released while sleeping
13. Out of Body Consciousness
14. Holotropic Breathwork as pioneered by Dr. Stanislav Grog which gives way to ‘Rebirthing’
15. Emotional or Intellectual Epiphany

As you may have observed, these are not drone-like, live-to-work states of consciousness, but our spiritual heritage – states that allow us to be more than just a physical ego with base needs and desires. God Consciousness may not be encapsulated within the pineal, but the hormonal cascade it unlocks allows our experience of the Divine. Instead of living in ‘fight-or-flight’ from the adrenal glands, we can live in ‘light’ as we nurture the tiny ‘seat of the soul’ for which Descartes was so fond.