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On one hand the pineal gland is just one of the many glands that make up the body’s endocrine system, but it’s also known as the “third eye” of mystic visionary traditions in cultures across the globe — the so called “seat of the soul.” It turns out that the pineal gland is photosensitive just like our actual eyes and that the gland produces a number of compounds associated with sleep and dreaming. This weekend I happened across this fascinating article that describes the evolution of the pineal gland, the role it plays in regulating our bodies’ day and night rhythms and the affects that various psychoactive substances and cannabis have on this special spot in our brains…

We know that multiple different regions of the brain are involved in the subjective experience of being high. The pineal gland is just one tiny link in an extremely long and complicated chain, which stretches between some of the most basic and fundamental parts of the brain (and the pineal gland can definitely be classed as basic and fundamental, as almost every living vertebrate possesses one) and some of the most advanced, such as the neocortex, which only exists in mammals.

However, the pineal gland has repeatedly been associated with the biosynthesis of important natural compounds related to sleeping, dreaming, and dream imagery. The presence of these compounds in the pineal gland is one of the most important reasons that so many view it as the “seat of the soul”, or a key to “spiritual enlightenment”. Without a doubt, the most famous of these compounds is N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, more commonly known as DMT.

It’s actually somewhat controversial as to whether or not the pineal gland is responsible for synthesizing DMT in humans, but there is significant evidence to suggest that it is the case. DMT and related compounds tryptamine and bufotenin have been found in human urine, and DMT itself has been shown to be synthesized in the pineal gland of the rat brain. A closely related compound, 5-MeO-DMT has been found to be synthesized in the human pineal gland, but thus far, it has not been proven that DMT itself is too.

In any case, it certainly appears that the pineal gland is very much involved in the production and/or processing of substances that are well-known to be involved in helping to create “dream states” when we are asleep. Thus, there are many theories that the subjective experience of getting “high” from cannabis, hallucinogens and other psychoactive drugs also involves this subjective creation of a “dream-like” or otherwise altered reality.

This is a long read, but a good one. Check out the whole piece at the link above, but first, here’s Terence McKenna on The Third Eye…

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I haven’t read this new book yet, but after hearing this Coast-to-Coast interview with Dennis McKenna, I can’t wait to read The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss – Dennis’s new memoir about his psychedelic adventures with his brother Terence.

Is there a more eloquent spokesperson for the psychedelic experience than Terence McKenna? For me, McKenna even eclipses early enthusiasts like Leary and Kesey in his message-making and no one since his passing has even come close to filling his shoes. But, what about his brother Dennis?

McKenna’s readers will know that Dennis was a vital part of the early experiments with mushrooms, marijuana and DMT that eventually lead to Terence’s formulating of the Timewave Zero mapping – a novelty-tracking formula that finds human history diving into a seemingly-limitless space of unlimited potential newness in less than a month on December 21, 2012.

Dennis doesn’t exactly agree with Terence’s Timewave ideas – or with many of Terence’s other takes on the psychedelic experience. In short, he’s his own man and he’s got a unique story to share. But, one thing he shares with Terence is that low, reverberating Kermit-the-frog-esque McKenna drawl and – just like with his brother – it’s a pure pleasure to listen to the man and consider his ideas.

Enjoy the interview!