By Christina Sarich, Waking Times, 04/12/2016

There is an endocrine gland within our bodies that, when unimpeded, receives more blood flow per cubic volume than almost any organ in the body, including the heart.[1][2] It has been written about in masked language, or painted in art throughout the ages, and represented in a staggering number of ways for thousands of years – yet modern medicine hasn’t found it interesting enough to study clinically – or has it?The pineal gland’s true purpose is shrouded in mystery. Is this intentional?Will it take an information coup to keep us from being estranged from the cosmic gifts which so many of our ancestors refer to as being locked within this tiny pine-cone shaped mass of cells, or is there modern, scientific corroboration for what the ancients called the Epicenter of Enlightenment just waiting for us to peruse?Basics of the Pineal GlandOn the surface level, the ‘Pine’al’ gland, shaped like a pinecone, is at the geometric center of our brain and is intimately entwined with our perception of light. The pineal gland modulates circadian rhythms, and thus how we sleep. It remains uniquely isolated from the blood-brain barrier system, yet receives a higher percentage of blood flow than any other organ of the body except the kidneys. The pineal gland is tiny – smaller than a dime – located at the back of the roof of the third ventricle of the brain. (The ventricles are parts of the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which act to maintain the optimum chemical environment for the central nervous system cells). The pineal becomes steadily calcified with age, starting most often before puberty, meaning it shows up clearly on skull X-rays and CT scans to allow identification of the midline.[3]It is worth mentioning here that sodium fluoride calcifies the pineal gland. British scientist Jennifer Luke published a study showing that fluoride deposits accumulate in the pineal gland and calcify it. Just as bones go through a process of calcification to harden – a good thing, necessary for our health and functioning, the pineal gland can become ‘hardened’ through calcification, but to our greatest detriment, the reasons for which will be explained as you read further.Additionally, a 450 page review on fluoride toxicity published by the National Research Council in 2006 reported that fluoride produced a range of negative side effects including “decreased melatonin production” and “other effects on normal pineal function, which in turn could contribute to a variety of effects in humans.”The Pineal, Light, and Melatonin ProductionThe light-transducing ability of the pineal gland has led some to call the pineal the “third eye”. Oddly, the pineal contains rods and cones, just like our eyes in order to process light, even though it is smack dab in the center of our ‘dark’ brains. The gland is also responsible for creating and secreting melatonin. Melatonin communicates with our hormonal system about environmental light to the rest of the body and can entrain us to a certain biological rhythm, but there’s more to melatonin than just regulating our sleep-wake cycles.The precursor to melatonin is serotonin, which is stored in large quantities by the pineal gland – a hormone you may have heard of since it is so keenly linked with feeling good. Without proper serotonin creation in the body, the result is depression, and sometimes severe depression. Of the 40 million cells in our brains, serotonin interacts or communicates with almost all of them.[4]Is the Pineal Responsible for Spontaneous Realization or Psychedelic Experience?On a spiritual level, people in hundreds of cultures throughout the world have credited the pineal gland’s proper functioning with spontaneous spiritual experiences. Does it produce a psychedelic chemical or chemicals that allows us to exit into other dimensions, and even to enter and exit physical form? Does it allow an escape from this physical world in which we are currently held prisoner? What, truly, does this mysterious gland really do?The pineal gland forms in a human embryo at 49 days during gestation – which just happens to also be the amount of time it takes, according to Tibetan Buddhists, for a soul to reincarnate into their next physical body.[5]Other historical as well as natural references to the pineal gland[6], and so many of them, would certainly pique the interest of most any modern scientist studying the brain, the endocrine system, botany, or even human intelligence, but there seems to be a shrouding of the mysteries of the pineal, for reasons which might become more obvious after reading further. For example: * The pinecone happens to be the evolutionary precursor to the flower, with the spines spiraling in a perfect Fibonacci sequence, just like the sacred geometry of a rose, a sunflower, or a nautilus shell. * The Staff of Osiris from the Egyptian culture, dating back to approximately 1224 BC, depicts two intertwining

Source: Mysteries of The Pineal Gland Ignored by Mainstream Science and Research — Love Has Won