Off The Record

One Of The Biggest Secrets Kept From Humanity: The Pineal Gland

Published on April 16, 2018

Buried deep in the center of your brain, nestled between the two hemispheres, lies an unassuming organ no larger than a grain of rice. Shaped like a pine cone, it has long been regarded as one of the most mysterious and powerful parts of the human body.

This tiny gland—called the pineal gland—has fascinated both scientists and mystics for centuries. Often referred to as the “third eye,” it has been tied to the regulation of sleep, hormonal rhythms, and even spiritual awakening. While modern medicine acknowledges its role in producing melatonin, many ancient traditions have attributed far more to this small structure than just sleep regulation.

They believed the pineal gland was not merely a physical organ—but a gateway between dimensions, a bridge between the physical and spiritual, and perhaps even the seat of the soul.

Today, as science and spirituality begin to converge in new and exciting ways, this ancient perspective is being reexamined with fresh eyes. What if there is more to the pineal gland than we’ve been led to believe? What if its activation could unlock dormant potentials within the human mind—clarity, intuition, even perception beyond the physical world?

Let’s explore the modern mystery of the pineal gland—its structure, its potential, its dangers, and its awakening.

(Video can be found at the bottom of this article…)

The Shape of Secrets

The pineal gland gets its name from its resemblance to a pine cone—a symbol that, interestingly, appears in many ancient cultures as a representation of spiritual insight. You’ll find pine cone motifs in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Indian temples, and even at the Vatican, carved into statues and sacred artifacts. It’s as if civilizations throughout history knew something about this tiny gland that modern society has forgotten.

Physically, the pineal gland is part of the epithalamus, and it sits precisely at the center of the brain—between the two hemispheres, near a fluid-filled cavity known as the third ventricle. This central location is no coincidence. In spiritual traditions, the center of the brain has always been viewed as the seat of higher consciousness—and the pineal gland sits exactly there.

Biological Role: The Regulator of Light and Shadow

Medically, the pineal gland is best known for producing melatonin—a hormone that regulates the body’s internal clock. Melatonin levels rise in the evening, helping us fall asleep, and decrease in the morning, waking us up.

This regulation is not random—it’s based on light. The pineal gland is directly influenced by signals from the eyes. When darkness falls, it produces melatonin. When light returns, production ceases. In this way, the pineal gland is our internal timekeeper, keeping us in sync with the natural rhythms of day and night.

But this rhythm goes deeper than just sleep. It also influences mood, reproduction, aging, and seasonal behavior. Some researchers have even tied disturbances in pineal function to conditions such as insomnia, seasonal affective disorder, and mood instability.

So while it’s easy to dismiss the pineal gland as a “simple sleep switch,” it’s clear that this tiny organ affects almost every aspect of our physical and emotional health.

The Spiritual Eye: A Portal Between Worlds?

For mystics and esoteric traditions across the world, the pineal gland has always been more than a hormone factory. In many belief systems, it is considered the third eye—an invisible organ of inner sight capable of perceiving energy, truth, and dimensions beyond the physical.

In Hinduism and Buddhism, the third eye is associated with the Ajna chakra—the seat of intuition, psychic awareness, and spiritual insight. In Taoism, it is called the “Heavenly Eye.” Ancient Egyptian priests revered the “Eye of Horus” as a gateway to divine knowledge—an image many scholars now believe mirrors the internal structure of the pineal gland when viewed in cross-section.

This spiritual “eye” is said to be the source of visionary experiences, dreams, meditative insight, and even astral travel—a form of consciousness that detaches from the body and explores non-physical realms.

Could there be truth to these ancient claims?

Many spiritual seekers claim that through meditation, breathwork, fasting, and sacred plant medicines, the pineal gland can be activated—resulting in euphoric, unifying, or even telepathic states of consciousness. Some describe moments of “oneness with the universe.” Others speak of visions, colors, or memories beyond this life.

Whether these experiences are hallucinations, chemical shifts in the brain, or glimpses into deeper dimensions—depends on your worldview. But there is growing scientific interest in what exactly is happening when the pineal gland is stimulated in such states.

DMT and the Spirit Molecule

One of the most fascinating theories in this space comes from Dr. Rick Strassman, a medical researcher who conducted clinical studies on DMT—a powerful psychedelic compound that exists naturally in trace amounts within the human body.

He believes DMT is highly connected to the pineal gland:

I was drawn to DMT because of its presence in all of our bodies. I believed the source of this DMT was the mysterious pineal gland, a tiny organ situated in the center of our brains. Modern medicine knows little about this gland’s role, but it has a rich metaphysical history. Descartes, for example, believed the pineal was the ‘seat of the soul’ and both Western and Eastern mystical traditions place our highest spiritual center within its confines.”

Strassman theorized that the pineal gland may be responsible for producing DMT, especially in extraordinary moments such as birth, death, and near-death experiences. His groundbreaking book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, proposed that this mysterious compound could explain mystical visions, otherworldly encounters, and the phenomenon of consciousness leaving the body.

Although this theory remains unconfirmed, later studies did detect DMT in mammalian brain tissue, and the enzymes necessary to synthesize DMT have been found in human brain cells.

In other words—our brains may already be wired for transcendence.

A Gland Under Attack?

If the pineal gland holds such spiritual and physiological importance, why is it that so few people seem connected to it?

One major concern among researchers is calcification—the buildup of calcium deposits that gradually harden the gland, reducing its function. Studies show that pineal calcification increases with age and can severely inhibit melatonin production.

But another troubling link has emerged in recent years: fluoride.

Some studies have revealed that the pineal gland absorbs more fluoride than any other soft tissue in the body. Fluoride—a chemical added to many municipal water supplies and dental products—may contribute to faster calcification of the pineal, blunting its hormonal output and possibly even its “spiritual sensitivity.”

While mainstream medicine views this with skepticism, alternative health experts and spiritual practitioners alike suggest that high fluoride exposure may be silently dulling the very part of us meant to connect with higher truths.

The Awakening Process: How to “Activate” Your Third Eye

So how can we reclaim our pineal gland?

Although there is no magic switch, a combination of ancient practices and modern science offers a roadmap:

Meditation: Focusing attention inward, especially between the eyebrows or crown of the head, can increase blood flow and neural activity to the pineal region.
Fasting and Clean Eating: Avoiding processed foods, artificial chemicals, and fluoride-heavy products is believed to help “decalcify” the gland.
Sunlight and Darkness: Natural light during the day and complete darkness at night support the natural rhythm of melatonin release.
Breathwork and Yoga: Practices like Kundalini or Pranayama may stimulate cerebrospinal fluid and oxygenation around the pineal, creating moments of stillness and light.
Sacred Sound: Some traditions use specific frequencies or chants—such as OM—to resonate with the pineal’s vibration.
Fluoride Reduction: Using reverse osmosis water filters, natural toothpaste, and avoiding fluoridated tap water may help protect the pineal from chemical intrusion.

A Choice to See Clearly

Whether you view the pineal gland as a spiritual antenna or a biological clock, one thing is clear—it plays a vital role in our health, our perception, and possibly even our evolution.

And yet, in a world of digital noise, artificial light, and synthetic food, we rarely pause to nourish this sacred center. We rarely ask what might awaken if we gave our inner eye just a little attention.

Maybe the ancients were right.

Maybe we were never meant to see with just two eyes.

Maybe within every human lies a hidden portal—not to escape reality, but to see it more clearly than ever before.

And perhaps, the greatest awakening is not a lightning bolt from the heavens…

But the quiet turning inward toward a truth that’s always been waiting.

Inside you.