The ancient legend that humans have a mystical sense organ – the so-called third eye – have deep and strong roots in eastern culture.

In the esoteric European traditions, there is no mention of the third eye. In many Hindu legends and myths about this unusual organ, it is referred to as an indispensable feature of the deities. It was believed that with its help, they could penetrate into any corner of the universe and see the future.

The image of the third eye on the forehead of deities is often present in paintings and sculptures in Hindu and Buddhist temples and is related to a tradition where Indian women place a spot between their eyebrows.

The third eye in culture

The third eye and intuition

From ancient times, the mystics from different cultures connected the third eye to the intuition and described it as “intuitional vision” or intuitional connection with the outside world. Hence the name.

According to this point of view, the power of the third eye is something that we all use, whether we are aware of it or not. In everyday life, the rational mind refuses to accept its significance, but there are people who can “access information from within” and use it for decision making.

Thoughts like “something was wrong from the beginning”, “I felt it at first sight” or “Listen to your gut” often emerge to confuse and puzzle our minds. Some of us get intimidated by the “voice of the soul” and prefer to follow the path of reason. The question is: can we trust our lives to what we call “instinct”, “intuition”, “sixth sense”, etc.? Can we use the third eye to get information that could be used for decision making?

Mystics say that using the power of the third eye needs practice. It is not difficult but definitely needs your concentration and devotion. Also, first of all, you should learn to relax, visualize, meditate, and feel your body.

Otherworldly origins

Some researchers of ancient civilizations and traditional cultures believe that the third eye is a legacy of the extraterrestrial ancestors of humans. According to legends, it granted them remarkable abilities – hypnosis and clairvoyance, telepathy and telekinesis, the ability to get knowledge directly from the cosmic mind, to know the past and future, and even to overcome the force of gravity.

Pineal gland?

After the Hindu yoga traditions came to Europe and the Americas in the second half of the nineteenth century, there appeared an association of the third eye with the sixth chakra and the pineal gland of the brain. At the same time, in the ancient texts of India, there is no mention that the pineal gland is the physical representation of the third eye.

It apparently happened because mystical techniques of yoga had to be facilitated in order to be understandable for the western public. Then materialistically-minded mystics established the idea that Hindu mystic organs – the chakra – represent the endocrine glands of the physical body. The pineal gland was related to the Ajna chakra, although it is not located near the forehead, where Hindus draw the third eye.

The functions of this gland are still not completely understood, so it was given certain magical properties. The attention to the pineal gland was paid even by early philosophers and mystics in Europe in modern times.

For the first time, the pineal gland was described by Vesalius, an anatomist of the Renaissance. A founder of a new European philosophy – French philosopher Rene Descartes – in the first half of the 17th century believed that the pineal gland was a point of the interaction between mind and body.

The third eye in science

Functions of the pineal gland

There are still many issues associated with the pineal gland that have not been clarified. Scientists recognize that it has a function of the biological clock. It is also indirectly affected by the light. When the darkness is approaching, it triggers the secretion of a hormone called melatonin, which ceases when the dawn is approaching.

It was also found that the hormone melatonin is produced from serotonin. The latter is triggered by the psychedelic drug LSD, but they act as antagonists: LSD changes the concentration of serotonin in certain brain cells, causing dramatic changes in perception.

For the last hundred years, numerous Western mystics believed that proper development and use of the pineal gland is the key to using the power of intuition and accessing specific mental extrasensory abilities. It is believed that the third eye contains mechanisms for mastering the human mind’s different higher functions.

Real third eyes

For the last hundred years, the idea of the existence of the third eye was supported by the findings of many biologists and paleontologists who discovered rare species of higher animals that have a real third eye.

The most characteristic one is Tuatara, a rare type of reptile living on the islands of New Zealand. Scientists have discovered a true third eye, located on top of its head. Despite the fact that the “eye” is covered with skin, it can recognize the amount of lighting present at any given time.

Do we, as humans, really have a mystical sensory organ, the third eye, or is this just a figment of our imagination? Many people believe the representation of the third eye to be true and find themselves wanting to know more. Do you see, feel, hear, and know things that seem impossible? Maybe it’s the awakening of your own third eye.

References:

  1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1772576/
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK525955/

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