Pineal Gland Activation: 5 Methods for Opening the Third Eye

Welcome to the final segment in this 4-part series: how to activate the pineal gland.

Part 1: Pineal Gland Decalcification
Part 2: Pineal Gland Detox
Part 3: Block Blue Light
Part 4: Pinal Gland Activation [You are here]

If you haven’t read these guides yet, I recommend you do so as each guide builds on the next.

Now, we’ll examine how ancient traditions viewed the pineal gland.

Then, we’ll explore traditional methods for pineal gland activation, or what’s often called “opening your third eye.”

CONTENTS

Cognitive Impairment as an Unspoken Way of Life

Most people sense that they aren’t living to their highest potential.

For most, this “knowing” is subconscious. That is, a part of us knows, but consciously, we don’t necessarily connect with this reality.

For some of us, however, this realization becomes more conscious as we age. (If you’re reading this, that likely includes you.)

We know the difference between when we’re operating from our higher potential and when we’re not.

But why do we often fail to operate from our innate power in the first place? Why don’t we see what’s right in front of us?

One reason is that our brains rarely function the way they’re designed to run.

The pineal gland—and many other vital glands and organs—aren’t functioning within their intended design.

Thankfully, we have the power to change that.

Is Pineal Gland Activation an Important Topic?

Why are we investing so much time discussing a tiny gland the size of a grain of rice?

This website focuses on ways to actualize our higher potential.

When the pineal isn’t functioning properly, we can’t access our potential. It’s that simple.

Even more disconcerting, when the pineal isn’t functioning correctly, we often don’t even know there’s a problem.

In the Hindu tradition, the third eye is called the ajna chakra. Hindus believe that a blocked ajna chakra leads to:

Uncertainty,
Confusion,
Jealousy,
Cynicism, and
Pessimism.

But when the third eye is open, we perceive reality differently. We experience more:

Clarity,
Intuition,
Empathy,
Focus, and
Decisiveness.

Admittedly, these are qualities anyone can associate with our higher potential.

The Psychological and Spiritual Dimension of the Pineal Gland

In the prior segments of this series, we covered the important biological functions of the pineal, including its role in the regulation of hormones, light, mood, sleep, and physical growth.

However, in discussing how to activate the pineal gland, we’re now shifting into the psychological and spiritual arena.

It’s easy to see how the above-listed attributes are also essential for our spiritual and psychological development.

For example, how can one hope to get to know their shadow without clarity, intuition, and focus?

Pineal gland activation brings us a more significant connection to the natural world. It can also lead to a willingness to let go of many ego pursuits that are incongruent with our soul.

Lucid dreaming, astral projection, and a more vivid imagination are also topics related to pineal gland activation.

In fact, the pineal may be a gateway to higher creativity.

The Pineal Gland in Ancient Traditions

The Eye of Ra (ancient Egypt) on the left and a cross-section of the pineal, pituitary, and corpus callosum region on the right. [Source]

Although modern science and medicine have just begun to understand the critical role of the pineal gland, ancient cultures and traditions already have this knowledge.

For Buddhists, the pineal is a symbol of spiritual awakening.

In Hinduism, the pineal is the seat of intuition and clairvoyance.

For Taoists, the pineal is the mind’s eye or heavenly eye.

In ancient Egypt, we find numerous references to the third eye and the pineal region. Third-eye symbolism is found throughout Egyptian and Hindu mythology.¹

The Pineal Gland as the Seat of the Soul

In Matthew 6:22, the Bible reads:

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”

Notice how “eye” is singular and “thine eye be single.”

Ancient Greeks believed the pineal was our connection to thought itself. Herophilus described it as the “sphincter of thought.”

French mathematician and philosopher, Rene Descartes, shared this view. Speaking about the pineal, he wrote in Treatise of Man:

“My view is that this gland is the principal seat of the soul, and the place in which all thoughts are formed.”

For at least several thousand years in both the East and West, the pineal gland has been viewed as a connecting link between the physical (3D) world and a psychic dimension beyond it.

The top portion of “Seat of the rational soul.” A sketch by Rene Descartes.

Why Is the Pineal Gland Called the Third Eye?

Cultures as far back as ancient Egypt referred to the pineal as the inner eye or the third eye. Why?

When you cut the pineal open, pinealocytes line the interior. These pinealocytes resemble the rods and cones in the retina of our eyes.

The pineal even has retinal tissue and the same physical wiring as the brain’s visual cortex.

Indeed, the pineal gland does appear to be the third eye. How ancient cultures understood this is unclear.

In Light: Medicine of the Future, Jacob Liberman explains that light stimulates the pineal in creatures like birds, lizards, and fish directly through the skull.²

“In many reptiles, the pineal has all the photoreceptive elements characteristic of an eye. It is therefore referred to as a “third eye” because, in many creatures, it resembles an eye in both structure and activity.”

In mammals, however, light stimulates the pineal exclusively via the eyes.

Dr. Liberman believes humans initially received light stimulation through the top of the head (crown), as is described in many mystical and ancient traditions.

The pineal, then, represents the inward seeing eye. This means that activating this third eye helps us see life beyond the typical limitations of our perception, bringing clarity of vision.

How to Activate the Pineal Gland: 5 Methods

So now, if you’re interested, together we’ll explore some fascinating territory.

Each tradition has different methods for activating the third eye. It may be that different methods are appropriate for different individuals based on type, temperament, or some other factors.

We’ll review five pineal gland activation methods below. They are:

Meditation
Sun Gazing
Qigong
Psychedelics
Brainwave Entrainment

Through a review of each of these methods, a curious pattern emerges. We’ll discuss the importance of this pattern in a concluding section.

A Quick Word of Caution About Pineal Gland Activation

First, a word of caution is appropriate here.

While everyone should decalcify and detox their pineal, pineal gland activation shouldn’t be taken lightly (as it is in many New Age circles).

Numerous researchers have observed that if the pineal gland gets “stuck on” it can cause schizophrenia, delusions, and waking hallucinations. I suspect this is more common than many people realize.

Some traditions, like the Northern Reality School of Taoism, also caution against esoteric methods of altering your consciousness. So it’s advisable to exercise care and attention in this arena.

The third eye is likely designed to open naturally when the conditions are appropriate for an individual. (I personally believe this to be the case.)

In modern times, however, these conditions rarely arise spontaneously.

Ancient cultures had shamans and wise, ritual elders who guided such processes for the younger generations.

Today, however, we are each responsible for our inner journeys to awakening and higher development.

So please don’t view what follows as “advice.” I’m merely highlighting how you can activate the pineal gland; I’m not suggesting you should.

Pineal Gland Activation Method #1: Meditation

Perhaps the most traditional method of opening your third eye is through formal meditation training.

Meditation is an essential topic for anyone interested in accessing their higher potential.

But for our purposes here, through various meditative techniques, you can stimulate and activate your pineal gland directly.

How? The pineal gland is sensitive to the bioelectrical signals of light and dark in its environment.

Meditation can activate this bioelectric energy. And, with practice, you can direct this energy via your attention to the pineal gland, stimulating it and helping it open.

For your meditation to be effective, your mind must become still so the scattered energy in your body can consolidate.

We can’t, however, quiet our minds through force. Instead, we observe or watch our mind and allow it to become still without effort.

Third Eye Meditation

A “third eye meditation” might look something like this:

Sit in a comfortable, relaxed, upright posture.
Close your eyes or lower your eyelids.
Allow your breath to become deep and slow. (Meaning don’t force your breath; just watch it. Detached observation will naturally cause your breathing to slow down.)
Rest your attention on the third eye region just above and between your two eyes. (Again, without strain or force.)

That’s it. You can also imagine that you’re breathing a golden white light through the center of your third eye.

The key is to remain relaxed and avoid trying to force the exercise. Let go of wanting or expecting any result as this will create tension that will block the flow of energy in this process.

Why This Meditation Works

By placing your attention on the pineal gland, you’re focusing your internal energy on this region. The Chinese called Yi, or attention.

This relaxed focus releases neuropeptides and nitric oxide, which trigger the relaxation response. These chemicals will allow you to move into deeper meditation while stimulating the third eye region.

If you recall from prior segments, melatonin is an essential hormone produced and circulated by the pineal gland.

Not surprisingly, in the brains of meditators, they find an increase in melatonin secretion.³

Using functional MRI scans of individuals in a particular form of sitting meditation, researchers at Taiwan University found that meditation does trigger pineal gland activation.⁴

You’ll know your third eye meditation is working when you begin to feel either a slight pressure in this region or a pulsating sensation. It can feel as though there’s a mini heart beating in your forehead—an unusual sensation initially.

Pineal Gland Activation Method #2: Sun Gazing

This next method, if you’re unfamiliar with it, might seem odd and perhaps dangerous.

We’ve all been told not that staring directly at the sun will damage our eyes.

One thing I will say with fair certainty: for those of us committed to actualizing our higher potential, we must be willing to challenge everything we think we know.

Over decades, I’ve repeatedly observed that most of what I’ve been “taught” in childhood is either completely wrong or just severely limited. Sungazing is a perfect example.

Sun gazing is a powerful, ancient technique with tremendous benefits. The basic theory behind sun gazing is that you’re absorbing the energy of the sun directly through your eyes and skin.

The Man Who Eats the Sun?

Hira Ratan Manek (known as HRM) is the person who brought this method to the mainstream. Through sun gazing, HRM and many others have been able to go long periods (years!) without eating and remain physically healthy.

A team of physicians from the University of Pennsylvania examined HRM 24/7 for 130 days. They confirmed his claims that he survives mostly on sunlight with minimal water.

Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and pineal gland authority George Bernard studied HRM’s brain during these 130 days. They found that the gray cells in HRM’s brain are regenerating.

Further, the pineal gland shrinks in individuals after their mid-fifties. In HRM’s case, this 64-year-old man’s pineal gland was expanding! (His pineal measured at 8 x 11 mm compared to the maximum average size of 6 x 6 mm.)

The Sun, the Pineal, and HRM

Is this so surprising? Recall what light does to the pineal from the previous guide on the circadian rhythm.

The research cited in that guide supports the idea that sunlight reduces the harmful effects of artificial blue light.

Here, we’re learning that the sun’s support goes further: the sun can help us restore the original size and function of this all-important gland.

Note: More recently, HRM started eating. Apparently, the documentary “Eat the Sun” exposes him as a fraud, but this is more likely a consequence of a shadow archetype possessing him. Like many so-called “gurus,” it appears he became inflated, and now he can’t regulate his behavior. Sungazing, like all such techniques, should be used responsibly and with great care.

See also:

The Benefits of Fasting

While stopping eating isn’t the goal of pineal gland activation, many who sun gaze report that it reduces hunger.

In my personal experience with sun gazing, I can confirm these reports as well. Eating becomes more of a choice, but there’s no longer hunger or a physical need to eat.

This 2011 study by the Intermountain Medical Center found that periodic fasting:⁵

Lowers your risk of heart disease and diabetes
Causes changes to your blood cholesterol levels
Increases human growth hormone (HGH)

HGH is a metabolic protein that protects lean muscle and metabolic balance. HGH increased an average of 1,300 percent in women and 2,000 percent in men during a 24-hour fasting period.

Finally, moderate fasting also supports detoxification, which might be the most significant benefit to your pineal gland.

How to Use Sun Gazing to Activate the Pineal Gland

Why are we told that it’s dangerous to look at the sun? Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can damage the retina.

But did you know that the UV index is usually zero during sunrise and sunset?

When sun gazing, it’s important to only look at the sun within the first hour of sunrise in the morning and the last hour in the evening when the sun still has an orange glow.

You don’t sun gaze during the day when the UV index is high. Sun gazing is reportedly safe whenever the UV index is less than 2. Your local weather source quotes the current UV index.

Using HRM’s method, you start within the first 15 minutes of sunlight in the morning and the last 15 minutes at the end of the day.

You only gaze into the sun for a couple of seconds at first, building up to 45 minutes per day after nine months. You can read the specifics of HRM’s method here.

Sun gazing is also often done barefoot, so you get the added benefits of grounding too.

But even if you’re not interested in following this particular protocol, occasional sungazing in the early morning or late evening will support your efforts to activate your pineal gland.

Pineal Gland Activation Method #3: Qigong

Qigong translates to “life energy cultivation” or “energy skill.”

I briefly discussed qigong in my guide on the internal martial art practice called Zhan Zhang.

Qigong exercises are designed to increase the practitioner’s sensitivity to the flow of energy within the body, called chi (or qi).

Then, one learns how to move this energy with gentle physical motions and breathing. Finally, the practitioner learns how to move this chi with one’s mind via intent (Yi).

Most of us have many blocked energy meridians and centers that keep the body’s chi from reaching vital glands in the endocrine system.

Circulating the body’s energy using qigong helps open these pathways, allowing this energy to reach these areas and activate the pineal gland.

In truth, the meditation practice described above is a form of qigong as you’re focusing your intention on the pineal gland to increase the energy flow in this region.

If you first develop sensitivity to your body’s energy through qigong, however, before doing a meditative practice like this, it will be far more effective.

If you practice Zhan Zhang daily and your body opens up naturally, you’ll experience an increased flow of energy throughout your body and brain. (At times, the experience can be on par with an LSD trip in terms of vividness and wakefulness.)

Pineal Gland Qigong Using the Sun

Many forms of qigong training can influence pineal gland activation.

One particular exercise in Master Shou-Yu Liang and Wen-Ching Wu’s book, Qigong Empowerment, combines qigong with another method we just discussed above—sun gazing:⁶

“When the sun starts to rise over the horizon, extend one of your arms toward the sun, and point your index finger at the sun.
Look at the sun from your index finger to the sun. While the sun is still red in color, focus on the sun as it rises completely above the horizon. It is said that with this training, one will open the Heavenly Eye.”

In Taoism, the Heavenly Eye is another term for the third eye.

Pineal Gland Activation Method 4: DMT

In prior segments, we learned that the pineal gland synthesizes and secretes a hormone called melatonin.

But the pineal is also responsible for another chemical we didn’t discuss.

In his revolutionary book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, psychiatrist and researcher Rick Strassman theorized that the pineal gland produces another important chemical called N,N-dimethyltryptamine or DMT.

In 2013, Strassman along with other researchers did indeed find DMT in the pineal gland of rats. (It seems medical science is still unclear whether the pineal produces DMT or just regulates it.)

“Collective Vision” by Alex Grey

Dubbed the “Spirit Molecule,” DMT is a natural hallucinogen capable of producing extraordinary visions and mystical states of consciousness.

DMT is similar to the properties of lysergic acid diethylamide (known as LSD or acid) but is naturally occurring in our bodies whereas LSD is a synthetic drug.

In DMT, Strassman explains:

“DMT exists in all of our bodies and occurs throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. It is a part of the normal makeup of humans and other mammals; marine animals; grasses and peas; toads and frogs; mushrooms and molds; and barks, flowers, and roots.”

In the 1970s, Japanese scientists discovered that the brain transports DMT across the blood-brain barrier into its tissues.

Strassman continues:

“I know of no other psychedelic drug that the brain treats with such eagerness … If DMT were only an insignificant, irrelevant by-product of our metabolism, why does the brain go out of its way to draw it into its confines?”

Many researchers like Graham Hancock theorize that DMT is the lens of the pineal gland that allows us to see wider areas of our reality that are usually inaccessible to us.

Ayahuasca

DMT is present in the Amazonian botanical tea called ayahuasca.

Ayahuasca is a sacred tea made from the vine of the Ayahuasca plant combined with the leaves of either chacruna or chagropanga bush.

A minimal amount of DMT is reportedly produced by the pineal gland every night while we dream.

But when you take Ayahuasca, you’re getting a massive DMT boost that may be able to break up any existing calcification in your pineal.

This “herbal medicine” is taken as part of a South American shamanic ritual that leads participants through profound experiences—both “positive” and “negative”—as content from their unconscious comes into conscious awareness.

When used with the proper mindset and environment (“set and setting”), ayahuasca and other substances like iboga and psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”) have the potential to heal our minds and activate our pineal glands. (Too bad these sacraments are classified as “Schedule 1” substances—illegal.)

However, taking these psychedelic substances in isolation—meaning without other transformational practices listed above—will likely only have a temporary effect on your pineal and your overall state of consciousness.

Pineal Gland Activation Method 5: Brainwave Entrainment

Our brains operate on a range of brainwave patterns. Each pattern establishes a particular state of consciousness.

From high to low, here are the most commonly cited brainwave frequencies and their associated state of consciousness:

Brainwave Frequency	State of Consciousness
Gamma (40 – 100 Hertz)	Ecstatic peak experiences / Oneness
High Beta (22 – 40 Hertz)	Anxiety / Nervousness
Low Beta (14 – 22 Hertz)	Alertness / Focus
Alpha (8 – 14 Hertz)	Physically relaxed / Meditative
Theta waves (4 to 8 Hertz)	Deeply relaxed / REM sleep
Delta (0.5 – 4 Hertz)	Dreamless sleep / deepest meditation

If you do a Google search on “third eye activation” you’ll get lots of results for “brainwave entrainment” audio programs and sound clips on Youtube. These programs are usually a combination of binaural beats and isochronic tones.

When you simultaneously hear one pure-tone sine wave in the left ear and another sine wave in the right ear, it creates an auditory illusion called a binaural beat.

An isochronic tone is merely a pure tone that’s turned on and off rapidly.

Sound engineers calibrate these tones to specific frequencies.

The goal of these programs is to induce a particular state of consciousness by entraining the brain to the frequencies of the sounds.

Although there’s a lack of controlled research studies, preliminary research suggests brainwave entrainment does facilitate a change in brainwave patterns and has a therapeutic effect.⁷

The effects of these changes, however, are likely only temporary.

In my personal experience, not all brainwave entrainment programs are equal. Also, I’ve found that the best benefits from brainwave entrainment come when used in conjunction with meditation.

Brainwave Frequencies for the Pineal Gland Activation

The question for us here is: Which brain wave patterns support pineal gland activation?

While there’s no clear answer, research does point us in several directions.

One study of two individuals during an ayahuasca (DMT) experience found that they produced an increase in “global EEG coherence in the 36-44 Hz and 50-64 Hz frequency bands for both subjects.”⁸ These frequency bands are known as gamma waves.

Then, we need to consider what brainwave frequencies are consistent with the production of the pineal gland’s main chemical: melatonin.

The answer is delta waves—the brain waves we experience during deep, dreamless sleep.

Finally, what frequency is active during the REM stage of sleep? Theta waves. Both theta and gamma waves work together during REM sleep.⁹

So, to use brainwave entrainment for pineal gland activation, use binaural beats and isochronic tones that specifically activate delta, theta, and gamma frequencies.

I’ve experimented with most of the popular brainwave entrainment programs on the market.

Out of these programs, Profound Meditation 3.0 by iAwake Technologies was the most impressive. (This is an affiliate link. Use code CEOSAGE25 to receive a 25% discount on the program.)

You can download a free sample track from this program here.

Achieving Total Brain Coherence

Ultimately, all of the pineal gland activation methods discussed above work to bring the entire brain online—not just the pineal.

In Awakening the Mind: A Guide to Mastering the Power of Your Brain Waves, researcher Anna Wise explains that in peak experiences, not one but all of the brainwave frequencies are active.

Check out this MRI image of the brain on LSD (the first of its kind):

source

This brain scan image represents the goal of these methods: to activate the whole brain, including the pineal gland.

In the video segment below, a neuroscientist records an individual’s EEG while he’s sun gazing.

The scientist notes how all of the various brainwave frequencies become active throughout the brain.

Recap: How to Approach Third Eye Awakening

Just remember that pineal gland activation is meant to be something that happens naturally.

While you can (and arguably should) take steps to decalcify (part 1), detoxify your pineal and blood (part 2), and improve your sleep (part 3), when it comes to “activation,” focus on setting up the conditions.

Forcing the outcome, in this case, can lead to all kinds of problems.

So again, when we speak of pineal gland activation, we’re talking about bringing the whole brain online, integrating all the various brain regions.

While psychedelics appear to accomplish this goal temporarily, methods like meditation, sun gazing, and various forms of qigong give us the ability to change the physical structure of our consciousness over time.

As the pineal gland activates and the brain becomes more integrated, you begin to perceive your reality differently.

You’ll begin to notice more of your unconscious behavior, which helps you get to know your shadow.

Everything becomes more vivid, including the realities of your inner world.

You may wake up to many new realities about your life, the universe, and existence itself that were unavailable to you before.

Perhaps this process has already begun for you. If not, the door to this new adventure is now before you.

4-Part Pineal Gland Series

Part 1: Decalcify Your Pineal Gland
Part 2: Pineal Gland Detox
Part 3: Block Blue Light
Part 4: Activate Your Pineal Gland (You Are Here)

Books Related to Activating the Pineal Gland

DMT: The Spirit Molecule
by Richard Strassman

Light: Medicine of the Future
by Jacob Liberman

Qigong Empowerment
by Master Shou-Yu Liang and Wen-Ching Wu

Awakening the Mind: A Guide to Mastering the Power of Your Brain Waves
by Anna Wise

5 Transformative Methods to ACTIVATE Your Pineal Gland and Tap Into Your Superhuman Potential