Biopsychology

[Dada Krpamayananda]

(Glands, Hormones and the Mind)
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What is Biopsychology?  It's the science of the relationship between the
glands, hormones and the mind. The glands are the link between the body and
mind. They secrete the hormones that affect the way we feel. So they
determine the emotions, based on signals from the mind. For example, we all
know when we feel a fright in the gut. That's because the mind gives the
"fright" signal to the adrenal glands at the level of the stomach. It can
also work the other way as well: the glands also affect the mind.

Here are some examples:

* Did you know that when the sex glands develop, we get the sense of duty
and responsibility? That's why children don't have such a good sense of
responsibility.

* The prostrate and other glands in the navel area develop around the age of
five. That gives the feeling of shyness. Of course you've noticed that
children under five are not ashamed to run around naked. If there's an
over-secretion of hormones from this area, it causes mental depression. An
under-secretion causes increased fear.

*  We feel love in the heart through subtle glands in the chest. Normally
that love is for our close family and friends, especially children, but it
can be expanded to universal love.

* The thyroid gland (at the throat) controls the metabolism of the whole
body. It also gives the feeling of self-reliance. The parathyroids (around
the thyroid) cause intellectuality and rationality.

* The pituitary gland - in the centre of the brain - controls the mind.  By
the pituitary gland it is the conscious, subconscious and unconscious
portions of your mind that are controlled (the conscious and sub-conscious
mind directly and the unconscious mind indirectly) - it is the seat of the
mind, the place where the mind dwells.

The pituitary gland is a small oval endocrine gland that lies at the base of
the brain . Physiologically, the pituitary is divided into two distinct
lobes that arise from different embryological sources: the anterior lobe and
the posterior lobe.  The posterior lobe is structurally continuous with the
hypothalamus of the brain. The hypothalamus controls almost all secretions
of the pituitary.

But above the factor of mind there is the causal factor.

* The pineal gland - is actually associated with the top of the brain - it
is the real controller (but physically located below the top).  All the
propensities (1000) of the human mind are ultimately controlled by this
pineal gland.  This is because the link to the non-attributional Supreme
Consciousness is located at the pineal plexus, ten fingers above the
pituitary plexus (the location of mind).  

Here it should be noted that the mind is a powerful controlling entity, yet
it is only located in the pituitary plexus. The seat of Cosmic
Consciousness, beyond the mind, is located ten fingers above the seat of
mind at the pineal plexus. The lower glands of the human body are controlled
by the higher glands. So if the pituitary gland is well-developed, the lower
glands will be equally well-developed and well-regulated. However, the
pineal gland is the primary controller of all the other glands. The human
body possesses fifty main glands, each having its own impact on the psychic
sphere. Every gland works both internally and externally as well as in ten
directions (in a general sense).  That is,. 50 x 2 x 10 = 1000. That is why
the pineal gland is the controller of one thousand mental propensities.

The pineal gland is activated when we meditate. The hormone melatonin, which
it secretes, gives the feeling of bliss - infinite happiness. It is a small
organ about the size of a pea situated in the brain.

You should note that there is a difference between the focal point - the
point of ideation for a cakra (plexus) - and the glands associated with that
cakra.  The pineal gland is not the sahasrara cakra (7th psychic plexus),
just as the adrenals are not the third cakra (plexus). The adrenals are
controlled by the manipura cakra (3rd psychic plexus), but the cakra is
something you can never find with a surgeon's blade.  It is purely psychic.
This does not mean it does not exist however.  

Long considered vestigial in humans, the structure, which is also called the
pineal body or the epiphysis, is present in most vertebrates. It is
sensitive to different levels of light and is essential to the functioning
of an animal's biological clock. In many animals, including humans, the
pineal gland synthesizes a hormone called melatonin in periods of darkness.
Melatonin synthesis is halted when light hits the retina of the eye, sending
impulses to the gland via the optic nerve. Besides influencing daily or
circadian rhythms such as those of as sleep and temperature, the pineal
gland and melatonin appear to direct annual rhythms and seasonal changes in
animals. The pineal gland and melatonin are now being studied for their
roles in sleep, reproduction and aging .

Continue your meditation to feel that bliss
_______________________________

You unlock the real potential of meditation and yoga when you adopt it.
This means living yoga; practicing meditation every day.  It means applying
the wisdom to everyday life and to live a sentient lifestyle, that is, with
awareness of the inner meaning of meditation.  All aspects of life are
affected: how you should eat, how you should sleep, ideation at work,
relationship with others and so on.  Conscious and skilful living doesn't
mean you need to be a superstar to practice such a lifestyle.  All you need
is sincerity and application of some degree of discipline.  Make any
adjustments in a systematic way and view changes as positive.

Effort in life is essential to spiritual discipline and one's concern with a
healthy, wholesome, functional, and spiritual environment.

Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, in the second half of the 20th century, once asked:

Now, the question may arise: is not the effort of meditation a mental
occupation?  

His answer was:

No, it is not, for a mental occupation is concerned with the doer I or ego,
with the effort to attain for that ego.  But the effort of meditation (deep
/ divine contemplation) is the effort to see beyond the small ego and to see
the Oneness of all things - including your mind within the Whole - so we
cannot call this an ordinary desire. Meditation is not a mental propensity,
it is the fullest expression of one's Self.

Anandamurti also asked:  

What is the science of spirituality (spiritual practice)?  

To this the answer was:

The process of transforming basic inclinations towards a higher
consciousness.  This is known as the science of spiritual practice.  The
spiritual practice which liberates the aspirant from dullness or animality
and expands one's self is spiritual practice.  Spiritual practice needs a
scientific approach.  Spiritual practice means a practice for expansion, and
this expansion is nothing but a liberation from the bondage of all sorts of
dullness.  Irrespective of caste, creed or religion, one who aspires for
spiritual expansion, or does something concrete, is a spiritual aspirant.
Spirituality and spiritual science in itself is neither a religion nor an
"ism".  It is the fundamental path and psycho-spiritual approach.

So keep going.  It is also good to see that a number of people have now been
taught their own personal meditation technique.  

Dharma

Songs for Inspiration
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What follows is one of the most ancient verses written (being over 10,000
years old and originally orally transmitted across generations) and so is
given some credence in the yogic tradition as the first piece of writing
that recognises the subtle qualities of human life and the spirit of
collective endeavour.  For that reason it is often sung together before
collective meditation.

SAMGACCHADHVAM SAMVADADHVAM
SAM VOMANAMSI JANATAM
DEVABHAGAM YATHA PURVE
SAMJANANA UPASATE
SAMANII VA AKUTI
SAMANA HRDAYANI VAH
SAMANAM ASTU VO MANO
YATHA VAH SUSAHA SATI

Let us move together, let us sing together,
Let us come to know our minds together.
Let us share like sages of the past
That all people together may enjoy the universe.
Unite our intention,
Let our hearts be inseparable.
Our mind is as one mind,
As we, to truly know one another, become one.

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