Why is it that I feel great at times, but totally inadequate at others? Why do I feel so light that I could fly and very soon sink with the burden of all times? How come everything is so peaceful within and yet just one small trigger from outside can shatter that peace into a thousand pieces? What makes me happy… and sad? What makes me angry… and forgiving? What makes me loving… and hateful? How do these million emotions actually manifest? Are they just a figment of my imagination or do they have a reality outside?
God smiled at the look of concentration on my face. He nodded to Science, and they began to weave their magic on me.
Science: Every interaction with the outside world is a stimuli that triggers a response within you. Each of these responses is a chemical reaction inside your body. Every moment of life, your body is striving to maintain a balance between the external environment and your internal responses manifested in chemical and bioelectric responses. What helps the body maintain this state of balance is your endocrine system with the help of its hundred or more hormones that constantly ‘excite’ your system thereby linking your physical body to your emotions.
So the mind and body are integrated! Every perception of the mind translates as a biochemical reaction within the body. Serotonin the feel good hormone is released when I am happy, cortisol when I am stressed, adrenaline to excite me, melatonin to make me sleep… And a hundred other hormones that carry messages all across my body making me experience everything I feel…
Science: Yes! Your endocrine system is one of the body’s main physical control mechanisms which comprise of a number of ductless glands that produce different chemicals called hormones. These chemical messengers stimulate or inhibit specific physical processes. Indeed your mind communicates with your body and vice versa through these biochemical processes.
But how does my mind actually tell my body that I am now stressed so release cortisol or I am now happy so release serotonin? Or even the reverse for that matter – how does the release of melatonin make me sleepy or release of adrenaline make me excited? What actually connects the physical body to the mind?
It was God’s turn to reply.
God: Your energy centres or chakras bridge the visible physical self in the form of the spinal cord, the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system with your subtle body that envelopes the vibrational energy of your mind. Though anatomically undetectable, the seven major chakras are metaphysically linked with a number of different systems within the physical body.
I stood in silent awe. The ‘physical’ body that worked in terms of ‘chemical’ action actually begins with a change in the ‘electromagnetic energy’ of the body which emanates from the mind or simply put our ‘thoughts’!
Science: The most important function in your body is Survival. This is controlled by the release of adrenalin which is your essential ‘fight or flight’ response. The Adrenals which are triangularly shaped glands that cap each kidney secretes adrenalin along with a variety of other hormones. In today’s modern world, this also translates as financial stress as that has become a prime cause for the fight or flight response.
God: This is related to the root chakra – the Mooladhara at the base of the spine (not in the physical body but in the energy body). It is the energy centre for basic survival and physical needs. Lack of energy in the root chakra makes one feel like a victim all the time unable to exert influence, effect change and take control of situations. Psychologists believe that when a child learns to trust by the tender age of 8, when their needs are always met, they go on to live life expecting the same and are rarely disappointed. However, when children are left to cry and learn to distrust, they begin to believe they do not deserve their needs to be met. This certainly affects how they conduct themselves later in life…
Science: The male and female reproductive organs, or the gonads, control an individual’s sexual development and maturity as well as the production of sperms in males and ovaries in females. Your relationship with your own sexuality develops between the ages of 8 and 14, flowers with your willingness to allow pleasure without guilt and makes one emotionally mature.
God: And therein lies the secret… The Swadhishtana or Sacral chakra between the navel and genitals, when too open is sexually addictive and emotionally unbalanced, when blocked increases guilt, frigidity and impotence making one feel isolated. Only when this chakra maintains equilibrium it becomes trusting, expressive and creative. The mental self-flagellation of Martyrs come from the belief that they deserve all the unhappiness and are born to ‘sacrifice’. This self pity makes them believe that they are rarely appreciated or even acknowledged. It is time for them to understand life is a choice – your choice. Why focus on the half-empty, when the glass is half-full?
Science: The pancreas which lie behind the stomach secrete a variety of substances essential for effective digestion of food. It is also responsible for insulin production which helps control blood sugar.
God: Between the ages of 14 and 21 the self-esteem or self confidence of the individual is developed. Balanced energy flows through the Solar Plexus or Manipura chakra between the naval and base of the sternum, manifests as respect for self and others, personal power and spontaneity. Lack of energy flow here results in a dependency on others for approval and recognition. Self-effacing and easily manipulatable, lack of energy in the Manipura will make one submissive. As this chakra is associated with the digestive system, blockage in this results in excess weight around the middle, digestive problems and stomach ulcers.
Science: There is a little history about the Thymus gland that ought to be shared. Until the 1950s humanity believed that the Thymus gland, situated beneath the upper part of the breastbone had no function at all. As shrivelled small thymus was noted in dead bodies it was assumed to be the correct size of the thymus. For several years between 1920s and 1940s, the large healthy thymus of living humans was thought to be diseased and irradiated to make them smaller! This resulted in the destruction of a vital part of the immune system making them susceptible to infection and chronic diseases. Only in the 1950s did humanity realise that the thymus gland can shrink by half in 24 hours in response to acute stress. A whole new disease was constructed on the erroneous idea that the thymus gland had to be small. Today humanity knows, the thymus gland is vitally concerned with growth and is crucial for effectiveness of the immune mechanism. It plays a purifying role by stimulating the production of lymphocytes or the blood’s white cells defence system. Scientists now recognise that auto-immune diseases where the immune system attacks its own proteins mistaking them for a foreign substance, have an emotional link and are not simply due to physical or environmental causes.
God: Love is love only when it is not dependant on the other. The heart chakra or the Anahata poetically suggests the role played by the thymus is crucial for life. The defence system of the body in terms of the lymphocytes ought not to fight against its own cells. Similarly, love that fosters possessiveness or fears rejection is like an auto-immune response. Craving for love makes people look outside like a performer. Balanced energy flow through this chakra during the ages of 21 to 28, nurtures compassion, forgiveness and a magnetic radiance emanating from someone who ‘owns’ them self as love emanates from within.
Science: The Thyroid gland controls the body’s metabolic rate – that is how effectively it converts food into energy. The Parathyroid controls the level of calcium in the bloodstream. These glands affect ones mental development as well.
God: The Vishuddhi or throat chakra at the base of the neck, is about personal expression combined with responsibility. In addition it is also connected to active listening – finding the real message behind the words not heard. When the energy flow from this chakra is blocked, one begins to hold back from self expression. This is like the body receiving enough food but unwilling to convert it into energy. Children who are brought up to be ‘seen and not heard’, frequently told to ‘shut up’ begin to mask their true emotions in order to cope with rejection. By the time they are 28 to 35 years of age, they begin to appear like a clown always laughing and making jokes even about themselves, with a mask of comedy in an attempt to hide the tragedy of feeling no one will listen to them. On the other hand, a balanced energy flow from this chakra will make them a good communicator with artistic inspiration.
Science: The pituitary gland at the base of the skull close to the eyebrows is often called the ‘master gland’. It influences growth, metabolism and general body chemistry, including hormones that produce contractions during labour and releases milk from the breasts during lactation. This connection with birth and motherhood, prompts us to believe that a mother’s intuition with regard to her child is at its peak during pregnancy, and very often continues…
God: (with a smile) and when that energy flows balanced through the Ajna or third eye chakra, intuition doesn’t need physical connectedness or proximity. My dear Science, truly great scientists and inventors acknowledge that their discoveries came from imagination rather than logic. When energy is balanced through this chakra, you are willing to trust your instinct. On the other hand if as children they are ridiculed and are taught not to trust their feelings, they may end up as rationalists needing scientific proof even to believe they have a brain!
Science: The Pineal gland, a pea-sized body that lies deep within the brain, is thought by scientists to be connected with the production of melatonin and our internal body rhythm. Melatonin is said to have anti-ageing properties and is believed to affect the pituitary, thyroid, adrenals and gonads though we don’t yet know how or why!
God: When one becomes simultaneously aware of his / her personal limitations and equally becomes in tune with all divine infinite possibilities, you become a Master. This is not a destination or conclusion, but a rebirth. The pool of energy drawn into the body through each of these chakras is transformed into a particular quality and emotional correlate.
Science: While orthodox science may have been unable to measure ‘spiritual energy’, just as how it was incapable of measuring emotional energy, today we have developed technology at the NASA space programme where Dr.Valerie V.Hunt has identified two electrical systems in human physical body – the alternating electrical current of the nervous system and brain which controls the muscles, hormones and physical sensations, and the second continuous electromagnetic radiation coming off our atoms which allows an energy exchange between individuals and their environment. This field of radiation in combination with the DNA makes up the combined genetic material. The passive DNA preserves our unique genetic code while the transmitting bioelectric field is able to modify it.
I could imagine a series of valves in a water hose. When the tap is turned on, water should flow smoothly through the system. If any of the valves are too open or too closed, it affects the proper functioning of the whole unit. Chakras, I realise, act as these valves in the flow of energy across our system. It is time we understood the inter-relationship between the energy flow and the hormonal activity to bring in a synergy for good health!
Written by Gita Krishna Raj | Published in infinithoughts in April 2013
When Science met God… | Segment Four: The dance of a trillion cells
Chapter Nine: Endocrine Dance of Life
