Some more Information on the incredible Effects of Diksha on the Brain
By Christian Opitz July 2005
Greetings everyone! Erik Hoffmann from Sweden recently send me some EEG pictures he took during diksha, on both the giver and receiver. These pictures show a remarkable increase in frontal lobe activity in the giver and receiver, with a dominance of the left frontal lobe.
A friend of mine and I just recently did some preliminary testing of the frontal lobes with AMSAT, a highly advanced Russian diagnostic device, showing a whooping 87% left and 76% right frontal lobe activity in a diksha giver (not while giving diksha). The normal population’s average is around 20%. Again, the same slight dominance of the left frontal lobe was shown, as in Erik’s EEG study.
These are truly amazing findings. Similar levels of frontal lobe activity have so far been only measured in very advanced Tibetan monks with over 10 000 hours of meditation practice. The slight left dominance is typical of very happy people, in patients suffering from depression, the right frontal lobe is dominant. To have some more understanding of how important frontal lobe activation is, I would like to share some basic brain facts. Based on the research of Dr. Paul MacLean, there is a general agreement in neuroscience that we actually have three brains:
The reptilian brain, located in the brain stem. This part is in charge of unconscious body functions like heartbeat, digestion etc. It is also concerned with survival and activates survival reflexes in threatening situations. This level of brain development is found in all reptiles, hence the name.
The limbic system, sometimes called the mammalian brain. Our root emotions in regards to social life are stored here, as well as many behavior patterns.
The higher brain, of which the frontal lobes are of special interest here. This is where our unlimited potential of higher intuition, creativity, universal love, joy, and all the other good stuff is anchored into our life experience.
One other brain center of interest is the amygdala, an almond – shaped nucleus, seated about halfway between the eyes and the ear and one inch (2,5 cm) into the skull from the temple. There are two amygdalas, one in either brain hemisphere. The amygdala is a switch that filters every sense stimulation as well as thoughts and feelings and then decides which of the three brains it should activate to deal with the situation at hand.
Now as human beings, we have a unique dilemma, found nowhere else among in the natural world: Our amygdala interprets almost anything as a threat to survival and makes us overuse the reptilian brain with its primitive survival arsenal. All other animals use their brains in proportion to the actual events of life, we humans use the survival mechanisms completely out of proportion. If we investigate the life of reptiles, we can see how limiting life while being stuck in the reptilian brain must be.
For starters, reptiles don’t play, ever. All their behavior is about physical survival. They don’t express joy or love. Reptiles don’t interact socially, they don’t hang out together to share feelings or any form of communication. They don’t raise their young, they lay their eggs and then it’s “kids, you’re on your own.” Now if you are a lizzard or a crocodile, that’s perfect, but for humans, being stuck in the reptile brain is extremely limiting. But that is exactly how almost everyone lives, as Dr. Selye found out back in 1950, the survival stress response of the reptile brain is the basic state of consciousness of normal people.
If we imagine the amygdala with its almond shape inside the skull, the tip of the almond is pointed forward to the frontal lobes. If the frontal or anterior part of the amygdala is activated, the frontal lobes are activated. If you are like most people however, the posterior part of the amygdala is activated much of the time you are awake. If the posterior amygdala is stimulated in a cat, the cat runs away in panic at the sight of a mouse.
If there is a balance between the anterior and posterior amygdala and the limbic system dominates, the cat kills the mouse, even if there is no need for food.
If the anterior amygdala and thus the frontal lobes are stimulated in a cat, it lives peacefully with the mouse, plays with it lovingly and does not kill it without needing to do so for survival. This shows the potential of the three different brains.
Stuck in the reptile brain, our lives are governed by fears that are about as reasonable as a cat’s panic attack at the sight of a mouse. Limbic system dominance means far less fear, but when the frontal lobes are activated by an active anterior amygdala, we transcend limited programming and reach a whole new world of love, joy and oneness.
Diksha seems to have an amazing activating effect on the anterior amygdala. More research is necessary to confirm this, but the preliminary findings are very exciting. And here is something you can play with to enhance the frontal lobe transcendence induced by diksha:
If you visualize the almond – shaped amygdalas on both sides of your brain pointing towards the frontal lobes, you can find all kinds of playful approaches to activate the anterior part. It is not important to sense the exact location of the amygdala, a clear sense of visualizing it is enough. Once you “see” your amygdalas, you can feel/see/invite your Antaryamin to tickle to front part of each amygdala with a feather. Do it playfully – remember, reptiles don’t play, so if you are in a playful mood, you are already one step out of reptile brain stress.
Sense the tickling as realistically as you can. If you do this many times during the day, as often as you can remember it, the effects can be amazing. This is not an attempt to change your mind intentionally, which is next to impossible, it is the use of the mind to affect your physiology, which is far more realistic. Diksha activates your anterior amygdala anyway, so doing this little fun brain game is simply enhancing the natural process of the diksha, as well as reminding your Antaryamin not to get lazy!
Many people have reported that tickling the amygdala has given a lot more lightness to their process and that they feel far more receptive to diksha as a result. The key is frequent repitition and to include the amygdala tickle in as many daily activities as possible.
