Neurosomatic Circuit
The Neurosomatic Circuit probably began to appear around 30,000 years ago. That is the conclusion of Barbara Honnegger, who has made a profound study of European cave paintings, coming to the conclusion that many of them show exercizes to increase right hemisphere activity similar to those still used in surviving shamanic and yogic traditions.
The Neurosomatic Circuit is involves connections between the right hemisphere, the limbic system, and the genitalia. These neural links explain the sexual metaphor of âkundaliniâ or âserpentâ energy used to describe this circuit in various occult traditions, and the Chinese yinyang (male-female) energies associated with it. Prolonged orgasm is capable of activating the Neurosomatic Circuit. The Neurosomatic Circuit is associated with serenity practice. It also involves the deacivation of the default mode network. The sucessive stages of the activation of this circuit may be characterized by the jhanas, which culminates into increasing states of flow. The neurotransmitters involved with this circuit include norepinephrine and anandamide, which brings the sensation of piti. Note that cortisol breaks down anandamide. It consommates with the release of opioid peptides, which brings the sensation of sukha. The activation of this circuit also brings what we might call expanded consciousness.
In the East, the control of the neurosomatic circuit is known as dhyana, chaâan or Zen. To the ancient Greeks, where rituals to achieve it with psychedelic drugs were performed yearly at Eleusis, those who accomplished the ritual successfully were called digenes, âtwice-born.â The metaphor lingers in the âborn againâ terminology of charismatic Christianity, and is symbolized by the myth of the Resurrection of the Body. Freud recognized this state, vaguely, as the âoceanic experience.â Gurdjieff calls this circuit the Magnetic Center. Faith-healers and adepts of a few yogic schools seem to live in neurosomatic consciousness permanently; most who have achieved it at all tend to have it only in flashes, as noted by Ezra Pound: Le Paradis nâest pas artificial but is jagged For a flash, for an hour. Then agony, then an hour. This âParadis,â this condition of neurosomatic (âmind-bodyâ) peace, should be considered a new brain circuit toward which all humanity is evolving, slowly and painfully, out of mammalian antique circuits.
It is quite easy to determine if the Neurosomatic Circuit has been activated successfully or not. How often does a person go to a doctor? If a mind researcher is âglowingâ rather than greyish, âbouncyâ rather than craggy, if he or she has a âsparkleââand if he or she virtually never goes to a doctorâthe neurosomatic circuit has been mastered. This can be seen in Samyutta Nikaya 28: 1-9 when Ananda tells Sariputta âyour faculties are serene, your facial complection is pure and brightâ after he had been practicing the jhanas. There is no tribe known to anthropology which doesnât have at least one Neurosomatic technician (shaman).
What we know and experienceâour reality tunnelâis what registers on the brain and nervous system. The phenomena of âfaith healing,â âregeneration,â ârejuvenation,â bliss, ecstasy, rapture, etc. have been occurring for many thousands of years, in all known cultures. In the pre-scientific language of yesterdayâs psychology we would refer to such events as âpsychosomatic.â In our deliberately modernistic and almost sci-fi jargon, we prefer to call them neurosomatic.
The neurosomatic circuit of the brain is much more recent than the other eight circuits. It does not manifest in all human beings, and appears late in life, usually, to those who do activate and imprint it. Temporary neurosomatic consciousness can be acquired by (a) mindfulness of breathing and (b) for those who can handle it, by ingestion of Cannabis drugs, which mimic neurotransmitters that activate this circuit. The mystic Aleister Crowley mentions that breathing exersizes are ânotably useful in quieting the emotions and appetites ⊠Digestive troubles in particular are very easy to remove in this way. It purifies both the body and the mind ⊠â (Note: gut microbiome stress). Most notably, mindfulness of breathing creates Neurosomatic Turn On: sensory enrichment, sensual bliss, perceptual delight, and a general laid-back Hedonic âhigh.â
References
- wilson, A., Robert. (1983). Prometheus Rising Chapter 11 The Holistic Neurosomatic Circuit (Location 2197). Grand Junction, Colorado: Hilaritas Press.
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Type:đ” Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Anatomy / Neuroanatomy Status:âïž