Third eye

The third eye (also known as the inner eye) is a mystical and esoteric concept referring to a speculative invisible eye which provides perception beyond ordinary sight.  In certain dharmic spiritual traditions such as Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna, or brow, chakra.  In Theosophy, it is related to the pineal gland.  The third eye refers to the gate that leads to inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness.  In New Age spirituality, the third eye often symbolises a state of enlightenment or the evocation of mental images having deeply personal spiritual or psychological significance.  The third eye is often associated with religious visions, clairvoyance, the ability to observe chakras and auras, precognition, and out-of-body experiences.  People who are claimed to have the capacity to utilise their third eyes are sometimes known as seers.

The third eye is not a physical thing: it is just that the energy that moves through the eyes towards outside objects is now returning towards the source. It becomes the third eye, the third way of seeing the world. ~ Osho

In some traditions such as Hinduism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows.  In other traditions, as in Theosophy, it is believed to be connected with the pineal gland.  According to this theory, humans had in far ancient times an actual third eye in the back of the head with a physical and spiritual function.  Over time, as humans evolved, this eye atrophied and sunk into what today is known as the pineal gland. Dr. Rick Strassman has hypothesised that the pineal gland, which maintains light sensitivity, is responsible for the production and release of DMT (dimethyltryptamine), an entheogen which he believes possibly could be excreted in large quantities at the moments of birth and death.

Quotes

• The third or spiritual eye has several functions. Amongst others, it is the organ for illumination, the unveiled eye of the soul, through which light and illumination comes into the mind, and thus the entire lower life becomes irradiated. It is also the organ through which pours the directing energy which streams out from the conscious creating adept to the instruments of service, his thought-forms. The little evolved do not, of course, employ the third eye for the stimulating of their thought-forms.
  • Alice Bailey Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 974/5. (1925)

• The third eye is the director of energy or force, and thus an instrument of the will of Spirit. . . . It is the eye of the inner vision, and he who has opened it can direct and control the energy of matter, see all things in the Eternal Now, and therefore be in touch with causes more than with effects, read the akashic records, and see clairvoyantly... It is through the medium of this "all-seeing eye" that the Adept can at any moment put Himself in touch with His disciples anywhere.
  • Alice Bailey Treatise on Cosmic Fire, p. 1010/1 (1925)

• 'Cause there's a hole where your heart lies
  And I can see it with my third eye
  • Florence + the Machine, "Third Eye," How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015).

• If you could flick the switch and open your third eye
  You'd see that we should never be afraid to die
  • Muse, "Uprising," The Resistance (2009).

• When both eyes are closed, the energy that was moving through these two eyes starts turning—a conversion happens. That energy hits the third eye in you. The third eye is not a physical thing: it is just that the energy that moves through the eyes towards outside objects is now returning towards the source. It becomes the third eye, the third way of seeing the world.
  • Osho, The Mustard Seed (1975)

• I never knew I could see something so clearly looking through my third eye
  Never knew karma could be so rewarding and bring me to your light
  Maybe this is the beginning of something so magical tonight
  • Katy Perry, "Legendary Lovers," Prism (2013).

• I'll see you there with your hands in the air
  Where the canvas is bare
  And there's no more despair
  And your third eye would stare
  Nothing can compare
  not want care
  and I'll see you there
  • Berlin Blues (Song) by Alice Phoebe Lou

• Mr. Bubble meets superfly in my third eye
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers, "If You Have to Ask," Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991).

• Wiping the webs and the dew from my withered eye
• Prying open my third eye
  So good to see you once again
  I thought that you were hiding
  And you thought that I had run away
  Chasing the tail of dogma
  I opened my eye and there we were
  • Tool, "Third Eye," Ænima (1996).

• One simple method is to take a pen or pencil and hold it up against a blank wall or ceiling. Now concentrate on the pen as if it is the most important thing in the world. Then allow your sense to relax, so you see the pen against the background of the wall. Concentrate again. Relax again. Keep on doing this until you become aware of the ability to focus attention at will. You will find that this unaccustomed activity of the will is tiring; it produces a sense of strain behind they eyes. My own perception is that if you persist, in spite of the strain, the result is acute discomfort, followed by a sudden immense relief - the 'peak experience'.
  • Colin Wilson in Access To Inner Worlds, p. 33 (1990)

See also

• clairvoyance
• Chakras
• Eyes