The Oneness Experience and changes to the brain
The Oneness Experience brings about a state of awakening in which we see reality as it is, without the interference of the mind. It starts a simple neurobiological event where certain areas in the brain settle down and other areas get energised. This facilitates a process in which the entire brain and nervous system is reorganised.
Preliminary research suggest that during the Oneness Experience the following changes occur in the brain:
- Energy moves from the reptilian or primitive brain to the neocortex or higher brain.
- The fight-or-flight response regions of the brain settle down and the frontal brain lobs wake up.
- Coherence between different parts of the brain increases.
Moving from the primitive to the higher brain
The brain is divided into three areas: the reptilian brain, the limbic system and the neocortex. Each brain region has its own intelligence, its own sense of time and space, and its own memory.
The reptilian brain, also known as the brain stem, constitutes the most primitive brain region. It is responsible for the flight-or-fight response and for many basic biological functions.
The limbic system or mammalian brain constitutes the social brain and acts as our interface with the world. It helps us solve problems, navigate relationships, and negotiate our place in society. The limbic system also governs all the glands in the body and therefore maintains balance and health.
The neocortex constitutes the higher brain and is thought to control our higher faculties, such as logic, reasoning and our sense of the spiritual. It is believed that this part of the brain sets us apart from other mammals.
Some neorologists, such as Dr. Hans Selye, who coined the word "stress", suggest that in most people the reptilian brain is overactive. This can lead to over-stimulation of the flight-or-fight response, where the perception of a threat to life becomes a persistant state. This leads to stress, anxiety, fear, over-emotional states, feelings of being emotionally cut-off, aggressive behaviour, and territoriality. The limbic system, also known as our social brain, is affected. This can result in relationships becoming fraught and our health becoming compromised.
The Oneness Experience seems to cause a shift of energy from the reptilian brain to the neocortex.
As the Oneness Experience starts to quieten our over-active reptilian brain, people report that feelings of craving and discontent seem to disappear of their own accord. This may be because as our emotions become more balanced, the limbic system goes back to a more balanced state and our health as well as our relationships naturally improve.
Increased activity in the frontal lobes, decreased activity in the parietal lobes
Although it is located in the neocortex of the brain, the parietal lobes have a close relationship with the reptilian brain. Hence, when the reptilian brain is active, say, if we feel stressed, anxious or aggressive, the parietal lobes also become active. In fact, in most people, the parietal lobes are overactive.
One of the functions of the parietal lobes is to give us a sense of where we are in three-dimensional space and an awareness of where our physical boundaries are. Overactive parietal lobes may lead us to stongly identify with our body and to feel a sense of separation from other people and from our environment.
In most people the brain's frontal lobes are underactive and it is suggested that we only use about 5% of their capacity. The functioning of the frontal lobes is not fully understood but they are thought to be responsible for focus, logic, reason, and other "higher functions" such as unconditional love, joy and empathy with other.
While calming down the overactive parietal lobes, the Oneness Experience seems to stimulate the frontal lobes of the brain, particularly the left frontal lobe. This area is sometimes called the "jolly lob" as it is associated with feelings of love and bliss. Experiments on long-term meditators have found that when parietal lobe activity decreases sufficiently, and frontal lobe activity increases sufficiently, feelings of separation disappear and feelings of oneness and harmony with the universe result.
Increased brain coherence
Preliminary research also indicates greater coherence between the left and right hemispheres of the brain in those who receive the Oneness Experience. Most of the time our brains appear to function randomly, as if there is little synchrony between its different areas. It seems that long-term exposure to the Oneness Experience may create harmony between different regions of the brain, enabling it to work more holistically.
