The History of The Third Eye

The term ‘third eye’ has been used to describe many different things. Depending on the context and culture, the ‘third eye’ has a few different meanings.

From ancient Buddhism and Hinduism, the third eye is symbolistic of enlightenment. It is referred to as the ‘eye of wisdom’ and is commonly represented by with a dot or eye mark placed on the forehead of enlightened individuals. The third eye is not thought of as a physical entity, but a spiritual center where your intuition comes from. When one develops their third eye, they are strengthening the bond between meditation and concentration. It is believed that when this bond is strong, one can separate and understand their subconscious from conscious.

In ancient Chinese culture, mainly taoism, the third eye is one of the main chakra center. It is referred to as the ‘minds eye’. When one develops their minds eye, they are developing their intuition and ability to use their subjective senses. The minds eye is the part of your brain that connects the left hemisphere (the logical thinking part of your brain) with the right hemisphere (the creative part).

In Western culture, the third eye refers to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is the part of the brain that is responsible for an unconscious actions of the body, such as breathing, heartbeat, and digestion. It is said that this is where thought meets the nervous system, or where your ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ world meet. In western teachings, the third eye is thought to be dormant until provoked. So one has to develop, train and strengthen this bond between your inner and outer world.

While each of these definitions have a commonality between them, there are distinct, yet subtle differences between the three. When you hear people talk about the ‘third eye’, it helps to understand from which definition they are speaking about to fully understand the context.

Its also important to note that these are not the only definitions of the third eye, the term has evolved and means alot of different things in many contexts.