(Posted on June 2, 2013 by David McMillin)
The cord that is eventually known or classified as the pineal is the first movement that takes place of a physical nature through the act of conception; determining eventually - as we shall see - not only the physical stature of the individual entity but the MENTAL capacity also, and the spiritual attributes. (281-46)
The Cayce readings that discuss the pineal describe it as more than simply a gland in the middle of the head. The pineal is essentially its own system with that unique gland as its focal point, but also consisting of a cord along the spine (and perhaps throughout the entire body) plus centers along the spine associated key nerve plexes. The readings also the terms "thread" or "nerve" that may be synonymous with the pineal cord, or may be additional aspects of pineal system. As noted in the above quote, the readings insist that the pineal cord has a primary role to play in the development of the foetus, beginning at conception.
In a reading for a twenty-seven year old man suffering from mental illness, the problem was traced to pressure upon the "that cord called the pineal." In the background section of this reading, the man's father reported: "He has had several nervous breakdowns since he was about ten to eleven years old. The doctor who treated him last said it was acute mania. There is no sign of anything of that sort in either one of our families, on my side or my wife's side. These spells seem to come about every three to four years and last about two to three months." The cyclical nature of the episodes was also noted in the reading. The pineal gland is known to be involved in the regulation of biological cycles. The "pineal system" (and especially the "pineal centers" along the spine) are also cited in several readings of bipolar disorder.
The indications through the blood supply show how that the body is constantly under a nerve strain, but that the reactions which come about that produce the incoordination in the reflexes between the muscular forces or the body-physical and the body-mental occur rather at those periods of CYCLE readjustment between the lower portions of that cord called the pineal with its coordination with the adrenal and the lacteal plexus, or larger portion of the assimilating system. For it is in the area here that the pressure has produced, does produce, a condition similar to a bundle of nerve tissue that has made and does make for its activity or pressure upon the pineal end AND the adrenal at periods when these changes, or cycles of change, occur. (1168-1)
In another case that likely involved major mental illness, a referral was made for treatment at the Still-Hildreth Osteopathic Sanitorium in Macon, Missouri (an institution dedicated to the treatment of mental illness using the osteopathic approach). Note the distinction between the "pineal gland in the base of the brain" and its "cord or thread, or connection" that runs throughout the body. In this case, the pathology was associated with pressure to the lower spine caused by an injury:
The body would then receive the better attention in an institution such as Still-Hildreth, for there the correction of the injury to the spine - in the lumbar and sacral - would be made, relieving the pressure on the pineal gland in the base of brain and its cord or thread, or connection, as traces itself through the body. (4862-1)
A reading for a boy who was said to be experiencing "spasmodic reactions to the brain centers" also discussed the pineal cord, which was said to be engorged at the lumber region of the lower spine. There is no specific documentation to allow a medical diagnosis of epilepsy, although the pathophysiology (including abdominal adhesions) is very similar to other cases in the readings that do fall within the spectrum of seizure disorders:
Now, as we find, there are disturbing conditions that prevent the better physical functioning in this body, [769]. These conditions, as we find, are of incoordinations. There are hindrances in this direction. There was, with the conception of the body, that which hindered in the normal developments as from the active forces THROUGH the umbilical center. Hence we have in the area adhesions that at times prevent the proper coordination, with the passage of certain characters of foods and the developments of those portions of the organism that affect through same the glands in system; as related especially to the activity of the pineal center and gland. And there is an engorgement of the cord itself, the pineal cord, in the area of the lumbar region. This prevents the proper coordination between the sympathetic and cerebro-spinal system, producing spasmodic reactions to the brain centers and to the circulatory system through same. (769-1)
The pineal cord is probably also known as the "silver cord" spoken of in biblical scripture (Ezekial 1:6) and mentioned in this excerpt that describes a dramatic aspect of Cayce's psychic process:
(Q) What caused the extraordinary physical reaction with Edgar Cayce at the close of the reading [254-67] this morning, at the beginning of the suggestion?
(A) As was seen, through the seeking of irrelevant questions there was antagonism manifested. This made for a contraction of those channels through which the activity of the psychic forces operates in the material body; as we have outlined, along the pineal, the lyden and the cord - or silver cord. The natural reactions are for sudden contraction when changing suddenly from the mental-spiritual to material. (254-68)
If this association (pineal cord = silver cord), then it likely that the pineal cord allows the soul to manifest in the physical body. Destruction or serious deteriation of the pineal cord results in death or departure of the soul:
In the body we find that which connects the pineal, the pituitary, the lyden, may be truly called the silver cord, or the golden cup that may be filled with a closer walk with that which is the creative essence in physical, mental and spiritual life; for the destruction wholly of either will make for the disintegration of the soul from its house of clay. To be purely material minded, were an anatomical or pathological study made for a period of seven years (which is a cycle of change in all the body-elements) of one that is acted upon through the third eye alone, we will find one fed upon spiritual things becomes a light that may shine from and in the darkest corner. One fed upon the purely material will become a Frankenstein that is without a concept of any influence other than material or mental. (262-20)
The silver cord and golden bowl noted in scripture and several Cayce readings apparently relies on those minerals to health and sustenance. For example, in the following excerpt that prescribed vibratory gold and silver (via the wet cell battery), the role of gold and silver is specifically addressed:
Silver and Gold, then, as metals for the body, enliven the glands of the system that are lax in their physical functioning, supplying to the brain centers even themselves THAT impulse, that incentive, as to make for PROPER PHYSICAL COORDINATION in the body here....
(Q) How long should the electrical treatments be given each time?
(A) The Gold, charged in the low electrical vibration, would be for twenty to thirty minutes at a treatment. The Silver would be from ten to twenty minutes, when given. The change in time is as this: Remember, there is truth in, "When shall the silver cord be broken, or the golden horn be empty?" The golden activity upon the system is to supply that necessary element in the glands that secrete in the system for the supplying of the assimilated forces of a developing body, and pour their fluids as from the horn into the body. Hence more is necessary. While, as of those of the silver cord that makes for that transmutation of IMPULSE from the brain to the organs of the body, SUSTAINING - as it were - that spark of life itself in a material plane. (5500-1)
Thus understanding the pineal cord (silver cord) and its relationship to the lyden and pineal glands (seat of the soul) is practical if one intends to apply the Cayce information on energy medicine with vibratory solutions such as gold and silver.