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To: private email
From: "steven hastings paige" 
Subject: Dear cat, here's a post......
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 05:38:23 -0700

Neuromodulation and Tantric Sexual States

by
Steven Hastings Paige
http://www.soundtantras.com

Abstract.

    Tantric sexual states are described in such a way that Western readers
find difficult to understand.  The whole belief system in Tantra must be
understood  before descriptions of Tantric sexual acts  can be related to.
New theories in psycho-biology lend credence to the Tantric chakra system
and extended states of erotic meditation.  The chakra system in Tantra
parallels nodal receptor site theory proposed by Rossi and Cheek and other
body/mind psychologists .  In psychological terms  the Tantric sexual
meditation is understood to be a physical act that accesses state dependent
memory, association and selective attention.

Induction of States of Consciousness by Neural Networks

    To understand the concept of state dependent awareness and how it
functions as an explanation for Tantric states it is necessary to
distinguish between classically taught neurotransmission and neuromodulation
by the bodies informational substances circulated in the extra cellular
fluid (fluid outside the cell membranes ).
In classical models of nerve function nerve information is transmitted from
cell to cell through adjoining boundary layers called synapses.  Electrical
impulses travel along this chain of nerve cells to the brain where the
information is processed.  The whole cycle from initial simulation to
awareness takes just a fraction of a second.
    Less well known but clinically validated is the nerve process called
neuromodulation.  In neuromodulation  the synaptic boundary is affected by
certain classes of peptides that alter the electrochemical exchange between
synapses.  Any hormone, or neuro-transmitter can change perception in this
manner.  It is now understood that hundreds of synaptic modulators are
always circulating in the extra cellular fluid.  Unlike impulse action by
nerve branches neuro-modulators trigger persistent  metabolic changes in
target cells.
    These metabolic changes are commonly referred to as "states of
consciousness". The states of arousal, inhibition, fear, hunger, thirst,
sexual desire, sleepiness, comfort, etc. are triggered by changes in the
proportioning of different neuromodulators in our body fluids. The response
time of neuromodulation is measured in minutes and hours.
    Certain areas of the body are targeted by these neuromodulating
substances.  These target areas are referred to as nodes and groups of nodes
are referred to as neural networks.  In this way nature can efficiently
prepare a state of consciousness by merely releasing a particular group
neuro-peptides into the body fluids.  The release can occur from many
different locations is the body but most notably from the glands and
hypothalamus. .
     Some neuro-peptides are time dependent like LH, FSH, estrogen or
progesterone responsible for the female cycle.  And some neuro-peptides are
stimulus dependent like, endorphins, endo-opiates, oxyticin, enepherin and
adrenaline.  So actual sensations and perception of sensation is altered
continuously at the synaptic level by neuro-peptides that are constantly
altering "mood".


The Chakra System and In-common Networks of Receptor Sites.

    A strong association can be made between the theory of neural networks
and the Tantirc theory of various chakras.  The well-being of each chakra
affects the "state of consciousness".  The balance of nodal networks
determines "physical states of awareness.
    In Tantric philosophy extended sexual meditation is said to open up the
Chakras or energy centers of the body.  There are six well known chakras.
All of them have a psychic component.  That is, the person experiencing
disruption of the function of a particular chakra has an emotional component
and a behavioral relationship to its imperfect function.
  The first chakra or root chakra is associated with elimination .  Its
psychic component has to do with issues of  survival.  Hence the innate
response to defecate during extreme fear situations.  Also issues related to
constipation, or diarrhea  and obsessive toilet habits may be related to the
psychic component of the first chakras energy.  Behavioral patterns may
imply a need to relive issues related to survival, fear, and fight or
flight.  The triggering neuropeptides that network control centers involved
with these issues are Adrenaline and related compounds.  It is well known
that adrenaline is the neuromodulator involved in the fight or flight
response.
    Adrenaline is a stimulus released neuromodulator.  It shuts down many
bodily functions so that survival can be dealt with.  It interrupts the
function of other neuromodulators that are associated with  rhythmical
cycles of biomodulation like sleep cycles, eating cycles, breathing, and in
extreme cases shock and circulatory collapse.
    The second chakra is related to sexual function.  Many sexual hormones
which are part of the complex of  neurotransmitters  are time dependent and
address certain receptor sites at particular times of the month, or at
particular times of day.   The sexual response itself is time and stimulus
oriented and triggers the release of endorphins, endo-opiates and sex
hormones.  These sexual neurotransmitters actually reinforce the cyclic
nature of the sexual cycle increasing hormonal regularity and balancing
hormonal release. Women who have slept with "phenomenal  male sent" on a
pillow showed statistically more stability in there female hormonal cycle.
      The sexual hormones themselves are experiential filters that are
induced into the limbic system.  They too are informational substances that
act as filters on our perceptions.  Like a chord played on a piano sex
hormones act in symphony with other informational substances that are
released by pleasurable sensations and relaxation. Protective fear based
selective attention is filtered out and sensations of pleasurable openness
are enhanced by manipulation of nerve cell data on a cellular level.  The
synaptic response is reformulated to gain our selective attention towards
experiencing sex and its related biorhythmic enhancements: better sleep,
deeper breathing, lower blood pressure, relaxed muscle tone, emotional
bonding and regular digestion.
    These biological enhancements to the organism create an altered
perceptive reality triggering state dependent memories, associations, and
state dependent selective attention.  We enter another state of
consciousness.
    The psychic component of the third chakra is power or life force.  The
center of this chakra is said to be at the solar plexus.  It coincides with
the receptor node complex of the digestive system.   There is a network of
opiate receptors in the digestive tract.  Appetite and weight gain are
modulated by endo-opiate peptides.  Issues of domination and submission,
controlling behavior, and power are often associated with digestive
disorders.  Anorexia, bulimia and overeating are disorders associated with
behavioral control of digestive functions.  Since these functions are
dependent on opiate receptors they will often respond to treatment using
hypnosis to trigger opiate enrichment or as tantrics believe they can be
cleared through opiate enrichment caused by continued sexual stimulation.
    The life force is further affected by opiate enrichment of the thymus,
spleen and the immune system.  Monocytes circulating in the bloodstream are
the basic fighters of the immune system.  They encircle invaders and destroy
them.  Monocytes not only have receptors for receiving neuro-peptides they
also manufacture and emit them.  Emotion affecting neuro-transmitters
actually appear to control the routing and migration of monocytes in the
bloodstream (Ruff).  Positive emotions and pleasurable experiences actually
increase the capacity of the immune system.
    It has been speculated that neuropeptides provide the psychological
basis for the emotions.  There is a striking pattern of neuropeptide
receptor distribution in the mood regulating areas of the brain.
Essentially endorphins, as well as other information substances and their
receptors function on many levels from the spinal cord up through the
cortical-limbic-hypothalamic system as filters .  They  modulate all
sensory, perceptual, and physiological information.  This might be the
process by which the conscious mind  with its expectations and planning
functions can modulate psychosomatic processes down to the spinal chord
level.
    In tantra this process is metaphorically described as perceiving with
the third eye or fifth chakra.  The mental imagery or point of meditation in
the tantric exercise is encoding the all perceptual strata in the nervous
system with a new set of neuropeptide filters.  This neuromodulation is
constantly interacting with classical neurotransmission.The striking
similarities between psycho-somatic processes and the metaphors of the
chakra system enable us to comprehend the tantric sexual process more
meaningfully.

Tantric Sexual Meditation and Perception Altering Neuromodulation.

    All homeostatic internal regulatory centers from the spine to the
hypothalamus are in communication  with a vast sexual receptor system.  All
major behavioral states of attention, motivation, sleep, dreams, memory and
all physiological processes like respiration, body rhythms, appetite,
autonomic nervous system functions and sensory tuning  have associated
sexual receptor sites. Estradiol (female sex hormone) and testosterone are
networked to these sights when there  level is raised in the bloodstream.
    Expanded use of sexual energy in the tantric sexual meditation increases
these hormonal levels respectively.  When pure thought  and physical
technique are practiced by the tantric partnership selective state awareness
is shifted and you experience a new state of consciousness.
    Endorphins are enhanced by repetitive breathing and voicing of specific
sounds known to tantrics as a Mantra.  The vibration of the chest cavity
from the mantraâs sounds increases neuromodulation of the pleasure response.
The rhythmical breathing increases oxygenation of the blood which sharpens
sensual awareness.
The Tantric sexual act itself is a dance between two people to reach and
advanced state of selective awareness.   Using eye, breath, and movement
entrainment the sexual partnership follows a psychic rhythmical flow that
keeps on bathing the  receptor system in a constant flood of endorphins,
endo-opiates, and sexual hormones.  The end result is an advanced state of
filtered sensation that triggers a barrage of emotions and awarenesses.  The
modulated state is then encoded into the cyclic functionalism of the body,
kinesthetic memory, and subconscious process which often triggers lucid
dreaming.
    The process of the sexual meditation restructures perception in the
individual  through extended changes in neuromodulation that ripple out
through the receptor network of the body.  Hence the tantric metaphor of the
opening of the chakras is clearly a psychic tool to unleash life enforcing
psycho-physical  processes at work in the sexual encounter.

EOF