Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had a little spot on our head that we could tap to clear our mind of troublesome thoughts, fears, anxieties or mental garbage whenever we needed? Or how about another spot to foster higher consciousness?

In fact, such spots do exist.

These used to be part of a ritual that enlightened masters performed with and on their disciples as part of “opening the third eye.” The third eye is located on your forehead directly between your eyes. In yoga it is known as Ajna chakra, one of the most important points for concentration, and corresponds to the pineal gland.

In Chinese medicine it is an extra, non-meridian point called Yin Tang which translates as “Hall of Impression.” Acupuncturists commonly needle this point for calming the mind, allaying anxiety, nervous agitation, insomnia as well as treating sinus congestion and frontal headache. Taoist priests regard this as the “upper dan tian,” a shen or “spirit” point. It is used in various Taoist qi gong practices.

Increasingly over the last few years I have had to treat many patients suffering from acute anxiety syndromes. Whenever they’d come to see me in my clinic, I could needle this point and within 10 minutes they would always mention how they experienced a profound feeling of mental calm. This would last for various periods of time even after the needle was removed but unfortunately such chronic anxiety patterns such as PTSD often take a far longer time to resolve. I mean months and in some cases years.

Acupuncture isn’t always accessible when a patient is in crisis and needs immediate help, so I teach them to self-treat with the next best thing. I call it the “bindi bump.” Bindi in Sanskrit means “point,” “drop,” or “dot” and it is a red dot worn on the center of the forehead by Hindu women as well as enlightened Yoga masters. It is known as the “point of concealed wisdom” fostering inner knowing, intuition. Thus its more well-known name, “third eye.”  

You can experience its almost magical mind-calming qualities immediately.

Simply sit (or stand) in an attentive, quiet upright position.  Put your thumb, index and third fingers together using your dominant hand. Now tap firmly at the rate of 4 times per second for 10 to 20 seconds. Don’t be shy of allowing your fingernails to dig a bit, even leaving an impression – a self-generated ‘bindi’ – if necessary.

Remain still for a minute or two and check yourself and see if the chatter in your brain (called “monkey mind”) by Buddhists is not significantly reduced.

What you are experiencing is a mini-opening of the third eye. Practically speaking you have calmed your mind and spirit and you are free to continue on with your days activities just that much freer of the unnecessary worry, anxiety and fear that so often gets in the way.

To view a fun demonstration of me demonstrating the bindi bump go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwxoMFNMnsY

Besides the Bindi-bump, I also found that doing the same procedure on Governor 20 (Bai Hui) which literally means “hundred meeting points.” In yoga, it is the seventh chakra called Sahasrara or crown chakra. Again this is another often used acupuncture point especially used for the shen (spirit), clear the senses, calm the spirit,  and lift the energy of the body upwards (it is actually used for treating hemorrhoids and any internal prolapsed organs). Stimulate this point by strongly tapping at the very top of your head in the center, focusing on the area where it is most sensitive. I call this “bumping Mt. Meru.” (footnote: Mt. Meru has come to be identified with enlightened, higher awareness. As such it is regarded as sacred in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist cosmology.)

Both of these practices can be performed whenever we need to present with as clear, calm mind as possible. It can be an effective adjunct in any clinical practice where one is treating psycho-emotional disorders or before going to sleep for treating insomnia, but it is also useful when engaging in creative work where our creative intuitive energy needs to be present. Of course, since discovering this technique which takes less than a minute to perform I always do it before meditation.

Last but not least for many of our ‘wounded warriors’ I strongly recommend this practice along with taking 30 drops of Albizzia Calm three or more times daily. The local, Santa Cruz, East West Free Herb Clinic has been able to greatly relieve even deep-seated, years-long PTSD with this simple practice and Albizzia, the extract of the flower and bark from the mimosa tree, known to the Chinese as “the Tree of Happiness.”

After trying it a few times, let’s hear back what your experience is.