THE BIOLOGICAL DIMENSION OF RITUALS

Ninian Smart identified seven dimensions that he sees as fundamental to all religions.  I would add (at least) one more:  the biological.  Long before developmental psychologists, neuroscientific MRIs or scientists examined the meditating minds of Buddhist monks, religions recognized and utilized biology to transform adherents.

Most obvious is that religions around the world have mark the onslaught of puberty and the higher level thinking of the brains prefrontal cortex with initiation rites for boys and girls.  Traditions recognize that biologically this might be a good time to challenge the changeling physically and mentally to both bring their hubris down a few pegs (think of the 7^th and 8^th grade boys you know!) and make them aware that they are now part of a larger society.  In turn, ritual practices stimulate physiological responses in the adolescents so that -- on a gut (and brain, chemical, limb) level -- they learn their lessons.  Indigenous cultures separate boys from the community with dramatic rituals that trigger biological responses.   Put a boy in a dark, smoky hole such as a kiva for a period of days or months, or use painful bodily scarifications such as circumcision and there will be mind/body altering experiences

There are other rituals that clearly have a biological component to them as well.   Singing, drumming and music certainly affect the arousal system of the body as well as certain parts of the brain.  Fasting creates a chemical change in the body by affecting glucose levels and slowing the metabolic rate.  This can heighten awareness and improve the immune system.  The use of potent plants -- either in the form of wine or hallucinogens -- effects the neural systems and perceptions of the brain and body. The physiological effects of meditation have been studied by scientific researchers for over 30 years now and results show that everything from blood flow to the immune system is improved with meditation.

"Meditators showed greater activation in the left anterior region of the prefrontal cortex, a region that CN researcher have previously found to be associated with positive emotional states….the meditators developed significantly more antibodies in response to a shot of flu vaccine than did the control group.  Furthermore, the meditators who demonstrated the greatest increase in left-side brain activation also produced the strongest immunological response." (Bulkeley, The Wondering Brain p. 156)

But what about holidays?  Could there be a biological aspect to holidays?  I say yes.  Humans are, like most animals and plants, chronobiological creatures.  Our bodies and our minds are affected by time, by light and by dark.  For our health and wellbeing we need both light and dark.  In fact, Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a depression caused by the lack of light in the winter months of northern climates.  Our bodies regulate the secretion of mood altering hormones such as serotonin and melatonin through the pineal gland located in the brain (between the eyes and referred to in Hindu yoga as the third eye or sixth chakra/energy center) based on the amount of light we receive optically.

So perhaps it is not just metaphorically that, as the days become shorter and darker in the winter, we turn to festivals of light.  The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, the Christian holiday of Christmas, and the Hindu festival of Diwali all focus on the use of lights.  Perhaps it is for biological reasons.

In late February, early March when the days begin to get longer and trees are juicing up by producing sap, Jews celebrate Purim, the festival when everyone dresses up and tells the story of Esther and goes wild and crazy when Haman’s name is mentioned.  Hindus celebrate Holi, a holiday when everyone goes wild and crazy throwing coloured water at each other.  Latin countries celebrate Mardi gras, also a wild and crazy time of costumes and colour.  In many Asian countries it is the time of the New Year with Fire crackers (except in NYC) and dragons dancing in the streets.

​All of those holidays involve a great deal of colour and movement.  They all involve people “acting out” in ways that they might not normally do or being who they might normally be.  It causes our eyes to constantly be moving and stimulated in different directions and by unusual sights and colours.

​We know our eyes convey to us a great deal of information which triggers physical and emotional responses.  We all might remember that last year a number of people all over Japan went into epileptic-like seizures when they watched a bright and rapid animation scene on TV. Some psychotherapists have begun to use a treatment called EMDR, which stands for 'eye movement desensitization and reprocessing'.  This therapy tool is being used to help people who have experienced trauma -- abuse, war, rape.  By directing the eye to look quickly in different directions, the licensed therapist can help the patient unclog the reenacted experience so that it becomes less fearful and less painful by being more observed and less felt.  Apparently, it is an amazingly effective means of treatment for many people.

​Perhaps when you stimulate the eye through the rapid movement and brightness of colours that come with the holidays, you stimulate the release of internal juices – emotional and biological responses.  Maybe the pineal gland suppresses the melatonin we’ve created during the long, light-starved winter, increases the serotonin which makes us happier and allows our bodies to “wake up” to the coming of spring.

​Even rituals that have become less religious and more commercial, such as Valentine's Day have a biological component.  Studies show that the colour red arouses the senses, increases the appetites, and quickens the pulse.  Chocolate, with over 300 chemicals, contains one that acts in ways similar to marijuana, giving the user something a kin to a pleasantly mild high.   Researchers also claim that male sperm and testosterone levels are higher in February. (Tjoa, Yutaka)  Is it any wonder that February is the month of wooing with red and chocolate?

​New technologies in the neurosciences are allowing us to see and substantiate what religious traditions have long known.  Ritual practices are both a reaction to and a stimulant for biological transformation of human beings.   The more that we "re-cognize" the porous nature of our lives, the more we will appreciate the ancient wisdom of religions.

Bulkeley, Kelley, The Wondering Brain: Thinking about Religion With and Beyond Cognitive Neuroscience, New York: Routledge, 2004.

Morinis, Alan, “The Ritual Experience: Pain and the Transformation of Consciousness in Ordeals of Initiation”, Ethos © 1985 American Anthropological Association

Tjoa WS, Smolensky MH, Hsi BP, Steinberger E, Smith KD.​”Circannual rhythm in human sperm count revealed by serially independent sampling.”

Fertil Steril. 1982 Oct;38(4):454-9., PMID: 7117573 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Yutaka Motohashi, Shigekazu Higuchi and Akira Maeda “Men's Time, Women's Time -Sex Differences in Biological Time Structure”. Applied Human Science. Vol. 17; 157-159 (1998)