Literally "Flexing" the Brain, Can the brain, or something in the brain, contract? Options

[Bolton Brews]

Here is a premise on why I ask this question:

At times, when I close my eyes, my brain begins to flex involuntarily. The best way I can describe the feeling is by calling it a "flex" or "contraction" because there is a vibration in my brain when it's being "flexed."

If you're familiar with the PC (pubococcygeus) muscle in the groin, it's basically the same feeling as when you flex your PC muscle (minus the vibrations, sadly), but in the cranium. You know how it's hard to sustain the flex?

I first noticed this "flexing" when on psilocybin cubensis (magic mushrooms). When the shrooms are active, the flexing goes on for 10-20 seconds at a time; an implausible feat while sober. I can hold the contraction for a second, maximum of 3, when sober.

When I "flex my brain" and focus on where the sensation is steming from, it seems to be above and behind the eyes. The pineal gland is the first thing that comes to mind, but besides that I can't imagine what part of my physiology I'm accessing.

The best "rational" explanation I can come up with is that I'm flexing superficial muscles like temporalis on the head and scalp. But, for some reason, they feel like they're in my brain. And then, why can I only flex this mysterious muscle with my eyes closed?

Any ideas, friends? Just let me know if you need more information on something.

[rhymer]

Hello Bolton Brews,

You expose an unusual sensation.
Do you hear any sounds at the same time as the flex sensation?

[Bolton Brews]

Hello Bolton Brews,

You expose an unusual sensation.
Do you hear any sounds at the same time as the flex sensation?

Hello, Rhymer and thank you for the post. I do hear a sound. As I stated previously, there's a vibration when I flex, but it's also audible. It sounds like a low tremor or shaking.

[Bolton Brews]

I'd also like to add that I thought I might be crossing my eyes. But, alas, when I do cross them it just hurts. There is no pain and infact it feels good when I "flex," leading me to believe I may be releasing some kind of endorphines. And THAT leads me to believe my initial thought of the pineal gland may be on the right track. Perhaps I'm manually releasing chemicals into my brain?

These are all just thoughts and attempts to diagnose my strange, new-found ability. I'd like to hear all of your thoughts and opinions. Even if you think what you say doesn't make a lot of sense, I want to hear your thoughts. At the same time, I, most of all, know how peculiar this sounds and how difficult it is to explain. I'm not worried about the sensation in the least; just profoundly curious.

[rhymer]

Well, that you hear a sound is very interesting!!

I suffer from what I call 'thunder'.

Aptly named because that is just what it sounds like.

I experience this at will when I close and squeeze my eyeballs.
Sometimes it it self-initiates and is a darned nuisance (I already suffer from tinnitus which is totally uncontrollable, bar trying to ignore the constant whistle).

When it self-starts the only way I can stop it is just press on my eyeballs with a finger - not very effective when I try to sleep.

My own interpretation of the experience is that somehow and for some reason one or more eye muscles or nerves is 'shorting' to either a muscle or nerve associated with my ear and generating the very low frequency, rolling thunder.

[Bolton Brews]

Awesome, rhymer! It seems you experience a very similar, if not the exact same, sensation. I thought of the ocular muscles as well and I can completely relate. It feels almost as if my eyes are pulling the brain towards them, and "rolling thunder" is the perfect way to describe the audio produced.

[With a German Accent] "Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed." Ha ha, it's such a peculiar feeling, and it's really exciting to have found someone who finally understands what I'm talking about!

I'm curious about something though. Do you really "suffer" from it? Cause' it feels good to me, and when it self-starts it usually feels even better 'cause it lasts a whole lot longer. Maybe I'm just reading too much into the word "suffer"?

[rhymer]

I suspected that that we might have a common experience, and yet your description of the sensation was really different to my own.

I expect that because the effect gives me no advantage (much like tinnitus), and does affect my well being, I don't see any advantage to it - I would willingly be rid of it!

I do agree that I don't really 'suffer' from it, but I do find it to be nuisance.
I too am delighted to find someone else with the same un-named condition.

My web searches have only found that some people hear 'loud bangs' but these seem to be transient noises rather than 'rolling' thunder of varying levels with time.

IN the ear we have the bodies smallest muscle and I suspect that to be the one which is transmitting the low frequency vibration onto the eardrum or oval window. (I am not well up on internal stuctures and realise that I may be wrong).

Take care!

[Hey Hey]

But, for some reason, they feel like they're in my brain.

This couldn't be the case as there are no sensory receptors in the brain. You could, of course, imagine that you felt them in the brain, or you could be perceiving that they arise there when in fact they arise in surrounding structures, as is often the case in headaches (including blood vessels that do have sensory receptors).

[lawlmonster]

okay so i have something extremely similar to this i used to only be able to do it with my eyes closed, you know how you were saying you have the weird feeling right behind your eyes, well i can make that happen just without the "thunder". But i can also do it with the thunder which i have to have my eyes closed. But what is it, what exactly is making us do this and does it do anything?

[Flex]

My guess is serotonin contracting the blood vessels. I bet the same thing would happen if you took Imitrex

[RGD622]

Ok, I'm going to re-awaken this dead thread because I can do the exact same thing. I've been able to do it for a few years, but only now have I remembered to google it when I'm actually at a computer, and this is the first thing to show when I googled "flex muscle in my brain."

When I 'flex' my brain, it definitely is pleasant, and is certainly voluntary. I've noticed that when I flex it "hard," my whole body tingles and my heart rate jumps significantly, if briefly.

Have you found anything more about this?

[Hey Hey]

Ok, I'm going to re-awaken this dead thread because I can do the exact same thing. I've been able to do it for a few years, but only now have I remembered to google it when I'm actually at a computer, and this is the first thing to show when I googled "flex muscle in my brain."

When I 'flex' my brain, it definitely is pleasant, and is certainly voluntary. I've noticed that when I flex it "hard," my whole body tingles and my heart rate jumps significantly, if briefly.

Have you found anything more about this?

An illusion, delusion, hallucination, misinterpretation, referred sensation, wishful thinking ....

[lordhigh]

Awesome, rhymer! It seems you experience a very similar, if not the exact same, sensation. I thought of the ocular muscles as well and I can completely relate. It feels almost as if my eyes are pulling the brain towards them, and "rolling thunder" is the perfect way to describe the audio produced.

[With a German Accent] "Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed." Ha ha, it's such a peculiar feeling, and it's really exciting to have found someone who finally understands what I'm talking about!

I'm curious about something though. Do you really "suffer" from it? Cause' it feels good to me, and when it self-starts it usually feels even better 'cause it lasts a whole lot longer. Maybe I'm just reading too much into the word "suffer"?

I have a similar issue ;

* It sounds like electricity (like the lightsabers from star wars when they are NOT hitting things). I just think of this "power" and i can start and stop the noise. More specifically, i feel a tension on each ear drum when i do this.

* It feels like it is in the middle of my brain.

* My eyes can be open/shut or touched and it doesn't matter while i am doing the noise.

* My heatrate does not change when i am doing this.

Have you got any further info on your (or my ) condition ?

Lordhigh

[Jakare]

Just curiousity, those of you how can do it with you eyes open. Is there any change on your pupils? With or without the thunder?
Heart rate jump shows sympathetic nervous system activation and so do pupils dilation.

[rhymer]

Whilst I can "do it" ie., cause rolling thunder to start with my eyes open or shut I do not choose so to de simply because I have had tinnitus for over 30 years.
It is loud and sounds like a sine wave and never ceases from a fixed annoying amplitude.

I will try to see if my pupils change next time I am able to cause it to start.

[lordhigh]

Just curiousity, those of you how can do it with you eyes open. Is there any change on your pupils? With or without the thunder?
Heart rate jump shows sympathetic nervous system activation and so do pupils dilation.

No, there is no change with my pupils... I do notice that if i try to do it coninuously, i have trouble keeping it going after about 5 mins straight - then i can only do it in shorts few second bursts... It's like (whatever it is) is running out...

Any more ideas ?

[astroidea]

I'd go with rhymer with the middle ear muscles.
Is it the same feeling you get when you yawn?
Your description sounds a lot like the muscles in your ears, except that I can flex that even with my eyes open, although it's easer to flex it when I shut my eyes. But I hear the vibration, rumbling tremors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stapedius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensor_tympani

[solidemptiness]

I finally remembered to do a little research on this randomly! I have been able to do this since I was a child. But my experience with it is localized in my groin, and I can expand the sensation to anywhere on my body. If I do not actively control it, but simply will it and maintain it through force of will, because it is difficult, it spreads across my body, 'connecting' my head and groin. It feels amazing and is much like a muscle in that it gets tired relatively quickly and begs me to stop using it, similar to the sensation and experience of lifting a very heavy weight in weight training.

The only other information I have on it is something I read long ago and just unearthed again! It's some of LSD guru Timothy Leary's teaching on exopsychology, I think.

"5th circuit: Bliss/Healing, Neurosomatic Feedback. When 1st circuit security gets great enough, it becomes bliss, as one becomes aware of one's sensation of pleasure and learns to generate those sensations at the source. This is the SF brainbox that directly stimulates one's pleasure centers, only the box is also your brain! This feedback loop gets going, and one may remain in the state until kicked out for some reason (the world makes demands, or the chemical that boosted you into the state wears off). "


I classified this long ago as some sort of ability I possessed and use it to either make myself feel bliss, or to promote healing when sick or injured. It's always worked. I feel blessed to have it.

I will check this thread again to see if any others experience this.

[lawlmonster]

@ lord high: Does it feel like i dont really know how to explain it but he best word i can think of to describe it is "stronger" do you feel that at all?

[Gabriel]

I feel the Exact same thing you first described i hear the rumbling i thought at first i was flexing my forehead muscles to hard. I started messing with it and felt the shape of my forehead. (i can only do it with my eyes closed) and it was not flexed or tight loose actual. I keep practicing it i can do it for longer now. As the one person said it starts to run out after i do it for a couple minutes then i can only do it in bursts. I have noticed when i smoke marijuana (Im not a hippy i dont do any other drugs). That i can sustain it longer and it feels stronger. It comes out in waves kinda like a steady S curve but projecting out of my forehead. Recently ive been focusing on other people as i do it. To see if anything happens. Sadly to say nothing does happen but i will continue to work on it. When i lay in my bed at night i try to use it wear it out as if its a muscle. Meditation seems to also make it stronger. I don't tell my parents or friends about it out of fear of how they react.

[nate]

So...I didn't see anyone addressing the fact that the guy who wrote this topic claims he was doing shrooms...as fun/idiotic as it may be. It also relates directly with the brain. Im just gonna guess and say that since shrooms are a "hallucinigenic" they involve a large use of the optic her system blah blah blah and that may be casing some of the weird symptoms. (Possibly widrawl symptoms) but for the other people Idk how many of you are sober or healthy in any way. So think about the stuff you put into your body and you might find the answer. Although another reason could be sleep deprivation, dehydration. Keep guessing you never know.....this could be the start of a completely blood ridden zombie apocolypse...

[Guest]

Its called your tensor tympani tendon, it is used to dampen sounds. Look it up, i spent 24 years trying to figure out what it was and really never told anyone because they always thought i was crazy.

[rhymer]

The tensor tympani tendon is associated with a limited noise reduction (to dampen chewing sounds).
A more or equally likely candidate is the stapedius muscle - see wikipaedia.

I think my damage was caused by the explosion of a banger firework adjacent to my ear when was 40 years younger!

[Guest]

I've been doing this for a while but I'll tell you, It can get freaky at first. Its so strong now that I make shadows move, objects vanish, rattle mirrors, I shit you not tho 2 nights ago Me and a friend saw someone smoking a cigarette on the other side of my townhomes. I had binoculars on him the entire time (i know weird, but I was bored) without me blinking, I see the man take a drag from his cig then half his body turned into sand, dust, ash, w/e it was, then his other half faded into dust and then it was gone. No one was over there when we went to check it out. and people have told me when I do that flex they feel weird things too and abundous amounts of energy. 3 people that didn't know eachother said I would blow air in their face really fast when I did it. I do it with out closing my eyes or making it look like im doing anything, I can do it different ways and feel different things, if you hit it hard enough you'll hear a pop. It makes me feel euphoric and very relaxed. It's an extra sense for sure, no doubt in my mind. Weird things have been going on in my life since then. I turn my phone on every day. and I mean EVERYDAY to 4:20 some times like 2 minutes late or early. and I understand that we program are subconcious Also 11:11, 12:34 Are the times I do it too, but not every night, almost I've been seeing lots of shooting stars too. Just my 2 c

[Jody]

Too weird. I can't believe I found this thread so quickly. I mean how do you even explain it after all? I happened to just notice that I was doing it...flexing my brain. I also used the word "thunder" when attempting to explain this to my boyfriend.

I've always done this and never even thought twice about it. But, it just occurred to me...."Wait a minute....am I flexing my brain?!"

For the record, this isn't induced by 'shrooms or pot in my case.

Anyway....I bet if we figure out what the heck this is we could do something useful with this knowledge. Brain crunches for better memory or relief from mental illness or something.

Anyway, just adding to the discussion.

-Jody

[Guest]

I've been able to do this since an early child and never knew what it was. It has always been at my discretion but I can relate to it weakening after long periods of use - like others, I do not look different when I do it but if I place my hand on someone else while doing it the frequency(?) or force behind it completely weakens as though I'm transferring my energy to that person...if I remove my hand while continuing to do it, the force comes back stronger. Has anyone else tried touching anyone (not just looking at them?)

[Guest]

Ok so here's my story: In people with normal circadian rhythms, light and dark are recognized by the pineal gland, which resets the sleep cycle to 24 hours. I actually have a chronic circadian rhythm disorder (Non-24). It's a rare condition where the sleep cycle doesn't reset to a 24 hour day causing a person to shift forward every day. The exact cause isn't known, but it's speculated that people with this condition don't respond normally to light and dark. I had tried using a full spectrum white light-box (and melatonin) for over a year and it didn't reset me.

I decided to try a BLUE light box the other day for the first time to see if the BLUE light would reset my cycle. To my surprise, however, other weird things started happening. About 45min in on my first day of using the box, I started having this tingling sensation exactly the way some people are describing it here. It really caught me off guard and I was like, "what the hell is happening??" It felt like when your nose is unclogged after a period of decongestion. It was an involuntary tingling sensation I had never felt before deep between my eyes. Over the next few days, the ability to "flex" it (for lack of a better word) became voluntary (almost like flaring my nostrils). I know this may sound crazy to some and that's entirely understandable. I've only been using the box for a few days, but now on the 4th day or so, I feel like I'm able to flex that region, the region above my forehead and a region that feels like it's the top of my head!

I have no idea what this all means. I have no idea why it's happening. I began taking a few other supplements at the same time as the light box, so I'm not even sure what's causing what. I can say that it's not a painful feeling, but a relaxing and focused feeling every time I flex and get the vibration. I understand that there is probably no scientific explanation for any of this. However, my sleep cycle feels like it's resetting properly (for the first time ever). It may be too soon to say for sure, but I guess I'll just have to see what happens....

[Guest_unknown_*]

I also get this and last night I made a mental note to myself to google it when I woke up. The sound usually comes from my right ear as well. The rumble IS there when I yawn but its not the same. When I'm sick or hurting somewhere, though temporary, this thing stops almost all of the pain. So its just some ear muscle? To be honest it feels like a whole lot more than that because it affects my whole body. Its got to be in the brain.

I've no direct experience with recreational drugs but from my knowledge this voluntary "flex" seems to trigger the same sort of response in your body that a strong analgesic such as morphine might. I say this because these analgesics reduce pain by temporarily blocking pain receptors in your central nervous system (ie. brain and spine), so that pain cannot be sensed by your brain as opposed to the milder variants such as paracetamol which merely intercept the pain at the source.

No doctors or specialists here? This phenomenon must have a name, we're all curious and seem to be the only ones who have any idea whats going on.

[camouflage]

I can do this. I don't know when I started to be able to do it, but the earliest I remember is three years ago when I was so stressed at my job that I did this trick to focus and eliminate unnecessary thoughts (i.e. 'my job sucks', etc.) So I figured out how to this voluntarily.

I call this, "the Om in my brain, or Om-ing" - a reference to Buddhist "sound of the universe" . . .

A few points.

-It is voluntary.
-It is neither pleasurable nor uncomfortable.
-It hinders or stops the chatter/words/talking to myself in my brain.
-I can move it to different areas of my brain.
-I can do it with my eyes open.
-I can do it for extended periods of time. (No exact time known yet)
-When I do this, my head wants to rock back and forth, not forcefully, but the will is there.
-I have no known medical conditions that would cause this.
-I drink and smoke often, habitually smoke marijuana, and have tried every recreational drug you've heard of and more.
-I am male, 23 years old.
-If it was a note, I can raise or lower the note, and it is relative to where exactly in my brain I am Om-ing.
-It sounds like wind in my brain.
-It is louder in the right hemisphere, the left is very subtle.
-Similar to when yawning.
-No hallucinations while Om-ing.


That's all I can think of right now. I will attempt some experiments while Om-ing, (i.e. blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, how long I can maintain it, pain tolerance etc. etc. and will post results. )

[Bohdan]

Happy to find this thread, as I've been having a very similar experience and have been on the search for some time.
Since I can remember, I have had this voluntary sensation of flexing something in the middle of my head. This produces a wave that travels out through my body and can hold the pulse for several seconds but begin to tire as I need to almost hold my breath.

Investigations to date suggests it is similar to the effect experienced when one has awoken their Kundalini. Its part of a very important and trans-formative experience. Its happening to many people with increasing frequency. Children are being born already awoken. There are a number of other things you may be experiencing alongside. Sensitivity in crowds, to negative emotions or having strange notions come to mind regarding another's thoughts and potent waves of intuition.

I would love to learn more...