Is your vagus nerve a portal into connecting with the Universe?

using your own biology to reach higher states of consciousness and tap into universal energy

Article Voiceover:

Warning: extremely powerful guided vagus nerve stimulation audio available at the end of this article.

Last summer I read the book “Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife”, and it sparked the thought that maybe our Vagus Nerve is a portal into connecting with the Universe and higher states of consciousness. But first, let me explain a bit about the book so you can get an idea of where this thought came from.

Dr. Eben Alexander is the Neurosurgeon who wrote this book after having a near-death experience. He shares how after being diagnosed with a rare form of Meningitis, he was put into a medically-induced coma. What he experienced during this time was something unexplainable, and honestly quite incredible from the lens of “the unknown.” The rare illness attacking his brain shut down every area of the brain that makes us human - the areas responsible for emotions, thoughts, memories and imagination.

Here’s what makes his story so undeniable…

After waking up from this coma, he recalled very vivid memories of what he experienced within those days where his brain was completely offline. He encountered an angelic-like being who guided him through a beautiful field-like reality where he met with the Divine source of the Universe. While some people reading this may doubt his story, including the Doctors and family he shared it with who claimed it was nothing but a dream or his imagination, I want to remind you what makes this experience so undeniable. The area of his brain responsible for dreaming, recalling memory and even forming imagery and imagination, was completely unresponsive…

Testing showed that while he was in his coma, there was no activity within this brain region. Which makes it impossible for him to not only have dreams and create imagery during the time he was in a coma, but also to recall what he experienced after waking up. As a Neurosurgeon himself, he studied and researched all the possibilities in which his brain “made the experience up”, but the only conclusion he could come to was that what he experienced was far beyond our human experience.

There was one very memorable part of the book that made my jaw drop when I compared it to the Neuroscience knowledge that I have. He shared that while he was being guided by this angelic-being through these beautiful green and flowery fields, the sound frequency he kept hearing was the word “Om.” This sound stood-out so much to him, that he now refers to God as Om.

Quick side note: I personally believe that God, Universe and Source are all used interchangeably and at the end of the day, mean the same thing - a higher power. So, please use whatever term resonates with your beliefs - this isn’t a piece about religion, but rather insight into something beyond ourselves.

What I found so incredible about this statement, is that “Om” is typically the word and sound frequency used when stimulating the vagus nerve. This is why you hear Monks during meditation chant “Ommmmmm” - they are accessing their vagus nerve to help reach different brainwave states, and ultimately, states of consciousness.

It got me thinking that the vagus nerve must be our portal into connecting with the Universe.

Let’s break this theory down:

The vagus nerve: the longest nerve in the body, connecting the brain, heart, gut and other organs to help regulate stress, emotions and overall well being. It’s what helps us reach a state of homeostasis.

Let’s begin by getting clear on what it means to connect with the Universe. Your terminology may be a little different than mine, but in the end I think we’re all speaking the same language. Here’s how I explain it using different perspectives:

Through the lens of Neuroscience: A state that allows our brain, heart and nervous system to be in coherence with each other, allowing for feelings of peace and clarity.

Through the lens of Spirituality: The feeling of being part of something greater than oneself - often through synchronicity, intuition or a deep knowing that doesn’t usually make sense logically.

Through the lens of Quantum Physics: The theory that everything is connected through an energy field - otherwise known as the “Quantum Field.”

All in all, “connecting with the Universe” refers to a deep sense of alignment, presence and harmony with life and the world around us. Where you feel aligned, expansive and in harmony with both your inner world and the external world.

If you’re like me, and you believe that the purpose of life is to learn how to hack the system (your biology) in order to connect with something larger than ourselves to live a life of freedom, then you probably also believe that the purpose of our experiences and traumas, are to act as hurdles in our journey back to ourselves (back to One). With that being said, that would make the sole purpose of the “emotional brain” to act as a gateway into creating these hurdles.

If you’re familiar with Neuroscience then you know that all of our experiences and memories get stored within our Subconscious Mind and are used within our threat detector to keep us alive. The Subconscious is made up of brain systems and networks, and one of these systems is our limbic system (otherwise known as our “emotional brain”). These networks are created through all of our trauma and past experiences, and are what activate different states of being throughout our day-to-day lives. It controls our emotions, thoughts and perception of the world around us. Ultimately creating a life experience that either brings us stress, anxiety and sadness, or that brings us peace, freedom and harmony.

As well as if you’re familiar with the Nervous System, then you know that we can only feel higher vibrational emotions, such as peace, when our nervous systems are regulated. When your nervous system is regulated, that means your body is in a state of homeostasis, and there is little activity in the emotional brain. This is why regulating activities such as meditation, can help us strengthen neural networks to the prefrontal cortex and weaken neural networks to the amygdala - allowing for stronger logic and less emotional reactions.

As you remember me mentioning from Dr. Alexander's book, when he encountered this experience, his emotional brain was shut off. In my opinion, this means that if we can turn down activation in our Limbic system, then we are able to tap into the Universe and higher states of consciousness.

How does this relate back to the vagus nerve?

The vagus nerve is like a secret passageway between your brain, heart, and body, influencing how you feel, perceive the world, and experience life. It plays a massive role in regulating your nervous system … basically deciding whether you’re stuck in survival mode or able to relax and feel at peace.

Here’s why this matters: Your perception activates the limbic system (your emotional brain), and if your brain senses a threat - whether it’s real or just a subconscious trigger from past experiences - it kicks your body into high alert. This stress response makes it nearly impossible to feel calm, connected, or in flow with life. But when the vagus nerve is activated, it signals safety to your body, telling your brain that you’re not in danger. This helps turn down the activity on the limbic system and shift you into a more open, relaxed, and connected state. And let’s be real … you can’t feel deeply connected to something greater than yourself when your body is bracing for impact.

Another wild fact? Our hearts generate an electromagnetic field that has been scientifically proven to extend several feet beyond the body. When your heart and brain sync up (something that happens through vagus nerve activation) you enter a state called heart-brain coherence. This could actually explain the science behind the Law of Attraction … but that’s a topic for another day (or maybe even a LIVE workshop 😉). My point? When your body shifts into a state of harmony, you're not just thinking about connection—you’re physically experiencing it.

But it gets even cooler …

Your body is wrapped in a connective tissue called fascia, which is now being studied as a conductor of bioelectricity and vibrational energy. The vagus nerve directly influences fascia, and some researchers believe that this tissue can interact with external electromagnetic fields like the Earth’s natural frequency (Schumann Resonance). If that’s true, then activating your vagus nerve could literally help you tune into larger energetic fields, syncing your inner world with universal energy around you.

It’s quite incredible to think that the area of the brain responsible for making us "human" - the emotional brain, which controls our lives, perception, and daily emotions - was the same area that shut down when Dr. Eben Alexander was in his coma. It’s almost as if this shutdown is proof that there is something more than us, a higher energy or consciousness that he was able to connect with only by having no activity in the emotional area of his brain (the threat detector). And it’s further proof that, if we can learn to control our emotions, feelings, and perception, we can more easily connect to that higher energy ourselves. And the key to doing so? The vagus nerve … it’s our portal to that connection.

Now, you’re probably wondering, ok cool …. so HOW can I stimulate my vagus nerve to actually lessen activity in my Limbic system and connect with the energies in the Universe?

There are many small activities you can do to stimulate the vagus nerve, here are a few:

• Deep breathing

• Neck and feet massages

• Cold exposure

• Gargling with water

• Laughter

• and….

My personal favourite way is using Humming exercises - this is what Monks do while they’re meditating to help them reach states of peace and bliss.

Humming is one of the best ways to activate our potential in connecting with ourselves and the world around us, because the sound frequency that’s stimulated through chanting or humming stimulates this nerve and actually activates those states of relaxation. It’s the exercise that has worked the best for me on my journey and has expanded my perception and experience of peace and fulfillment.

I created a 13 minute guided Humming audio to help you on your journey. This audio is available below for paid subscribers, or you can purchase it directly here.

Happy Humming!