You’re sitting in a chair, eyes closed, trying to hold a single thought. Your back hurts. The neighbor’s dog won't stop barking. Your brain is already listing the seventeen emails you forgot to send before leaving the office. This is the messy, annoying reality of the "meditative state" most of us live in. But then there's the promise of Dr Joe Dispenza Becoming Supernatural, a concept that suggests you can move beyond your physical senses and tap into a frequency that actually rewires your biology. It sounds like sci-fi. Honestly, to a lot of skeptics, it sounds like total nonsense.
Yet, thousands of people are flying to Cancun or Cartagena for week-long retreats to do exactly this.
They aren't just sitting there in silence. They’re hooked up to EEG caps. They’re participating in university-led blood studies. What Dispenza is pitching isn't just "positive thinking" or a new-age wellness trend. He’s arguing that by using specific breathing techniques and mental focus, you can induce a seizure-like state of high-beta brain waves—not a medical seizure, but a massive surge of energy—that triggers the pineal gland to release potent metabolites. Basically, he wants you to become your own pharmacist.
The Science of the "Supranormal"
Most people think of their personality as a fixed thing. You’re "just a morning person" or "naturally anxious." Dispenza challenges this by looking at the neuroplasticity of the brain. When you're obsessed with the book Becoming Supernatural, you’re looking for a way to break the habit of being yourself.
The core of the work revolves around the Pineal Gland.
In his workshops, Joe Dispenza describes the pineal gland as a "radio receiver." It’s a tiny, pinecone-shaped gland in the center of the brain. Under normal circumstances, it produces melatonin to help you sleep. But Dispenza suggests that through a specific "breath"—which involves contracting the intrinsic muscles of the perineum and lower abdomen—you can push cerebrospinal fluid up against the gland. This mechanical pressure (piezoelectric effect) supposedly activates the gland to produce derivatives of melatonin that are far more powerful. We’re talking about molecules that can cause vivid internal hallucinations or profound states of bliss.
It's intense.
I’ve seen footage from these events. People are shaking. They’re breathing like they’re sprinting. It’s not your grandma’s yoga class. Research conducted by Dr. Peta Stapleton and others associated with the Bond University studies has actually looked at the cortisol levels and immune markers of participants. They found that after four days of this "supernatural" work, IgA (Immunoglobulin A) levels—a primary defense against viruses—shot up by over 50%. That's a physical, measurable change in the body's defense system just from internal focus.
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Why "Becoming Supernatural" Is Polarizing
Let's be real: the medical establishment isn't exactly rushing to replace chemotherapy with meditation. And Dispenza doesn't suggest they should. However, the friction comes from the anecdotal claims. You’ll hear stories of stage IV cancers disappearing or blind people seeing again.
These stories are the fuel for the movement.
But for a scientist, anecdotes aren't data. This is where the tension lives. Dispenza is attempting to bridge this gap by bringing in researchers like Dr. Hemal Patel from UCSD. They are looking at "meditation-conditioned" blood—taking blood from experienced meditators and seeing how it affects cancer cells in a petri dish. The preliminary data is wild. It suggests that the blood of someone in these deep "supernatural" states can actually inhibit the growth of certain stressors.
Is it a miracle? Or is it just untapped human physiology?
If you've spent your whole life in "survival mode"—high cortisol, high stress, constantly looking for the next threat—your body is basically a clenched fist. You're using all your energy to survive the day. Dispenza argues that the "supernatural" state is simply what happens when you finally unclench. You stop being a body, a person, a thing, in a place, in time. You become "no body, no one, no thing, in no place, in no time."
The Pineal Gland and the "Tuning Fork"
Think of your brain like a tuning fork. Most of the time, we are tuned to the frequency of our problems. We wake up, check our phones, and immediately re-activate the neural circuits of our past.
- The Breath: A physical move to push fluid to the brain.
- The Void: Focusing on "nothing" to stop the analytical mind.
- The Heart: Coherence between the heart and brain.
When the heart beats in a rhythmic, coherent pattern, it sends a signal to the brain that it’s safe to create. This is the opposite of the "fight or flight" response. In the "Becoming Supernatural" framework, heart coherence is the gateway. If the heart is chaotic, the brain is chaotic. You can't manifest a new life if your biology is convinced you're being chased by a predator.
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Common Misconceptions About the Work
People often think this is just about "manifesting" a new car or a bigger house. Honestly, that's the shallow end of the pool. The deeper work is about the "Biological Signature."
You aren't just changing your thoughts; you’re changing your gene expression. This is epigenetics. You can actually signal a new gene in a new way by changing your internal emotional state before the external environment changes. Most people wait for the "thing" to happen to feel the emotion. I'll feel successful when I have the money. I'll feel loved when I find the partner.
Dispenza flips it.
He says you have to feel the emotion first. The body doesn't know the difference between an actual experience and one you've created through thought and emotion alone. If you can maintain the emotion of "gratitude" for three days, your body begins to believe the event has already happened. It starts producing the proteins and chemicals associated with that new reality.
It's hard work. It's not a five-minute hack.
The Reality of the Retreats
The "Supernatural" retreats are marathons. People wake up at 4:00 AM. They meditate for four hours at a time. They do "walking meditations" on the beach, eyes open, practicing being in that state while moving.
I talked to someone who went to the Nashville retreat recently. They described it as "exhausting and terrifying." Why terrifying? Because when you truly lose your sense of self, the ego panics. The ego wants to be "Susan the Accountant" or "Mark the Divorcee." When those labels vanish, there's a moment of sheer "nothingness" that can feel like dying. But on the other side of that death is the "supernatural" state Joe talks about.
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Practical Steps to Start
You don't need a $2,000 retreat to start. You can start by simply noticing how many times a day you think the same thoughts you thought yesterday.
- Identify the Loop: Notice the moment you wake up and reach for your phone. That's you returning to your old self. Stop. Sit for five minutes instead.
- The Heart Lock-In: Put your hand on your heart. Breathe slowly. Try to feel a genuine sense of appreciation for something—anything. Hold it for two minutes. This starts the coherence process.
- Space Awareness: Close your eyes and try to sense the space behind your eyes, or the space the room occupies. This forces the brain to move out of "object-based" thinking (narrow focus) and into "open-focus." This shift is what starts to synchronize the brain hemispheres.
The Limitations and the Critics
It would be irresponsible not to mention the pushback. Many in the scientific community find Dispenza’s use of terms like "quantum" to be a bit loose. In physics, the quantum field describes the behavior of subatomic particles, and some argue that applying those laws to human consciousness is a leap too far.
Also, the "mind over matter" approach can be dangerous if someone abandons necessary medical treatment. Dispenza himself usually frames his work as "complementary," but the fervor of his followers can sometimes blur those lines.
The truth is likely somewhere in the middle. We know the placebo effect is real. We know that stress kills and that relaxation heals. Dr Joe Dispenza is essentially taking the placebo effect and trying to turn it into a repeatable system. He’s asking: "If the mind can make you sick, can it also make you well?"
Final Thoughts on the Supernatural Path
Becoming supernatural isn't about levitating or reading minds. It’s about the quiet, radical act of refusing to be defined by your past. It’s about realizing that your biological "program" is editable.
If you’re curious, the best way in is to actually do the meditations, not just read about them. Intellectualizing the work is just another way for the brain to stay in control. The "magic" happens when you get out of your own way and let the biology take over.
Start by changing your morning routine. Instead of being a victim of your environment, try being the creator of your internal state for just ten minutes. You might find that the "supernatural" is actually just the most natural version of who you are supposed to be.
To move forward with this work, look into the specific "Breath" technique Joe teaches in his workshops, as this is the physical catalyst for the pineal gland activation. Ensure you are practicing in a safe environment—never while driving or in water—as the shift in brain waves can be disorienting. Focus on heart-brain coherence as your foundation before attempting the more advanced "Space" meditations. Use a journal to track not just your thoughts, but the physical sensations and "coincidences" that occur in your daily life as you begin to shift your internal frequency.