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Robert Monroe

75 quotes

“For the most part, I would set up the conscious out-of-body state, then turn the action over to my total self (soul?). My present consciousness would go along for the ride, as a part of the whole. The results have been: ecstatic, illuminating, confusing, awe-inspiring, humbling, reassuring—experience and exploration far beyond my ability to conceive of, most of it an apparent educational program that I am absorbing bit by bit.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our work has attracted the interest and cooperation of physicists, psychologists, biochemists, engineers, educators, psychiatrists, corporate presidents, statisticians, many of whom serve on our board of advisers. Among the eleven thousand plus pieces of mail received to date, many sighs of relief were reported. The secret could be talked about without the need for sanity hearings. Thus the book is serving its primary purpose.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The following ordinarily would appear in a foreword or preface. It is placed here on the assumption that most readers skip such preliminaries to get to the meat of the matter. In this case, the following is the crux of it all.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The most difficult mental process of all is to consider objectively any concept which, if accepted as fact, will toss into discard a lifetime of training and experience. Yet much has already been accepted as fact on far less direct evidence than that presented here, and is now "accepted.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the spring of 1958 I was living a reasonably normal life with a reasonably normal family. Because we appreciated nature and quiet, ours was a country environment. The only unorthodox activity was my experimentation with techniques of data learning during sleep—with myself as the chief subject.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What does one do when faced with an unknown? Turn away and forget about it? In this case, two factors negated that possibility.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was only the definite need to explain odd actions that forced the disclosure to my wife. She accepted it reluctantly because there was no other real choice, and thus she became a worried witness to incidents and events much in contradiction to her religious training.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Away at college, my older daughter reported that after she and her roommate had looked around the empty dorm room one night, she said, "Daddy, if you're here, I think you better go now. We want to get undressed for bed." Actually, I was two hundred miles away at the time, both physically and otherwise.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gradually I became more accustomed to this strange addition in my life. More and more, I was slowly able to control its movements. In a few ways it had actually become helpful. I had become reluctant to part with it. The mystery of its very presence had aroused my curiosity.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Even after I had determined that there was no physiological cause, and that I was no more insane than most of my fellow men, the fears persisted. It was a defect, illness, or deformity that had to be hidden from "normal" people.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Finally, I began to experiment with this strange aberration, keeping notes of each event. I also began to read in areas of study long neglected in my life pattern. Religion had not greatly influenced my thinking, yet it seemed that this was the only remaining body of the writings and knowledge of man in which I could look for answers. Beyond childhood churchgoing and rare attendance with a friend, God and church and religion had meant little to me. In fact, I hadn't given the matter much thought one way or another, as it simply didn't evoke my interest.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The best advice seemed to be to pray, meditate, fast, go to church, absolve my sins, accept the Trinity, believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, resist Evil, or resist not Evil, and give myself to God. All of this did nothing but add to the conflict.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The common bond or cause that draws them together is simple. All have a belief that (1) man's Inner Self is neither understood nor fully expressed in our contemporary society; and (2) this Inner Self has capabilities to act and perform mentally and materially to a degree unknown and unrecognized by modem science.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here, the pattern changed somewhat. About half stated their willingness to participate. Oddly, in this group were some of those who were most skeptical of the reality of such experiences. Of course, this gave me the opportunity to nudge gently those who were in favor of continued experiments.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One of the most common questions that arises during any discussion of the Second Body and the Second State is: Where do you go? In evaluation of all experiments, there evolved what seemed to be three Second State environments. The first of these was identified as Locale I, for lack of a better nomenclature. More appropriately, it could be called the "Here-Now.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The best introduction to Locale II is to suggest a room with a sign over the door saying, "Please Check All Physical Concepts Here." If getting accustomed to the idea of a Second Body was an uneasy experience, Locale II may be hard to take.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is an immensity whose bounds are unknown (to this experimenter), and has depth and dimension incomprehensible to the finite, conscious mind. In this vastness lie all of the aspects we attribute to heaven and hell (See Chapter VIII), which are but part of Locale II, It is inhabited, if that is the word, by entities with various degrees of intelligence with whom communication is possible.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Just as various wave frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum can simultaneously occupy space, with a minimum of interaction, so might the world or worlds of Locale II be interspersed in our physical-matter world. Except for rare or unusual conditions, our "natural" senses and our instruments which are extensions thereof are completely unable to perceive and report this potential. If we consider this premise, the "where" is answered neatly. "Where" is "here." The history of man's sciences supports this premise.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My first visits to Locale II brought out all the repressed emotional patterns I even remotely considered I had—plus many I didn't know existed. They so dominated my actions that I returned completely abashed and embarrassed at their enormity and my inability to control them. Fear was the dominant theme—fear of the unknown, of strange beings (non-physical), of "death," of God, of rule-breaking, of discovery, and of pain, to name only a few. Such fears were stronger than the sexual drive for union, which, as noted which, as noted elsewhere, was in itself a tremendous obstacle.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Paradoxically, the scientist today can conceive far more easily of the possibility of the area here labeled Locale III than that of Locale II. Why? Because it fits his latest discoveries in physics, small bits of evidence he has uncovered in his experiments with matter bombardment, accelerators, cyclotrons, etc. The best way to get acquainted with Locale III is to take the significant experiments leading up to it directly from the notes.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“12/5/58 MorningI rotated again, and again found the hole. Still with a note of caution, I approached the hole, and this time reached through with both hands. Instantly, both were grasped by two other hands. Then for the first time in all my experimentation, my name was called. A voice—feminine, soft, low-pitched, and urgent (just as if someone were trying to wake me up from sleep without startling me too much)— called, "Bob! Bob!" I was startled at first, then recovered and asked, "What is your name?"..”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Any acknowledgment of the existence of the Second Body immediately demands the question mankind has pondered since the day he learned to think: Do we live on? Is there life beyond the grave? Our religions say believe, have faith. This is not quite enough for the syllogistic thinker who seeks valid premises that are clear-cut, leading to an inescapable conclusion.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This is all I can report. The Old, Established Way is not enough. Or as I say, perhaps I am not qualified. Worse still, it may be that my prayer training was insufficient or improper. At any rate, it didn't work for me.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the midst of normal activity, whatever it may be, there is a distant Signal, almost like heraldic trumpets. Everyone takes the Signal calmly, and with it, everyone stops speaking or whatever he may be doing. It is the Signal that He (or They) is coming through His Kingdom. There is no awestruck prostration or falling down on one's knees. Rather, the attitude is most matter-of-fact It is an occurrence to which all are accustomed and to comply takes absolute precedence over everything. There are no exceptions.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Three times I have "gone" to a place that I cannot find words to describe accurately. Again, it is this vision, this interpretation, the temporary visitation to this "place" or state of being that brings the message we have heard so often throughout the history of man. I am sure that this may be part of the ultimate heaven as our religions conceive it It must also be the nirvana, the Samadhi, the supreme experience related to us by the mystics of the ages.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Each of the three times I went There, I did not return voluntarily. I came back sadly, reluctantly. Someone helped me return. Each time after I returned, I suffered intense nostalgia and loneliness for days. I felt as an alien might among strangers in a land where things were not "right," where everything and everyone was so different and so "wrong" when compared with where you belonged. Acute loneliness, nostalgia, and something akin to homesickness. So great was it that I have not tried to go There again. Was this heaven?”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I did not see who was assisting me. However, just prior to the assistance, I saw someone sitting yoga-fashion, with robes and headpiece... Of all the helpers from whom I have obtained some repeatable identification, only one have I been able to identify a second time.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In my visit to Agnew Bahnson in Locale II, someone held me in position to see him. The feeling of gentle but firm hands on each side of me was very strong. The same hands, turning me around to leave, much as one steers a blind person, could not have been more vivid. It was another case of a helper responding to a specific desire on my part.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I panicked, screamed, and prayed against the barrier on my way back, no help came. When I was being teased and tormented by the entities, no help came. When I was attacked by the beings so savagely, no help came. More accurately, if it did, I was not aware of it.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most of all, who quietly insisted that I return to the physical when I drifted in that seemingly eternal bliss? I don't know whether to be grateful or sad for that particular help.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Throughout man's history, the reports have been consistent. There are demons, spirits, goblins, gremlins, and assorted subhuman entities always hanging around humanity to make life miserable. Are these myths? Hallucinations?”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After some twenty minutes of calming myself down, I returned to bed. I was naturally reluctant immediately to try to sleep again. I did not want a recurrence of the fight. I knew of no way to prevent it. I tried what seemed to be the only answer. (The alternative was to stay awake all night, and I was much too tired.) I lay there and repeated, "My mind and body are open only to constructive forces; in the name of God and good, I am going into normal restful sleep." I did, and awoke at my usual time in the morning. Before sleep came I had repeated the phrase at least twenty times.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Early in the experimentation, a side effect began to manifest itself. It was not an out-of-body activity as such, but took place in states of deep relaxation prior to any separation. It is evidently called in the trade "precognition." As I was lying down, my mind stilled and body relaxed, without my volition, the "vision" would occur.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I would see and semiexperience an event or incident like a dream, except that I retained all of my consciousness and sense awareness. The dream would be superimposed directly over outside stimuli. I could perceive both quite readily. I could not and cannot produce the effect at will. It merely happened or was triggered by some non-conscious mechanism. At first, I paid no particular attention to the phenomenon, attributing the dream visions to release of material from the unconscious. A major event brought it strongly to my attention.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My family and I are in a situation where the whole population of the city we live in is trying to leave. Gasoline is unavailable, electric power has been shut off. There is a great sense of fatality among everyone. It doesn't seem to be the product of atomic war, and there is no concern as to radioactive fallout. There is principally a feeling of doom and the breakup of civilization as we know it due to something momentous having taken place, a factor beyond human ability to control.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The man who was my host looked at me and smiled, then took me over to the other side of the house overlooking the valley, indicating that he would show me another thing the device could do... A small fire was burning brightly on the hillside some three hundred yards away, with smoke curling up into the sky. He told me to use the narrow beam, and aim at the fire. I did, and immediately the fire went out. The flame shut off as if suddenly extinguished. The smoke held for a moment or so longer, then it too was gone.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The basic characteristics noted have been confirmed many other times in various ways. Still, there appears to be no method to validate such evidence except by personal experience and observation by others. Perhaps this will come, in time.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having described the "physical" aspects of the Second Body, it would seem most important to examine how the mind apparently operates in reaction to the Second Body experience.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The question posed most often is: How do you know you aren't dreaming, that what you experience is nothing more than a vivid dream or a hallucination of some sort?”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As reported elsewhere, I was certain that these experiences were dreams or hallucinations for a long period in the early stages. They were seriously considered as something more only when evidential data began to accumulate.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The experiences differ from the typical dream state principally in the following ways: (1) Continuity of some sort of conscious awareness; (2) Intellectual or emotional (or blends of the two) decisions made during the experiences; (3) Multivalued perception via sensory inputs or their equivalents; (4) Non-recurrence of identical patterns; and (5) Development of events in sequence that seem to indicate a time lapse.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The duality of existence is completely contradictory to all available scientific training and human experience. Again, the ultimate proof of such affirmation is to experience one's self in this state of being.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“First and most obvious, there is no evidence of the male-female interpenetration. Attempts to express the need in such a functional manner become pathetic in retrospect. One discovers in frustration that it just doesn't happen that way in the Second State. Next, sensuality produced by the physical form of the sex counterpart is entirely absent. There is no distinct pattern of physical shape, either visually or by touch.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why this takes place, why it is needed, I do not know, any more than the north pole of a magnet understands its "need" for the south pole of another magnet. Unlike the magnet, however, we can perceive objectively and ask "why." One fact is certain: as in the physical state, the act is equally needed in the Second. In some parts of Locale II, it is as ordinary as shaking hands.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Throughout this writing, I have made many references to one evident fact; the only possible way for an individual to appreciate the reality of this Second Body and existence within it is to experience it himself.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The experimenter will want to proceed in a manner that will produce consistent results, perhaps not every time, but often enough to validate the evidence to his own satisfaction. I believe that anyone can experience existence in a Second Body if the desire is great enough. Whether or not anyone should is beyond the scope of my judgment.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The first step in making some kind of sense out of this mass of raw data was to set up standards for measurement and analysis. After several attempts, it became apparent that only a few of the typical yardsticks could be applied. Therefore, assumptions or premises were made to permit identification in the sorting process, and the conclusions brought forth are only as valid as the premises on which they are based.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was an interesting experience, to say the least.. The publication of the book quite thoroughly “blew my cover” as a reasonably orthodox business executive. However, a good many of the results were totally unexpected, and some of the serious trepidations were unfounded... I was greatly concerned about the reaction to the book of the board of directors of the corporation of which I was president... At the first board meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after the book publication, no one mentioned it... However, as we cruised up the canal in the board chairman's yacht, on our way to dinner at the country club, the chairman's wife came up from below deck with a copy of Journeys in her hand, “Bob, will you autograph this for me?” she asked. I complied, more than a little self-conscious and surprised. I should not have been. “Interesting stuff,” the chairman called over his shoulder as he steered for the yacht club dock. “My wife is a real psychic. I never make a major business deal without a reading from her. It works, too”... I was not asked to resign. Actually, I found little or no adverse effect on my business relationships as a result of the public disclosure of this “private” side of my life. Instead, many broad new avenues opened up to me, totally unexpected. Who could have guessed that I would speak on out-of-body experiences at such an august and conservative body as the Smithsonian Institution!”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The primary purposes for the release and publication of the material contained here are (i) that through dissemination as widely as possible, some other human being—perhaps just one—may be saved from the agony and terror of trial and error in an area where there have been no concrete answers; that he may have comfort in the knowledge that others have had the same experiences; that he will recognize in himself the phenomenon and thus avoid the trauma of psychotherapy, or at the worst, mental breakdown and commitment to a mental institution; and (2) that tomorrow or in the years to come, the formal, accepted sciences of our culture will expand their horizons, concepts, postulates, and research to open wide the avenues and doorways intimated herein to the great enrichment of man's knowledge and understanding of himself and his complete environment. If one or both of these aims are served, whenever and wherever it may be, this is sufficient reward indeed.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The presentation of such material is not designed for any particular scientific group. Rather, the principal attempt is to be as specific as possible in language understandable to scientists and laymen alike, with avoidance of ambiguous generalities. The physicist, chemist, life scientist, psychiatrist, and philosopher may each use more technical or specialized terminology to state the same premise. Such interpretation is expected. It will indicate that the plan of communication is workable, that the "plain" talk does convey the proper meaning to a wide base rather than to a narrow pinnacle of specialists. It is expected, too, that many interpretations will be contradictory.”
Robert Monroe (1915–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source