‘Journeys Out of the Body’ by Robert Monroe

On May 2, 2024 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn new age, writing

“According to his own account, while experimenting with sleep-learning in 1958 Monroe experienced an unusual phenomenon, which he described as sensations of paralysis and vibration accompanied by a bright light that appeared to be shining on him from a shallow angle. Monroe went on to say that this occurred another nine times over the next six weeks, culminating in his first out-of-body experience (OBE). Monroe recorded his account in his 1971 book “Journeys Out of the Body” and went on to become a prominent researcher in the field of human consciousness. Monroe later authored two more books on his experiments with OBE, Far Journeys (1985) and Ultimate Journey (1994).” – Wikipedia

(Learn More About Monroe in Ronald Russell’s book shown above with a link to its Amazon page)

From the Publisher

“The definitive work on the extraordinary phenomenon of out-of-body experiences, by the founder of the internationally known Monroe Institute.

“Robert Monroe, a Virginia businessman, began to have experiences that drastically altered his life. Unpredictably, and without his willing it, Monroe found himself leaving his physical body to travel via a “second body” to locales far removed from the physical and spiritual realities of his life. He was inhabiting a place unbound by time or death.

“Praise for Journeys Out of the Body

“Monroe’s account of his travels, Journeys Out of the Body, jam-packed with parasitic goblins and dead humans, astral sex, scary trips into mind-boggling other dimensions, and practical tips on how to get out of your body, all told with wry humor, quickly became a cult sensation with its publication in 1971, and has been through many printings. Whatever their ‘real’ explanation, Monroe’s trips made for splendid reading.” —Michael Hutchinson, author of Megabrain

“‘Robert Monroe’s experiences are probably the most intriguing of any person’s of our time, with the possible exception of Carlos Castaneda’s.’ —Joseph Chilton Pierce, author of Magical Child

“‘This book is by a person who’s clearly a sensible man and who’s trying to tell it like it is. No ego trips. Just a solid citizen who’s been ‘out’ a thousand times now and wants to pass his experiences to others.'” —The Last Whole Earth Catalog

Related Sources

The Monroe Institute – “Founded in 1971 by Robert A. Monroe, the Monroe Institute is widely recognized as a leading center for exploring and experiencing expanded states of consciousness. For over 50 years, our immersive programs have empowered participants to undergo profound transformations, gaining a fresh outlook on life and discovering a deep sense of purpose.”

HemiSync – “Combining rich atmospheric tones with ambient instrumentals and electronic accents, this peaceful composition leads you to a place of deep inner stillness. The Hemi-Sync® frequencies are designed to gently hold you in a state of “no time” — the perfect setting for escaping the rigors of the day, where you can relax and allow the tranquility to permeate your mind, body and soul. Length: 40 minutes.”

—Malcolm

Reading separate books together

On November 24, 2017 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books

“Sometimes they would sit in the parlor together, both reading – in entirely separate worlds, to be sure, but joined somehow. When this happened, other people in the family couldn’t bring themselves to disturb them. All that could be heard in the parlor was the sound of pages, turning.” ― Alice Hoffman, Blackbird House

People who read together in silence–except for the sound of pages turning–in the same room are usually comfortable together. I’m thinking of families and friends, not passengers on a plane or people in a waiting room at the train station.

Some say that when you use the technique of astral projection, you imagine yourself away to other worlds as a shaman does, leaving your body unattended. To some extent, this happens when we read. Books carry us away upon spells of words just as surely as dreams carry us away while we’re sleeping.

During a family visit, we all sat in the living room reading our very disparate books. We weren’t there, yet we were there, linked both by our trust in leaving our bodies unattended and by our common, quiet activity. It’s a good feeling, almost as good as lovers who feel secure in silence while they sit on a park bench and day dream, holding hands or leaning against each other.

In the evening, the living room lamps create pools of light where each reader sits. Yet those pools overlap and we are all one within our shared light. I suppose we could each do this with laptop computers or phones for texting, but the books truly have more magic in them making for a deeper experience.

I hope you have also found this to be true.

–Malcolm

Does anyone remember this astral projection exercise?

On October 21, 2015 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Spiritual8 Comments

When I was in high school, I bought a book that purported to teach a variety of psychic techniques. Unfortunately, I no longer remember the name of the book or what happened to it.

The book included an astral projection exercise far different than the usual ones which suggest lying down, meditating and ultimately visualizing oneself floating above the bed.

Here’s what I remember about it:

Sit in a comfortable chair and relax at a time when nobody else is home.
Stand up and walk to some other location in the house noting what you see along the way.
Return to the chair.
Close your eyes and visualize taking that same walk through the house, seeing in your mind’s eye what you saw when you physically walked through the house. Remember any smells, textures, lights and shadows, etc. as specifically as you can.
Visualize returning to the chair.
Now, open your eyes and physically walk through the house again by the same route and return to the chair.
Next, visualize taking that walk through the house.
According to the book, you will sooner or later return to the chair and find yourself already sitting there. Supposedly when this happens, you will be in your astral body and can experiment with willing yourself to appear in one room or another and, in time, at other places.

I tried this exercise several times, but never made many physical or mental walks through the house because the longer I did it, the more I began to dread that it would work. Why this exercise bothered me, I’m not sure. Maybe it was the loss of control, the idea that I would just stumble across myself rather than lifting away from myself in a controlled way.

Has anyone ever heard of this, much less tried it? If so, did it work?

This is a curiosity question because something about this exercise has always bothered me. I wish I could track it down and read the instructions and rationale again to see why I felt panic rather than curiosity about it.

–Malcolm

As you might expect, Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of books and stories in the paranormal, magical realism and fantasy genres, including “Moonlight and Ghosts.”

Review: ‘Awakening of the Dream Riders’

On June 15, 2010June 15, 2010 By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, magic

Awakening of the Dream Riders by Lynda Louise Mangoro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kyra has discovered how to fly.

As Lynda Louise Mangoro’s magical novel “Awakening of the Dream Riders” begins, fourteen-year-old Kyra is trying out her new talent: “Her favorite unicorn poster suddenly loomed directly ahead. Pulling back, she slowed just in time to avoid a collision with the wall and sent herself tumbling backward through the air, rolling head over heels in a clumsy display of aero-gymnastics.”

Before Kyra discovers what she’s doing, veteran readers of paranormal fiction will guess that her joyful and liberating flight is astral projection. But she’s too elated to concern herself about technical terms. She can’t wait to share her stunning discovery with her best friend at school.

This well-told story moves at light speed, as fast as a person flying in their “light body” can soar across town in the blink of a thought. Soon, Kyra and her friends, Ray, Lauren, Crystal, and even the science-minded Noah are talking about “dream riding.”

On the back cover of “Awakening of the Dream Riders,” Mangoro describes Kyra’s world as “a quiet street in a picturesque English seaside town.” As Kyra and her friends discover, that’s only one reality, and it’s heavy and dense when compared to dream riding.

But unknown shadows await them within the infinite scope of the bright reality that knowing how to fly has offered them. Kyra and her friends will discover their unique dream riding talents, talents they must develop quickly in order to survive a tragedy their freshly opened eyes do not yet see.

“Awakening of the Dream Riders” plunges the reader into an inventive paranormal adventure. The high-energy magic of the story arises out of the fact that Kyra’s world on the ground and in the air appears very real. And there’s more to come: Mangoro’s debut novel is the first in a projected series of open-your-mind fantasy adventures for young adults and adults.

View all my reviews >>

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of two magical realism novels, “Garden of Heaven” and “The Sun Singer.”

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