Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Doubleday Anchor (1972), 277 pages
Description
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… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Eldaveer
This book totally changed my life 30 years ago, after my mother was killed. I have been to the Gateway weeklong worksthop in VA. It's phenomenal and I highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member IonaS
I found this to be an extremely informative and enjoyable book which greatly exceeded my expectations.
Monroe was apparently the first to investigate out-of-body experiences in depth and publish his research.
Monroe defines an OOBE, as he calls it, or OBE, as we now call it, as follows:
“An event
It is a universal human experience and generally a once-in-a-lifetime experience, seemingly experienced by accident. It is sometimes brought about by serious illnesses or emotional stress, and sometimes happens during sleep without our knowing what might have caused it. Very rarely is it brought about by a deliberate attempt.
The experience of an OBE is usually one of the most profound experiences of a person’s life, and radically alters his beliefs. The person then knows that he will survive death.
The OBE is generally “extremely joyful” to those who have it.
In some instances the description of what was happening at a distant place proves to be correct and more accurate than we would expect by coincidence.
Monroe terms the OBE state as “Second State”, and the body we use when experiencing OBEs as “Second Body”. He identified three Second State environments.
Locale 1 is the Here-Now, which consists of people and places that actually do exist in the material, well-known world at the very moment of the experiment. Visits to Locale 1 generally do not contain strange beings, events, or places.
Locale II is a non-material environment with “laws of motion and matter only remotely related to the physical world”. “It is an immensity whose bounds are unknown …, 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.” Time is non-existent and past and future seem to exist “coterminously” with “now”. Locale II is a state of being where what we label thought “is the wellspring of existence”. “As you think, so you are”.
In this environment there are no cars, boats or other means of transportation. You think movement, and it occurs. No telephones, radio or other communication aids exist, communication being instantaneous. There are no farms, gardens, etc, since no food energy needs are indicated. Thought is the force that supplies any need or desire. Like attracts like.
Monroe states that Locale II is the natural environment of the Second Body. Locale II “seems to interpenetrate our physical world, yet spans limitless reaches beyond comprehension”. In Locale II reality is composed of “deepest desires” and “frantic fears”. Raw emotion is unleashed in full force. For Monroe, fear was the dominant theme – fear of the unknown, of strange (non-physical) beings, of “death”, of God, etc.
The areas of Locale II “nearest” the physical world are peopled mostly with insane or near-insane, emotionally driven beings. This near area is not a pleasant place to be, since you meet here all sorts of “disjointed personalities” and animate beings.
There is also Locale III. It is a physical-matter world almost identical to our own, the natural environment being the same. There are trees, houses, cities, etc. There are homes, families, businesses, etc. There are roads travelled by vehicles, and trains. But “the scientific development is inconsistent.” There are no electrical devices whatsoever. There is no petrol or oil but mechanical power is used.
Another strange source of power stored in large vat-like containers is used. The streets and roads are different, mainly in size. Their cars are much larger, even the smallest having a single bench seat that will hold 5-6 people abreast. Habits and customs differ from ours.
The people in Locale III were not aware of Monroe’s presence and on several occasions he automatically “took over” someone’s body.
Locale III and Locale I are not the same. Locale III is not more advanced, perhaps less so. There is no time in our known history where science was at the Locale III stage.
Regarding life after death, Monroe managed to visit younger versions of a few “deceased” persons. Otherwise he has a chapter about prayer, the Bible and the afterlife. On one occasion when speeding back to his body he rammed into a solid wall of impenetrable material and in panic screamed, sobbed and prayed without effect. Eventually, however, he turned back and this led him back to his body. So maybe the prayer had worked all the same.
He writes at the beginning of the chapter that he had found nothing to substantiate the “biblical notions” of God and afterlife in a place called Heaven. If they existed, they must be somewhere in Locale II. The part closest to Here-Now contained beings resembling demons and devils and he felt that this area could be the borders of Hell. At times when visiting Locale II a distant Signal occurred, almost like heraldic trumpets. Everyone stops whatever he is doing. It is the Signal that He is coming through His Kingdom. At the Signal each living being lies down on its back, body arched to expose the abdomen, with head turned to one side so that one does not see Him as He passes. The people form a living road on which He can travel. Occasionally He will select someone from this living bridge, and this person is never seen or heard from again. As He passes, there is “a roaring, musical sound and a feeling of radiant, irresistible living force of ultimate power”. Monroe wonders “Is this God? Or God’s son?” Three times he went to a place of pure peace, yet exquisite emotion. “The warmth is not merely around you, it is of you and through you. Your perception is dazzled and overwhelmed by the Perfect Environment.”
Thus the author contradicts himself, since what he describes does sound like it could be God, God’s realm, Heaven. He also states “This is Home” and refers to “choirs of human-sounding voices” echoing in wordless song. I think that the author’s description is his version of the wonderful, ecstatic, love experience Anita Moorjani and others describe from their NDEs.
Monroe provides extremely detailed accounts of many of his OBEs. The book contains much, much more valuable information on the subject than I have touched on, including preliminary exercises and advice on how best to exit the body.
I found this book to be the most interesting, informative, exhaustive and enjoyable work on the subject I’ve read so far (though Greg Doyle’s book “Awakening the Giant within” is also excellent). Monroe is wonderfully articulate. Few people in this day and age write so well. I highly recommend that you read the book. Have a great read!
Monroe was apparently the first to investigate out-of-body experiences in depth and publish his research.
Monroe defines an OOBE, as he calls it, or OBE, as we now call it, as follows:
“An event
Show More
where the experiencer 1) seems to perceive some portion of some environment which could not possibly be perceived from where his physical body is known to be at the time and 2) knows at the time that he is not dreaming or fantasizing.”It is a universal human experience and generally a once-in-a-lifetime experience, seemingly experienced by accident. It is sometimes brought about by serious illnesses or emotional stress, and sometimes happens during sleep without our knowing what might have caused it. Very rarely is it brought about by a deliberate attempt.
The experience of an OBE is usually one of the most profound experiences of a person’s life, and radically alters his beliefs. The person then knows that he will survive death.
The OBE is generally “extremely joyful” to those who have it.
In some instances the description of what was happening at a distant place proves to be correct and more accurate than we would expect by coincidence.
Monroe terms the OBE state as “Second State”, and the body we use when experiencing OBEs as “Second Body”. He identified three Second State environments.
Locale 1 is the Here-Now, which consists of people and places that actually do exist in the material, well-known world at the very moment of the experiment. Visits to Locale 1 generally do not contain strange beings, events, or places.
Locale II is a non-material environment with “laws of motion and matter only remotely related to the physical world”. “It is an immensity whose bounds are unknown …, 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.” Time is non-existent and past and future seem to exist “coterminously” with “now”. Locale II is a state of being where what we label thought “is the wellspring of existence”. “As you think, so you are”.
In this environment there are no cars, boats or other means of transportation. You think movement, and it occurs. No telephones, radio or other communication aids exist, communication being instantaneous. There are no farms, gardens, etc, since no food energy needs are indicated. Thought is the force that supplies any need or desire. Like attracts like.
Monroe states that Locale II is the natural environment of the Second Body. Locale II “seems to interpenetrate our physical world, yet spans limitless reaches beyond comprehension”. In Locale II reality is composed of “deepest desires” and “frantic fears”. Raw emotion is unleashed in full force. For Monroe, fear was the dominant theme – fear of the unknown, of strange (non-physical) beings, of “death”, of God, etc.
The areas of Locale II “nearest” the physical world are peopled mostly with insane or near-insane, emotionally driven beings. This near area is not a pleasant place to be, since you meet here all sorts of “disjointed personalities” and animate beings.
There is also Locale III. It is a physical-matter world almost identical to our own, the natural environment being the same. There are trees, houses, cities, etc. There are homes, families, businesses, etc. There are roads travelled by vehicles, and trains. But “the scientific development is inconsistent.” There are no electrical devices whatsoever. There is no petrol or oil but mechanical power is used.
Another strange source of power stored in large vat-like containers is used. The streets and roads are different, mainly in size. Their cars are much larger, even the smallest having a single bench seat that will hold 5-6 people abreast. Habits and customs differ from ours.
The people in Locale III were not aware of Monroe’s presence and on several occasions he automatically “took over” someone’s body.
Locale III and Locale I are not the same. Locale III is not more advanced, perhaps less so. There is no time in our known history where science was at the Locale III stage.
Regarding life after death, Monroe managed to visit younger versions of a few “deceased” persons. Otherwise he has a chapter about prayer, the Bible and the afterlife. On one occasion when speeding back to his body he rammed into a solid wall of impenetrable material and in panic screamed, sobbed and prayed without effect. Eventually, however, he turned back and this led him back to his body. So maybe the prayer had worked all the same.
He writes at the beginning of the chapter that he had found nothing to substantiate the “biblical notions” of God and afterlife in a place called Heaven. If they existed, they must be somewhere in Locale II. The part closest to Here-Now contained beings resembling demons and devils and he felt that this area could be the borders of Hell. At times when visiting Locale II a distant Signal occurred, almost like heraldic trumpets. Everyone stops whatever he is doing. It is the Signal that He is coming through His Kingdom. At the Signal each living being lies down on its back, body arched to expose the abdomen, with head turned to one side so that one does not see Him as He passes. The people form a living road on which He can travel. Occasionally He will select someone from this living bridge, and this person is never seen or heard from again. As He passes, there is “a roaring, musical sound and a feeling of radiant, irresistible living force of ultimate power”. Monroe wonders “Is this God? Or God’s son?” Three times he went to a place of pure peace, yet exquisite emotion. “The warmth is not merely around you, it is of you and through you. Your perception is dazzled and overwhelmed by the Perfect Environment.”
Thus the author contradicts himself, since what he describes does sound like it could be God, God’s realm, Heaven. He also states “This is Home” and refers to “choirs of human-sounding voices” echoing in wordless song. I think that the author’s description is his version of the wonderful, ecstatic, love experience Anita Moorjani and others describe from their NDEs.
Monroe provides extremely detailed accounts of many of his OBEs. The book contains much, much more valuable information on the subject than I have touched on, including preliminary exercises and advice on how best to exit the body.
I found this book to be the most interesting, informative, exhaustive and enjoyable work on the subject I’ve read so far (though Greg Doyle’s book “Awakening the Giant within” is also excellent). Monroe is wonderfully articulate. Few people in this day and age write so well. I highly recommend that you read the book. Have a great read!
Show Less
LibraryThing member drj
Robert Monroe, founder of the Monroe Institute, is an educated man who used his research skills to investigate his own natural talent for going out of body (OBE) and writing down the results of every encounter. He also taught others to do this same process. The end of the book includes a report by
Show More
a psychologist from the VA who examined Mr. Monroe and found him to both be sane and "normal" yet able to test the process for making OBE trips and getting spiritual and useful information from them. Show Less
LibraryThing member Consciousness_Cafe
This is the first of three related books Robert Monroe wrote about his out of body experiences. He approached his work from an engineer's mind set trying to find evidence that his OBEs were based in fact vs. simply a dream or concoction of his brain. If you are so inclined, you should read his
Show More
books in their published order (Journeys, Far Journeys and Ultimate Journey). You should also visit the Monroe Institute web site to learn more about what grew out of Monroe's investigations into the OBE state. Show Less
LibraryThing member Trutx
If I understand well, this was the first report on Astral Projection as a non esotheric practice. As such, it is impressive. It made me want to read his other works. Today though I think many authors have advanced in this field and there are certainly better books about the subject out there. This
For practical (and short!) instructions check page 97 and forward.
Show More
book, I believe, is like reading a journal of a westerner about the far east 100 years ago.For practical (and short!) instructions check page 97 and forward.
Show Less
LibraryThing member williemeikle
I'm doing research for a novel involving Astral Projection, and this is my starting point. Interesting concept, and the author has some very vivid "experiences". I may try some of his proposed methods, just to see if I get anywhere.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1977
Physical description
277 p.; 7.9 inches
ISBN
0385008619 / 9780385008617
Other editions
Journeys Out of the Body by Robert A. Monroe (Paperback)