Robert Monroe

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Robert Allan Monroe,[1] also known as Bob Monroe (October 30,

Robert A. Monr oe
1915 March 17, 1995), was a radio broadcasting executive who
became known for his research into altered consciousness and founding Born Robert Allan Monroe
The Monroe Institute. His 1971 book Journeys Out of the Body is October 30, 1915
credited with popularizing the term "out-of-body experience". Indiana
Died March 17, 1995
Monroe achieved worldwide recognition as an explorer of human
consciousness and out-of-body experiences. His research, beginning in (aged 79)
the 1950s, produced evidence that specific sound patterns have Education Ohio State University
identifiable, beneficial effects on our capabilities. For example, certain (B.A.)
combinations of frequencies appeared to enhance alertness; others to
Occupation Radio broadcaster
induce sleep; and still others to evoke expanded states of consciousness.
Researcher
Assisted by specialists in psychology, medicine, biochemistry, Organization Monroe Products and
psychiatry, electrical engineering, physics, and education, Robert The Monroe Institute
Monroe developed Hemi-Sync, a patented audio technology that is (founder),
claimed to facilitate enhanced performance.[2][3][4][5][6] Jefferson Cable
He is also notable as one of the founders of the Jefferson Cable Corporation (founder)
Corporation, the first cable company to cover central Virginia.[7] Website www.monroeinstitute
.org

Contents
1 Biography
2 First out-of-body experiences
3 The Monroe Institute
4 Research
5 Coverage
6 Hemi-Sync
7 Bibliography
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

Biography
Robert Allan Monroe was born in Indiana, weighing twelve pounds. He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and
Columbus, Ohio; his mother, Georgia Helen Jordan Monroe, was a non-practicing medical doctor and cellist
and piano player. His father, Robert Emmett Monroe, was a college professor of Romance Languages who led
summer tours to Europe. Monroe had two older sisters, Dorothy and Peggy, and a younger brother, Emmett,
who became a medical doctor.

According to his third book Ultimate Journey,[8] he dropped out of Ohio State University in his sophomore
year due to a hospital stay for a facial burn that caused him to fall behind in his studies. During almost a year
away from college, a desire to find work led him to become a hobo who rode freight trains. He returned to Ohio
State to graduate after having studied pre-med, English, engineering, and journalism.
He had an early fascination with flying and music and had great mechanical aptitude. He displayed some ability
to read music by age four without having studied the subject, perhaps by listening to his mother and sisters
playing piano.

He married Jeanette, a graduate student and daughter of a lawyer, in 1937, and divorced her in 1938 or 1939.
He married Mary Ashworth, a divorcee with a daughter Maria, in 1950 or 1951. They had Bob's only biological
child together, daughter Laurie. They divorced in 1968. He then married Nancy Penn Honeycutt, a divorcee
with four children. They remained married until her death from breast cancer on August 15, 1992.

Monroe developed ulcers in young adulthood and so was classified 4F (unfit for service) during World War II.
He spent the war years working for a manufacturing company that designed a flight-simulator prototype. He
wrote for an aviation column in Argosy magazine and was given a job with the National Aeronautic Association
(NAA), for whom he produced a weekly radio show called "Scramble!", the primary purpose of which was to
interest youth in aviation.

In 1953 Mr. Monroe formed RAM Enterprises, a corporation that produced network radio programs, as many
as 28 programs monthly, principally in dramatic and popular quiz shows.

In 1956 the firm created a Research and Development division to study the effects of various sound patterns on
human consciousness, including the sleep state. Monroe was especially attracted to the concept of sleep-
learning. This was a natural direction to take, applying to this new area the audio production methods used in
the firm's commercial activity. The purpose was to find more constructive uses for such knowledge than was
ordinarily available, and the results of this research have become internationally known.

First out-of-body experiences

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.[2][3][4][5] Monroe later authored two more books on his experiments with OBE, Far
Journeys (1985) and Ultimate Journey (1994).

The Monroe Institute

In 1962 the company moved to Virginia, and a few years later changed the corporate name to Monroe
Industries. In this location it became active in radio station ownership, cable television, and later in the
production and sale of audio cassettes. These cassettes were practical expressions of the discoveries made in the
earlier and ongoing corporate research program.

In 1985 the company officially changed its name, once again, to Interstate Industries, Inc. This reflected
Monroe's analogy of how the use of Hemi-Sync serves as a ramp from the "local road" to the "interstate" in
allowing people to go "full steam ahead" in the exploration of consciousness, avoiding all of the stops and
starts.

The research subsidiary was divested and established as an independent non-profit organization, The Monroe
Institute, later in 1985. Interstate Industries, Inc. remains a privately held company, now doing business as
Monroe Products.

Robert Monroe's leadership of the entire program of development were supported for more than 50 years by
many specialists who continue their participation to this day. His daughter, Laurie Monroe, continued her
father's research into consciousness and the mind's potential until her death in 2006. Under the current direction
of another of Monroe's daughters, Maria Monroe Whitehead, Monroe's stepson, A. J. Honeycutt, and Teresa
West, president of Monroe Products, the company's objective is to continue to expand the Hemi-Sync line of
products and their benefits into markets worldwide.

The Monroe Institute (TMI) is a nonprofit education and research organization devoted to the exploration of
human consciousness, based in Faber, Virginia, United States.[9] Upwards of 20,000 people are estimated to
have attended TMI's residential Gateway program during its first thirty years,[10] with consumers of the audio
industry founded on its research running into millions.[11] Currently, many tens of thousands of people have
experienced the residential programs developed by the Monroe Institute at TMI's campus in Virginia as well as
across the US and the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, England, France, Germany, Japan,
Romania, and Spain. TMI claims a policy of no dogma or bias with respect to belief system, religion, political
or social stance.

TMI was founded by Robert Monroe after he started having what he called "out of body experiences", now also
commonly referred to as OBEs. It comprises several buildings on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land south of
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. One of its activities includes teaching various techniques, based on audio-
guidance processes, in order to expand consciousness and explore areas of consciousness not normally
available in the waking state.

In 1978, the U.S. military evaluated TMI and arranged to send officers there for OBE training.[12] In 1983, it
sent additional officers.[13][14]

Research
Controlled studies of the Institute's technology suggest that it is effective as an analgesic supplement and can
reduce hospital discharge times.[15][16] The Institute has an affiliated professional membership, and also
publishes scientific papers on a subset of its own studies of altered states of consciousness.[17] In its in-house
laboratory, these states or focus levels are typically induced by delivering Hemi-Sync signals to subjects
performing relaxation procedures inside a shielded, sense-depriving isolation tank. Progression through states is
detected and monitored by measurement of peripheral skin temperature, galvanic skin response and DC skin
potential voltage.

Coverage
In 1994, a front page article in the Wall Street Journal reported confirmation from the former director of the
Intelligence and Security Command of the U.S. Army sending personnel to the institute. It also stated the
opinion of the head of the Zen Buddhist temple in Vancouver British Columbia that "Gateway students can
reach meditation states in a week that took [me] 30 years of sitting".[18]

A reporter for The Hook, weekly newspaper for Charlottesville, Virginia, who visited The Monroe Institute
said, "...with a few exceptions, the only 'normal' people with whom I could fully identify were the trainers, who
seemed remarkably well-grounded for people whose day-to-day experiences include astral projection and
disembodied spirits".[19]

The reporter also concluded that "there is something significant being developed at the Institute. Whether it's
just a brilliant guided meditation (complete with trance-inducing stereoscopic sound) or a doorway to a world
of spirit entities, I cannot say".[19]

Hemi-Sync
In 1975, Monroe registered the first of several patents[20][21][22] concerning audio techniques designed to
stimulate brain functions until the left and right hemispheres became synchronized. Monroe held that this state,
dubbed Hemi-Sync (hemispherical synchronization), could be used to promote mental well-being or to trigger
an altered state of consciousness. Monroe's concept was based on an earlier hypothesis known as binaural beats
and has since been expanded upon a commercial basis by the self-help industry.[23]

Hemi-Sync is a trademarked brand name for a patented process[20][21][22] used to create audio patterns
containing binaural beats, which are commercialized in the form of audio CDs. Interstate Industries Inc.,
created by Hemi-Sync founder Robert Monroe, is the owner of the Hemi-Sync technology.

Hemi-Sync is short for Hemispheric Synchronization, also known as brainwave synchronization. Monroe
indicated that the technique synchronizes the two hemispheres of one's brain, thereby creating a 'frequency-
following response' designed to evoke certain effects. Hemi-Sync has been used for many purposes, including
relaxation and sleep induction, learning and memory aids, helping those with physical and mental difficulties,
and reaching altered states of consciousness through the use of sound.

The technique involves using sound waves to entrain brain waves. Wearing headphones, Monroe claimed that
brains respond by producing a third sound (called binaural beats) that encouraged various brainwave activity
changes.[19][24] In 2002, a University of Virginia presentation at the Society for Psychophysiologial Research
examined Monroe's claim. The presentation demonstrated that EEG changes did not occur when the standard
electromagnetic headphones of Monroe's setup were replaced by air conduction headphones, which were
connected to a remote transducer by rubber tubes. This suggests that the basis for the entrainment effects is
electromagnetic rather than acoustical.[25]

Replicated, double-blind, randomized trials on anesthetized patients have found Hemi-Sync effective as a
partial replacement for fentanyl during surgery.[26][27] A similar study found it ineffective at replacing propofol
however.[28]

Bibliography
Monroe, Robert (1971). Journeys Out of the Body (1st ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 297.
ISBN 0385008619. OCLC 207277.
Monroe, Robert (1985). Far Journeys (1st ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 290.
ISBN 0385231822. OCLC 11755227.
Monroe, Robert (1994). Ultimate Journey (1st ed.). Garden City, New York: Doubleday. p. 303.
ISBN 0385472080. OCLC 28721578.

See also
Astral projection
Lucid dreaming
Out-of-body experience
Parapsychology
Brainwave synchronization
Binaural beats
Electroencephalography
Neurofeedback
Mind machine
Human enhancement
Intelligence amplification
Neural oscillations
Evoked potential
Event-related potential
Induced activity
Ongoing brain activity
Brainwave entrainment
Altered state of consciousness
References
1. Russell, Ronald (2007). "1". The Journey of Robert Monroe: From Out-of-Body Explorer to
Consciousness Pioneer (Hardcover). Hampton Roads Publishing Company. p. 3. ISBN 9781571745330.
2. Monroe, Robert A (1977) "Journeys Out of the Body", Anchor Press, ISBN 0-385-00861-9
3. Russell Ronald (2007) "The Journey of Robert Monroe: From Out-Of-Body Explorer to Consciousness
Pioneer", Hampton Roads Publishing, ISBN 1-57174-533-5
4. Stockton Bayard (1989) "Catapult: The Biography of Robert A. Monroe", Donning Co.,ISBN 0-89865-
756-3
5. Mayer, Robert A. (2007) "The Intrigue of the Possible", AuthorHouse, ISBN 1-4343-0829-4
6. Randolph Keith (1983) "The Truth about Astral Projection", Llewellyn Worldwide, ISBN 0-87542-350-7
7. Barling, Stephen (2003-02-13) "Cosmic degrees: Out of body at the Monroe Institute" (http://www.readth
ehook.com/93054/cover-story-cosmic-degrees-out-body-monroe-institute), The Hook (Charlottesville),
Issue 206
8. Ultimate Journey, published 1994 by Doubleday
9. The Monroe Institute (http://www.monroeinstitute.org)
10. R. Russell, Journey of Robert Monroe: From Out of Body Explorer to Consciousness Pioneer, Deep
Books, July 2007, p105. ISBN 978-1-57174-533-0
11. R.C. Filimon, Beneficial Subliminal Music: Binaural Beats, Hemi-Sync and Metamusic (http://www.wse
as.us/e-library/conferences/2010/Iasi/AMTA/AMTA-18.pdf), Proceedings of the 11th WSEAS
international conference on Acoustics & music: theory & applications, 2010, p106
12. Gondola Wish Assessment Report (http://www.remoteviewed.com/files/stargate/14.8.05/1978%20Gondo
la%20Wish%20Assesment%20report.pdf), 902d Military Intelligence Group, 25 August 1978.
13. Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies, Jim Schnabel, 1997, p292-3.
ISBN 978-0-440-61405-0
14. INSCOM log for August 1983 to January 1984 (https://web.archive.org/web/20101128143321/http://star
pod.org/SPECIAL/STAR_GATE/rapt.htm)
15. "The Effect of Hemispheric Synchronization on Intraoperative Analgesia" (http://www.anesthesia-analge
sia.org/content/98/2/533.short), Lewis, Osborn & Roth, Anesthesia & Analgesia, Vol 98 2, February
2004, p533-536
16. "Hemispheric Synchronized Sounds and Perioperative Analgesic Requirements" (http://www.anesthesia-
analgesia.org/content/110/1/208.abstract), Dabu-Bondoc, Vadivelu, Benson, Perret & Kain, Anesthesia &
Analgesia, Vol 110 1, January 2010, p208-210
17. "Accessing Anomalous States of Consciousness with a Binaural Beat Technology" (http://www.allthings
psychic.com/AccessingAnomalousStates.html), F Holmes Atwater, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol
1, No 3, 1997, p263-274
18. Bob Ortega, "Research institute shows people a way out of their bodies", The Wall Street Journal,
September 20, 1994, pp. A1, A8.
19. Stephen Barling, "Cosmic degrees: Out of body at the Monroe Institute (http://www.readthehook.com/sto
ries/2003/02/13/coverStoryCosmicDegreesOut.html)". The Hook. February 13, 2003.
20. US Patent 3884218: "Method of inducing and maintaining various stages of sleep in the human being" (h
ttp://www.freepatentsonline.com/3884218.html)
21. US Patent 5213562: "Method of inducing mental, emotional and physical states of consciousness,
including specific mental activity, in human beings" (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5213562.html)
22. US Patent 5356368: "Method of and apparatus for inducing desired states of consciousness" (http://www.
freepatentsonline.com/5356368.html)
23. Sheikh, Anees A.(2003) "Healing Images: The Role Of Imagination in Health", Baywood Publishing,
ISBN 0-89503-208-2
24. , "[1] (http://www.monroeinstitute.com/content.php?content_id=33)". The Effects of Hemi-Sync on
Electrocortical Activity, Sadigh and Kozicky
25. Chandra Stone, Phyllis Thomas, Dennis McClain-Furmanski, & James E. Horton (2002). "EEG
oscillations and binaural beat as compared with electromagnetic headphones and air-conduction
headphones", Psychophysiology vol 39, pp. S80
26. Kliempt P, Ruta D, Ogston S, Landeck A, Martay K (August 1999). "Hemispheric-synchronisation
during anaesthesia: a double-blind randomised trial using audiotapes for intra-operative nociception
control". Anaesthesia. 54 (8): 76973. PMID 10460529 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1046052
9). doi:10.1046/j.1365-2044.1999.00958.x (https://doi.org/10.1046%2Fj.1365-2044.1999.00958.x).
 27. Lewis AK, Osborn IP, Roth R (February 2004). "The effect of hemispheric synchronization on
intraoperative analgesia" (http://www.anesthesia-analgesia.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=14742
401). Anesthesia and Analgesia. 98 (2): 5336, table of contents. PMID 14742401 (https://www.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/pubmed/14742401). doi:10.1213/01.ane.0000096181.89116.d2 (https://doi.org/10.1213%2F0
1.ane.0000096181.89116.d2).
28. Dabu-Bondoc S, Drummond-Lewis J, Gaal D, McGinn M, Caldwell-Andrews AA, Kain ZN (September
2003). "Hemispheric synchronized sounds and intraoperative anesthetic requirements" (http://www.anest
hesia-analgesia.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12933400). Anesthesia and Analgesia. 97 (3):
7725. PMID 12933400 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12933400).
doi:10.1213/01.ane.0000076145.83783.e7 (https://doi.org/10.1213%2F01.ane.0000076145.83783.e7).

External links
Hemi-Sync Website and other Monroe Products
The Monroe Institute
Monroe biography
The Monroe Institute Official YouTube Channel
Focus 10: Mind Awake/Body Asleep
TMI's Exploration 27 and the Healing/Regeneration Center Chapter 4
Monroe Institute Research Papers
Independent papers and research
Similar and/or related technologies
Binaural Beat and Hemi-Sync Brainwave Entrainment

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