Approved For Release 2003/09/16
: CIA-RDP96-00788R001 700270006-0
Monroe institute of Applied Sciences
PRESENTS
T he Gateway Program
WHO ARE WE?
In
1958,
Robert
Monroe,
a New York
broadcasting
executive,
began
having
experiences
that
drastically
altered
his
life.
Unpredictably, and without 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 unbounded by time or space. With some trepidation
be
wrote
a
book
about
his
experiences.
Doubleday
published Journeys Out ofthe Body in 1 971. Anchor brought
out a second edition in 1977. Throughout the book Monroe
maintains the stance of a careful, objective reporter who
often reports his own confusion
in this unusual area. He
dies upon personal experiences for interpretation rather
ban any occult, religious or spiritual framework.
In (he
'.19(>0’s, Monroe became interested in the possible
connection between non-verbal audio patterns and brain-
wave rhythms. From his long experience with sound, he
advanced
from
rotating
disc
circuit
breakers
to
sophisticated,
custom-built
signal
generators
and
the
production of tape recordings in which he has as many as
sixteen patterns of sound mixed together on stereo channels.
Drawing upon his discoveries and the work of others, he
employs a system of binaural beats to create a frequency
joJIoieiny response (FFR) by the brain-wave rhythms. The
' F R
not
only
gives
some
control
over
the brainwave
emission of each hemisphere,
it also promotes brain-wave
synchronization
between
the two hemispheres.
In May,
1975, Monroe received a generic patent for this method.
In
1971, the Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences was
founded and located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge in
Virginia. After he shared his findings with others pursuing
l he same interests, an Advisory Board representing several
major
scientific disciplines formed around the Institute.
Fhe
Institute
then
developed
a
highly
experimental
program for the training of consciousness itself.
conscious of one’s particular inner resources, inner abilities,
and, most of all, of one’s inner guidance.
From Sarnadhi and Satori to the “Vision Quest” and the
“Cloud of Unknowing,” cultures in all times and all places
have harbored a few individuals who reached and practiced
profound levels of self-exploration. Most of these individuals
practiced
within
a
mythology,
an
epistemological
groundwork
by
which
they
could
interpret
and
give
meaning to their experiences.
Present day Western epistemology, just recovering from
an entrancing flirtation with materialism, provides little in
the way of a ladder toward other perceptual modes. What
investigation has been done within our current theory of
knowledge has centered on the physiology of the brain and
on the possible correlation between the brain’s physical
state and the subjective state of the mind. First, brain-wave
profiles
and
then
lateral
brain
specialization
and
hemispheric synchronization have offered potential
tools
for the description of the subjective state and the mind’s
operational function.
Yet, in our work, we suspect that while the tremendous
variety of subjective states may each have physiological
correlates,
the
ability
to determine these correlates
lies
beyond our present techniques.
It may well bo, as Elmer
Green suggests in Beyond Biofeedback, that the brain, as a
physical mechanism, cannot register “non-physical” events.
If this is the case, the Western idea of “knowledge” will have
to be enlarged. But how?
It is precisely this that we are investigating. First, we are
training interested individuals to switch their perception to
areas or
fields outside the realm
of our physical matter
reality. We
call
these, "non-physical
realities.” Then we
examine the “data” they “bring back.” Such examination
presents problems peculiar
to this investigation. Often the
experiences in these non-physiftal realities appear to be in
and come from a qualitatively greater consciousness than
WHAT ARE WEDGING?
"!T
consciousness
in
physical
matter
reality.
therefore,
tn order not to miss or misinterpret important
We arc instructing and training individuals in the art of
patterns and information, we need to take
i he qualitatively
«
t<me-
Approved For Release
order for the patterns and inforr
in
physical
reality,
*
~
perspective of physical matter reality.
It would
be
easier, of course,
if we
all would switch
perceptual modes and rise into
a greater consciousness.
That, may be the only way we can enlarge our ideas about
knowledge itself; the only way we can create a “mythology”
sufficient for the coming years.
Our Gateway Program
provides the
instruction,
the
trai ning and the environment for making this transition. On
a wide scale we have no idea how successful the program
would be. On a small scale we do know that it is successful
for those who have the volition and courage and desire to rise
into the “truly” unknown,
HOW IT WORKS
In appearance the Gateway Program presents a puzzling
facade. A group of twenty people stand around talking,
stretching. Then they all enter a large room,
lie down on
individual
mattresses,
pull
blankets over them, put on
padded stereo headphones, and become motionless. The
room
is darkened. For the first five minutes slight coughs
and rustlings can be heard. For the next forty minutes there
is not a sound or movement save an occasional snore. Then,
all at the same time, everyone sits up and looks around. Soon
i hey resume their talking, stretching and running outside.
This happens several times during the day, evening, and
sometimes
at
three
in
the
morning.
Retreat
center
personnel often ask, “What is going on here?”
These individuals are practicing and participating in a
progressive
series
of
Frequency
Following
Response
recordings. The major component of these recordings is a
series of non-verbal audio patterns, most of them masked by
a “pink sound” similar to waves rolling along a beach or
wind
slipping through
the
trees. There may be several
patterns going on at once, or, only one. The patterns may
change slowly or rapidly. They may be complex wave-forms
I gating against each other, or a simple wave in one ear only.
For the brain and mind are complex, and
it appears that
they
must,
be
coaxed
into
certain
formations
by
an
orchestration of complex audio patterns rather than by a
static mix of audio frequencies. It is, indeed, an art. And, by
drawing from much practice and from hints we receive, we
have approached it from an artist’s, or creative engineer’s,
view. Whatever works, we use, and attempt to improve.
Verbal instruction carefully synchronized with the audio
patterns in the recordings demand that the listener not wait
passively on his mattress for new experiences to overtake
him.
He
must
use
a
large
amount
of
volition
and
concentration
in
order
to
cooperate
with
the
verbal
instructions in the conducive environment generated by the
audio stimulation.
From long experience, we know that the brain and mind
do respond with great regularity to shifting FFR patterns.
Some researchers have studied the brain’s response. They
have noted, in the brain-wave profile, strong and regular
shifts
in the frequency, the power, and in the amount of
synchronization. For the most part, we have restricted
ourselves to the study of the mind’s response. Our interest
lies here.
Approved For Release 2003/09/16
THE GATEWAY PROGRAM
We call it this because this series of techniques do lead to a
gateway,
a gateway
into different modes of perception.
From our observation, the individuals who become Involved
in this Program find
it both deeply disturbing and deeply
satisfying. From time to time, one response outweighs the
other.
Some
participants
run
into what we
call
the
“fear
barrier” particularly if they try to advance too fast. One way
or another this manifests as a fear about the potential loss of
the
self
as they know
it. For
this reason
the Program
develops along carefully controlled steps, each with a strong
and positive base. This permits a self-protective mechanism
to work. Hundreds of times we have observed that when an
individual begins to stimulate himself more than his level of
adjustment will aliow, he blanks out the experience, He
feels either that he went to sleep or that he “cl icked out” for a
period of time. Perhaps the next time, or the fifth time he
repeats that exercise, he will remember the experience and
then edge his level of adjustment, his homeostatic netwo rk,
into a larger awareness.
But we also see that as ind ividuals advance through these
stages, they develop a deep sense of self-worth. Much as a
child proclaims his new worth when he shouts, “Now, I am
seven!”
so
they
feel
that
vital
sense
of growth and
of
enjoyment from new levels of ability, creativity, and self-
control.
Best
of
all,
their
interior
sense
of
direction
strengthens.
For
most,
all
of
this takes re-adjustment,
dedication, time, and occasionally, courage. Yet, as this
inner process begins, as they learn to cooperate with it and
encourage
it, they often experience a sense of lightness,
deftness, even a great playfulness.
Focus 10
- Deep Relaxation
In order to amid the connotations often associated with
names,
we
use numbers
to
designate
different
levels
of
consciousness.
The
first series of exercises
in the Gateway Program
instructs and
trains the participant
in
the
art of deep
relaxation. Most types of interior exploration depend upon
reaching profoundly relaxed levels. Even many ofthose who
practiced this art for years have found that they need to
reach
yet
deeper
levels
before
the Program becomes
effective. The level needed is close to the lucid dream state.
Our key phrase is “body asleep; mind awake.” At this level,
the mind focuses on interior events in a different and more
concentrated perceptual focus than
in our usual waking
The trgi ning at th is
:
advantageous
to the
other. The
first and
by
far most
f lowerfui is the FFR stimulation. We have found that most
individuals who listen to these masked audio patterns, with
no
instruction and no other stimulation, can reach and
maintain a level of relaxation beyond any conscious level
they have had previously. {It is for this that the patent has
been
granted.) The
second
is
a
standard
progressive
relaxation technique. Counting slowly from one to ten the
participant relaxes in the environment generated by the
FFR arid
tells his body to relax part by part. The third
technique
is suggestion. After several repetitions of this
? process, the participant finds that he no longer needs the
FFR or the progressive relaxation exercise to reach Focus 10.
Is
this
self-hypnosis?
It depends upon
definition.
If
hypnosis
is a generic- term given to
all altered states of
awareness and ail use of suggestion, then this is a form of
hypnosis. So would be many other areas of life, such as
watching television. We do know that the brain-wave profile
uf an individual in Focus 10 differs greatly from that of an
individual
in
a standard “hypnotic trance.” What
this
difference means, we do not know.
In Focus 10, individuals find themselves thinking more
>. ith images than with words. Though we all do this in the
dream state, few non-visualizers have achieved that level of
relaxation that permits them to do it in the waking state.
They find it a peculiar experience. Strong energies can flow
in Focus
10, energies similar
to
electrical or vibratory
sensations. We
call
them
“non-physical
energies.” To
establish more
control
in
this
state,
the next series of
xercises concentrate on building and using very simple
image-inary”
tools
for
the
gathering,
focusing,
and
i istributingof these non-physical energies. To their delight,
die
participants
find
that these
energies do
affect the
physical reality.
This particular non-physical energy system appears to be
( mnected with the channels between the mind and body, for
$SC0Vere<T The first is
se^pa^^ mng. Inffiu smef tney can project changes they
wish to have in the various aspects of their future being. An
apparently larger self of each individual does appear to help
bring
about those
conditions needed
for making
these
changes.
Also in this state comes more direct contact with this
apparently larger self. It appears, usually, in the form of an
external guide or guides, or as an inner voice, an internal
movie maker, or as an inner knowing. One can ask questions
from the most mundane to the most profound; and often this
source will answer from an apparently larger perspective.
This opens the door to great creative expression. With this
resource,
the
participant’s
life
increases
in
both
responsibility and complexity. At the same time, he feels a
corresponding increase
in
his
ability
to handle the new
situations.
After much
practice
in
intensifying Focus
12, some
participants have found that they can control out of body
experience. They become identified with a second body,
apparently composed of non-physical energy, and leave the
physical body. After they have reduced their cultural shock
through more practice, they then find themselves able to
roam through other energy systems.
Focus 15
Much as Focus 12 appears to rise naturally out of Focus
10, the state we call Focus 15 grows naturally out of a strong
and stable Focus 12. Yet a different energy level, Focus 15
leads into a different set of energy systems marked most of
all by the nonsignificance of time. In fact, time as we know it
no longer exists. Our explorers have reported that in one
area of Focus 15, they have some ability to manipulate time.
One To One
it
is especially useful in healing and in preparing the body
lor stronger use. It also appears to be the system responsible
for much of the “psychic” attunement between individuals
some distance apart. One of the most important exercises at
this level involves “distant viewing,” the discernment of the
emotional and, perhaps, the physical state of a familiar
individual not in the immediate vicinity. Anyone in Focus
10 finds this to be a relatively simple exercise.
Focus 12
- High Energy
A fter the participants have explored and used Focus 10 to
i heir satisfaction, they advance to the next stage of the
Fateway Program, Focus 12. Occasionally, an individual in
Focus
feels
a
sudden
or
gradual
heightening
or
expansion of his mind and possibly of his body. He also feels
i.
strong
vibration
or
a
charged
feeling. He
knows,
mmistakeably, that he
is
in a different state of energy,
.vi any people have
this experience
in “high dreams” or
accompanying
out
of
body
experiences. We
call
this
expanded, high-energy state, Focus 12.
The next series of FFR recordings instruct and train the
participants in the creation of a device that will, in the Focus
i 0 state, generate energy from this new energy system, then
i ransport them to Focus 12, help them acclimate to this new
world, and finally, bring them back to Focus 10. After a
gradual, carefully controlled introduction to Focus 12, the
At the Institute we have done much investigation of one
phenomenon that can appear in Focus 12 and Focus 15.
With great care and compassion, a strong and guiding
figure will lead an explorer out of the body, place him in a
comfortable position, and watch over him while talking to
us, using the explorer’s vocal cords, thought patterns and
vocabulary.
The
onset
of
this
phenomenon
in
several
explorers, each without knowing about the others, has been
astoundingly similar. Even more fascinating is the fact that
the information these sources give, all of it being of a gentle
and instructional nature, has a high degree of correlation.
We
have
no
way,
of
course,
to
remove
all
possible
contamination
or
leakage
between
each
explorer
and
between them and ourselves. While we do not promote this
information nor make any claims about its authenticity, we
have been most impressed with its quality.
Individual Tests
On the way to Focus 10 and Focus 12 most participants
encounter a few
obstacles. A small percentage develop
physical symptoms.
If these persist, we recommend they
leave the Program for a period of time and concentrate on
physical health and on a mind-body integration technique
such as Reichian therapy, Yoga asanas, or Tai-Chi.
Almost every participant, at
first, has some difficulty
maintaining waking consciousness. What triggers the loss
of consciousness before they reach the lucid dream level of
participants learn to stay there longer and then to use
it.
We give them
C^f®P^-6¥7^F^lV&^7^86
C
-!B
enow that when the
participants practice
Icf^-n to enter Focus 10 insistently.
Some who have great difficulty with physical and mental
relaxation may have minds held tense to keep unwanted
material
repressed, a natural self-protective mechanism.
At
first,
in the Focus 10 exercises, they either sleep or
emain wide awake at what we call the Focus 1 level. Then,
as they repeat the exercises many times, they learn to relax
more deeply while maintaining consciousness. Bit by bit, in
a self-regulating process, they begin conscious assimilation
of repressed material. For some, this process is a matter of
hours;
for a few,
it
is a matter of months. At times, they
express and release a great deal of negative emotion. If an
individual should pass our screening process who does have
a great deal of repressed material and little ego strength, we
do
not permit him
to
continue. We
are
not practicing
psychotherapy. Our task is not to repair, but to build on solid
foundations.
Homeostasis
impedes
most
participants
at
times.
Physicians use the term, “homeostasis,” for the tendency of
the body to establish an equilibrium of functioning' between
all the body systems. This equilibrium sets up an inertia,
somewhat like a spinning gyroscope, that resists any new
method of physical functioning, even if the new method is
beneficial. Elmer and Alyce Green have remarked that
the term also describes the resistance of the mind to any new
mental svstem.
In the Gateway Program this resistance
manifests as
the thought and feeling that Focus 10 and
Focus
12 may
be
interesting
but
that
they
are
just
Imaginat ion inside the head and have little to do with “real”
reality. Interest wanes, and the mind keeps its homeostatic
network intact.
The
hemostatic
network
may
be
threatened
by
existentially
disturbing
experiences.
In
this
Program,
experiences of a larger awareness do come. Often they are
overpowering
in
a way
not previously conceived by the
uirtieipant. They can be overpowering to the extent that
With guidance from
himself and others, the participant can assimilate the new
level of awareness. If he does not wish to assimilate it, he can
push the experience into the background and preserve his
present homeostatis.
Deep
relaxation
with
the
intent;
of personal growth
appears
to
trigger
an
internal
process toward
better
physical
and
mental
health.
Some
participants
find
themselves spontaneously giving up tobacco, alcohol, drugs,
even television. Others may go through an over-due divorce,
change jobs, or move to another State.
But, as the participant approaches Focus 12, his contact
with this source of direction becomes clearer, setting up a
feedback loop about his particular path. All he has to do is
pay
attention
to these inner directions and exercise the
volition to follow the changes.
The Gateway Affirmation
“/ am more than my physical body. Because I am
more than physical matter, I can perceive that which is
greater than
the physical world.
I deeply desire
to
Expand, and to Experience, to Know, to Understand, to
Control,
to
Use
such
greater
energies and
energy
systems as may he beneficial and constructive to me and
to those who follow me.
Also,
I deeply desire the help and cooperation, the
assistance,
the
understanding
of those
individuals
whose wisdom, development and experience is equal to
or greater than my oum.
I ask
their guidance and
protection from any influence or any source that might
provide me with less than my stated desires.”
Board Of Advisors
James Beal
Laurence Davis, M. D.
Robert Ellsworth, Ph.D.
David Francis
A rthur Gladman, M.D.
Alyce Green
Elmer Green, Ph.D.
Steven Henderson
Fowler Jones, Ed.D.
Stanley Krippner, Ph.D.
Mary Jane Ledyard, Ph.D.
E. Stanton Maxey, M.D.
Joseph Chilton Pearce, Ph.D.
Bill Sehul . Ph.D.
Charles T. Tart, Ph.D.
Stuart Twemlow, M.D.
For an application write to:
Monroe Institute of Applied Science
P.O. Box 57
Alton, Virginia 22920
200MW#^A-RDP96-00788R001700270006-0
ntlNTKli IN U.S.A.