Approved For Release 2003/09/16 : CIA-RDP96-00788ROO1700270006-0 Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences PRESENTS T T nE 'GATEWAY FRO G" R Ak M T "THOARE WE? In 1958, Robert Monroe, a New York broadcasting ,,-xucutive, began having experiences that drastically Altered his life. Unpredictably, and without willing it, Monroe found himself leaving his physical body to travel, -,Ia a. "second body," to locales far removed from the pli-VSical and spiritual realities of his life. He was inhabiting. , )laccunbounded by time or space. With some trepidation a I tic xrote a book about his experiences. Doubleday M N ished.loitrveys Out of the Body in 1971. A richor brought ;)Ill a second edition in 1977..Througliout the book Monroe ylallltnii)s the stance of a careful, objective reporter who ,@@'Ieri reports his own confusion in this unusual area. He .ohvs upon personal experiences foi- interpretation rather l Hati anv occult, religious or spiritual framework. In the 1960's, Monroe became interested in the possible i,onnection between non-verbal audio patterns and brain- VIINT Hi.v[hms. From his long experience with sound, he @Jid@,aricvd from rotating disc circuit breakers to -ophisticak A, custom-built signal generators and the, oroductioti of tapt, recordinvs in which he has as many as 1@,ixteen patterns of sound mixed togetheron stereo channels. 1)rawing upon his discoveries and the work of others, he 1-111])IOYS L system of binaural beats to create a J*rc(1w?11('!/ ,,ollowing respousc (FFR) by the brain-wave rhythms. The riot only gives some control over the brainwave 111ission of each heni i sphere, italso promotes brain-wave @-@Tnchronizaf.ion between the two hemispheres, In May, 1975, Mcniroe received a generic patent for this method. I n 1971, the Monroe Institute of Applied Sciences was Mimded and located in the foothills of the Blue 164w, in V irgin ia. After lie shared his findings with others pursuing i he saine interests, an Advisory Board representing,,several inajor scientific disciplines formed around the Institute. rhe Institute then developed a highly experimental prograin for the training of consciousness itself. IVIIATARE WE DOING? We are instructing and training individuals in theartof perceptual modes, thi,,,, art of be in more Approved For Release 200Y/09/16 conscious of one's particular inner resources, innerabilifles, and, most of all, of one's inner guidance. From Samadhi 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 I practiced within a mythology, an epistenological groundwork by which they could interpret and give ineaning), to their experiences. Present day Western epistemology, just recovering from an entrancing flirtation wit. h materialism, provides I ittle 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 rnay each have physiological correlates, the ability to determine these correlates ties beyond our present techniques. It may well be, as @'.Irner Green suggests in Beywid Biqfcc(Mack, that the brain, as a physical mechanism, cannot register "non-physical" events. If this is the case, the Western ideaof "knowledge" will have to be enlarged. But how.,' It is precisely this that weare investigating. First, we are training interested individuals to switch t heir perception to areas or fields outside the realin of our physical Matter reality. We call these, "non-physical realities." Then we examine the "data" they "bring back." Such examination presentq problems peculiar to this investigation. Often the experiences in these non-physi?@al realities appear to be in an(] come. from a qualitatively greater consciousness than our usual consciousness in physical matter reality. Therefore, in order not to iniss or misinterpret important patternsand information, we need I.c. take the qualitatively 6reater T-)ersmetive into accom6mgdge at the saryie tirne, in 8ROO17002 0 0 - A-RDF96-0078 41der for the patterns and inforry"on4loe usefA#bg tR, 0: CIA in physi6l reality, VApRrp4gdi1q g, ,;.)erspeetive of physical matter reality. It would be easier, of course, if we all would switch ,ierceptual modes and rise into a greater consciousness. 'Fhat may be the only way we can enlarge our ideas about knowledge itself-, the only way we can create a "mythology" Silfficient for the coming years. Our 1"lateway Program provides the instruction, the Irai ningand the environment for making this transition. On @j wide scale we have no idei hovy, successful the program v.,ould be. On a small scale we do know that it is successful ror those who have the volition and courageand desire torise Pito the "truly" unknown. 110W IT WORKS In appearance the Gateway Program presents a puzzling racade. A group of twenty people stand around talking, stretching. Then they all enter a large room, lie down on i,idividual mattresses, pull blankets over them, put. (in padded stereo headphones, and beconie motionless. 'The 1'oom is darkened. For the first five minutes slight coughs ,,,:!.nd rustlings can be heard. For the next forty minutes there i,.@ not asound or movement save an occasional snore. Then, ;ill at the same time, everyone sits up and looksfLround. Soon [icy resume their talking, stretching and running outside. ']'his happens several times during the day, eveninj@, and @oinetiynes at three in the morning. Retreat e-entor ,r ersonnel often ask, "What is going on here?" rl,heSe individuals are practicirig and participating in a I rogressive series of Frequency Following Response !'i,cordings. The major component of these recordings is a ,,@!ries of non-verbal audio patterns, mostof them masked by ', 4, pink sound" similar to waves rolling along a beach or ,,,I.,ind slipping through the trees. There may be several 1@i,atterns going on at once, oronly one. The patterns may Changeslowly or rapidly. They may be complex wave-forms lwatinf,,,,against each other, or a simple wave in one ear only. For the brain and mind are complex, and it appears that ! lwy must, be coaxed into certain formations by an tweliestration of complex audio patterns rather than by a ,[atic mix of audio frequencies. It is, indeed,an art. And, by 6rawing from much practice and from hints we receive, we have approached it from an artist's, or creative engi-Ileer's, view. Wh:vtever works, we use, and attempt to improve. Verbal instruction carefully sytehronized with the audio patterns in the recordings demand that the listener notwait passively on his mattress for new experiences to overtake him. He must use a large arnount of volition and concentration in order to cooperate with the verbal 1.1istructions in the conducive environment gfMffated bythe audio stimulation. From long experience, we knoNN that the brain and mind ,io respond with great regularity to shifting FFR.patterns. ,Sonie researchers have, studied the brain's response. They I)ave noted, in the brain-wave profile, strong and regular 4hifts in the frequency, the powc!r, and in the amount of wnchronization. For the niost part, we have restricted ours,elves to the study of the mind's response. Out interest es h cre. Approved For Release 2003/09/16 THE, GALIFIE"W"AY 11. R40"GRA1.9 We call it this because this series of techniques do lead to a trateway, a gateway into different modes of perception. From our observation, the individuals who become involl, ed in this Program find it both deeply disturbing and dee ly .P @ satisfying. From time to time, one response outweighs -the other. Some partici- ants run into what we call the "fear .P barrier" particularly if they try toadvance too fast. One way or another this manifests as a fear aboutthe potential loss of the self as they know it. For this reason the Program develops along carefully controlled steps, each with astrong and positive base. This perrnits aself-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 allow, he blanks out the experience. He feels, either that lie went to sleep or that lie "clicked out' for a period of time. Perhaps the next tinie, or the fifth time he repeats that exercise, he will remember the experience and then edge his level of adjustment, his homeostatic network, into a larger awareness. But we also see that as individuals advance through these stages, they develop a deep sense of self-worth. Much &3 a child proclaims his new worth whenhe shouts, "Now, lam seven!" so they feet that vital sense of growth and of enjoyment from new levels of ability, creativity, and '.wlf- control. Best of all, their interior sense of direction strengthens. For most, all of this takes re-adjustryient, dedication, time, and occasionally, c @ourage. 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 1n. order to avoid the connotations often associated with name , we u. e numbers to des@qnate dif S ferent levels of consciousness. The first series of exercises in the Gateway Progi-Etm instructs and trains the participant in the art of deep relaxation. Most types of interior exploration depend upon reaching profoundly relaxed levels. Even many of those who practiced this art for years have found that they, iu..@ed 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; rnind awake." At this level, the mind focuses on interior events in a different and more concentrated perceptual focus than in out, usual waking 94 TP state. We call this I ve I F CIA-RDF`96-00788608 708M68-6-0 Thet.r4iningatthislA mbbil 0 VT'T's@ @!(JV'@IntagCDUS to the o Mier. Thetr'sRtSaMn y ar 1)owerful is the FFR stimulation, We have found that most individUal:3 who listen to these maskedaudio patterns, with no instruction and no other stimulation, can reach and maintain a level of relaxation beyond any conscious level (hey have had previously. (It is for this that the patent has I fleen grarted.) The second is a standard progressive ,elaxation technique. Counting slowly from one to ten the participant relaxes in. the environment generated by the VFR and tells his body to relax part by part. The third wchnique is suggestion. After several repetitions of this i rocess, the participant finds that he no longer needs the YFR or the progressive relaxation exercise t;o reach Focus 10. Is this self-hypnosis? It depends upon definiti.on,, if hypnosis is a generic- term given to all altered states of -4 wareness and all use of suggestion, then this is a form of i:ypnosis. So would be many other areas of life, such as v:atching te-levision. We do know that the brain-wave 1,,)rofile of in individual in Focus 10 differs greatly from that of an @Idividiaal in a standard "hypnotic trance." What this if ference 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 i ream state, few non-visualizers have achieved that level of C(qaxatiou that permits them to do it in the waking state. I'hey find ita peculiar experience. Strong energies can flow M Focus 10, energies similar to electrical or vibratory @,@nsations, We call them "non-physical energies." To .@-Aablish Tnore control in this state, the next series of .