Journeys of Robert Monroe: Out-Of-Body Explorer, Consciousness Pioneer, and Traveler of the Invisible World - Paperback

by Ronald Russell (Author), Charles T. Tart (Foreword by)

The life story of Robert Monroe, consciousness pioneer, bestselling author, self-made millionaire, and out-of-body traveler.

Robert Monroe was a towering figure in twentieth-century consciousness research, yet his story is mostly unknown. The boy who loved adventure and exploration, fast cars and rickety aircraft, became a millionaire through writing and producing radio shows in New York City. And then, at age forty-two, he found himself traveling out of body, having no idea what was happening to him.

Journeys of Robert Monroe chronicles how Monroe became an iconoclast with his work in the consciousness world--making out-of-body experience (OBE) and astral travel household expressions. Monroe not only helped others understand this state of being, but through his research on binaural beats and his development of the technology known as Hemi-Sync, he made the OBE accessible through programs at the Monroe Institute. Attended by thousands of people each year, his institute used technology to create frequencies that helped people with everything from meditation and learning to curing insomnia, quitting smoking, and pain control.

Journeys of Robert Monroe reveals his contribution to the understanding of human consciousness. Yet his legacies, as UC Davis psychology professor emeritus Charles Tart once said, "are not just a great gift to knowledge, but a real service to people who are plagued by doubts and unfulfilled spiritual longings." His was a true hero's journey.

Author Biography

The late Ronald Russell was born in Croydon, England. He attended St. Paul's School, London, served in the Royal Air Force (1943-46), and then received an honors degree in English Language and Literature at Merton College, Oxford. He followed a career in teaching in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Monmouth and Ely, Cambridgeshire, and examined and lectured for various universities, including London, Oxford, and Cambridge. Ronald's earlier books were devoted to the history, exploration, and restoration of canals and waterways in the United Kingdom. He was chairman of the National Rally of Boats in 1971. When his wife Jill undertook long-distance swimming for health reasons, eventually raising £40,000 for charity through sponsorship, he documented her feats in Swimming for Life, an authoritative study of the benefits of swimming for disabled people. He also turned to the study of prints, writing two books on that subject. His Discovering Antique Prints sold some fifty thousand copies. After Ronald retired from teaching, he and Jill took the Gateway course at The Monroe Institute, following that with several more courses over the years. They joined the Institute's Professional Division and were appointed to the board of advisors. They became close friends of Bob and Nancy Monroe and Ronald edited Monroe's third book, Ultimate Journey, contributing a preface to the first edition. He went on to edit two volumes of contributions detailing the many ways of using Monroe's Hemi-Sync: Using the Whole Brain (1993) and Focusing the Whole Brain (2004). Ronald gave several lecture courses on states of consciousness for the University of Glasgow. He also wrote his own study of altered states of consciousness, The Vast Enquiring Soul.