Customer Reviews

Journeys Out of the Body

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This is not the best book on OBE's. The value of the book is Monroe's descriptions of his process and the effects that they had on his life contextualized in the times that they occured. The reader should realize that Monroe later changed most of his conclusions about his perceptions once he had more experience and understanding of the OBE process. I recommend that his second book, Far Journey's, be read before reading this book. That will allow the reader to discount the perceptions that Monroe changed.

I read this book years ago, when I was only about 12 years old. Monroe's experiences are intriguing, and have influenced me to this day. He writes about mystical experiences (as another reviewer wrote, in a very non-spiritual way). Sometimes, I will admit, Monroe can be somewhat dry, but he doesn't fill his book with pages of unnecessary words like some writers do. Monroe treats what some people would call "lucid dreams" or "astral projections," as if they could really be journeys out of the body in THIS world, almost as if he were a ghost. (Occultists would call this the etheral body). For example, he writes that he obtained knowledge of things in the physical world, that he couldn't have possibly known if his experiences didn't actually take him to real places.

Years after reading this book, I experienced some of the things Monroe wrote about were true to my own life. Not until a first-person experience did I understand what Monroe meant by "vibrations" (the first step toward an out of body experience). Monroe is classic reading on this topic, and I recommend "Journeys Out of the Body" to anyone interested in such things.

I was only 17 years old when I first read this book, I had a keen interest in the occult from a very early age much to the dismay of my parents but was becoming rather disheartened with the whole thing, so many questions and very few if any, concrete answers. I am now 33 years old and still cannot forget the overall impact this book and it's author had on my life and my religious understanding. I found this book covered in dust in the back of a friends car 16 years ago and they said I could borrow it. I read it cover to cover, over and over again, it really fascinated me, there was defiantly something different about the way the author conveyed his experiences, somehow you new these things were really happening to him just as he described them and I suppose I must have willed my first out of body experience which started as a very normal dream. I stumbled and knocked my head in this dream which I suppose triggered something.

Suddenly there was a very loud whistling and crackling sound in my ears and a rush of consciousness and I stood up in my dream more awake than I had ever felt before, everything that had been present in my dream was still there, buildings, streets and gardens, none of which I recognised. What the hell was going on? I remember the shire disbelief and shock that this was actually happening to me, I was wide awake in a dream, conscious of all my faculties and able to make conscious decisions about where I would go and what I would do, although something attached to me from behind was definitely pulling me back as if I was wading through Ink. I clearly remember looking down at the clothes I was wearing and then at my hands, I got really scared at that point because I thought I had died in my sleep. Suddenly without warning there was a huge tugging from behind and I was pulled backwards through some lavender bushes, I remember the smell and branches scratching in my face and the loud whistling and crackling sound in my ears again. I was pulled up in to the air and watched the streets and strange gardens pass by under me, I lost my vision and all went dark but I could still hear the whistle and then I felt a definite transition in consciousness from higher to lower, I think? I opened my eyes and was back in my bed at home my night light was still on, my heart was racing and my usually docile cat was going crazy, staring right at me, growling and hissing as if she had seen a ghost.

I think I would have been happy with just one Out of body experience, but that night I opened a door I have never been able to shut and for many years afterwards they continued almost every night sometimes two or three times a night, sometimes beautiful sometimes terrifying but always different. I have many times been turned and guided by the invisible hands he described in his book and talked at length with someone and yet no one, I am not crazy!, I am not a liar!

But who honestly could I tell? I quickly realised that it was not something you can mention in passing conversation, even to ones own parents and at the risk of being branded a nutcase or a fraud, I decided to keep it to myself for many years. Yes! it was a lot for a young lad to carry.

They still happen to me now 16 years on, although they are rare and they don't bring the fear that they used to, I think I have just learnt to live with it now although I still don't really know what was happening to me.

I would give anything to be able to speak to, or send a message to Dr Robert A Monroe the author of this enlightening book, to thank him for the most mind broadening experience a man could ever have and to tell him that he is not alone in this strange world.

I do not know where you are or even if you are still alive but wherever you are,

Thank you.

Monroe has written 3 books on O.B.E and this is the first. Written decades ago, it records his experience and findings with OBE. This book contains more details about the astral planes nearer to the vibration of the physical plane we live in physically. It does however contain other dimensions and planes which he labels "Locale 2" and "locale 3".

His second book "Far Journey" is still my all time favourites, as it contains a lot of spiritual findings he has about the meaning of human life, etc. Is there reincarnation? Is there a God? Read all of his books and find out. The reason I like Monroe's book is that he use himself as a guinea pig to explore and investigate. He doesnt try to use religion and his beliefs and try to put it on you.

Monroe was a business man, and ever since he had the OBE experiences since the age of 42, he has been exploring it to find out more about it. After years of experimentation with soundwaves, he finally came up with his Hemi-Sync audios, which are able to induce OBE and altered states suitable to change habits, addictions, etc. In response to one of the review (below or above) who questions Monroe's sanity, Monroe has been doing many experiments about his OBE with the famous Dr Charles Tart, and Tart wrote the introduction to his book!
OBE is a very subjective experience, it cannot be proven objectively unless you experience it yourself, therefore people who have never experienced it will try to reason and use logic (which is limited only to their own ignorance/knowledge). Their (the psychologist's) reasonings and logic then becomes their belief (which they will try to prove is the only correct one- hmm, isn't that what they say about people's belief system?).

I have personally tried Monroe's technique outline in this book, and it works. Try it if you have the courage! It will prove to you once and for all that you are more than your body. (But of course, you may have a hard time convincing YOUR psychologist!)

For those of you searching for the ultimate answer, look no further! Even if you don't believe in all the concepts Monroe puts forth, you will certainly question reality and look at life in a whole new light after reading this book.

This book, along with the rest of Monroe's work has become a major defining element in my life. Before learning about Monroe, I felt very alone in this world. I wasn't sure if all the religious stuff I had heard over the years was true, or if there was some greater truth. But after reading this book, it all started to click. I finally started to see the "bigger picture", and have since lived my life accordingly.

If you are deeply rooted in religion, this book will be difficult for you; especially if you are not willing to entertain the notion that your religious beliefs may be false. But, if you can put your beliefs aside and read this book with an open mind, you will benefit greatly.

Those who dismiss this book as "impossible", "silly", or otherwise are simply afraid to turn back on their society-reinforced beliefs about life, death and God. They will continue to live under blind faith and will never understand what being human is all about.

In the end, it's the difference between "knowing" and "believing".

Bob was bewildered the first time an out of the body experience happened to him. He thought he was going crazy.

After he developed the skill to the point where he could do it at will, he eventually met Dr Charles Tart, in the early 1960's, then at the University of Virginia, Parapsychology Dept. Tart would have a computer generate a random 6 digit number, display it on a display ten feet up in the air (that no one could see). Monroe would leave his body, go up read the number, come back and tell Charlie Tart what the number was!
A real controlled experiment. Over and over. (

This is documented in Tart's groundbreaking classic book on parapsychology, "Altered States of Consciousness".

Later, Bob, with various guidance and a lot of experimentation on himself and various gifted others, discovered a technology, Hemisync, to allow people to experience this themselves. Even scoffers and skeptics.

Yes, there is the The Monroe Institute hidden in the hills of Virginia. Yes, the best way to learn this stuff is to ante up and go there. Beyond that, buying each of the Gateway series, starting with "Discovery", from TMI and a great deal of practice is the best way to learn. You get out of it what you put in. Frankly, most people are idly curious but also too fearful, superstitious or lazy to get anywhere. But for those few who persevere, it is life-altering. Practice, practice, practice.

I don't think this is his best book, he changed his mind as he went along, but you need to read this to have a clue about the later ones. I would also recommend Far Journeys and Ultimate Journey.

Bob... died in 1995, in a world of phonies, he remains an OOBE authentic, a friend and a pathfinder.

Robert Monroe still is an authority in the out-of-body experiences. In this book he tells you exactly how to do it, step by step, and the enormous implications of the truths you'll discover, for the human way of life as we know it now. Writen in a very easy to understand style, touching difficult matters in a very exquisit manner in order to sound not gross at all, you'll find yourself not wanting to put it down until you finish it. Reading this book will definitely change your life forever, and for the better. Find out for yourself!

When Robert Monroe began leaving his body decades ago he couldn't just hop on the web to locate others with this ability, or one hundred books that expound on this phenomina. Thus, his experiences here are those of a pioneer of sorts trying to figure things out more or less on his own. Consequently, his terminology and ideas are a bit outdated. And oddly enough, his experiences themselves seem different than those typical of todays astral projectionists(?!).

For someone who has read a bit on OBEs I recommend this book for its perspective and for its status as an early classic. But for those new to this topic I'd recommend something more current such as Buhlman's "Adventures Beyond the Body" or Bruce's "Astral Dynamics".

As someone who has direct experience with the out of body phenomenon, this book was invaluable. It is not the best book on this topic but those of us who have these experiences often fear for our sanity. This book lets us know that we are not alone. Unlike many books dealing with this subject, the author is not someone who has a spiritual message to shove down our throats. He gives an honest account of his experiences and all of the accompanying fears and troubles and joys. He is highly credible and one can identify with his very human and normal reactions to a baffling phenomenon. It is important to take into account when reading this book that Monroe wrote it at a time before people had wide spread knowledge of thw out-of-body experience. It took great courage for him to share his experiences with the world. It is also commendable that he sought to try and find a scientific basis for the phenomenon and founded the Monroe institute towards this end.
My only criticism is that his terminology is at times a bit cumbersome, but I think overall this book is worth the read. I think his next book, Far Journeys is actually better.
Finally, after delving into this subject for many years, I think it is important to understand that the out-of -body experience serves as a gateway to perceptual abilities that we consider to be paranormal. These abilities include but are not limited to clairvoyance, telepathy and telekinesis. As such, learning to have this type of experience is part of the Toltec sorcery teachings. For more information about this approach to the out-of-body experience read 1)The Art of Dreaming (Carlos Castaneda), 2)The Path: A Practical Approach to Sorcery (Esmeralda Arana)

I read this book many years ago. It was the first book of its kind I had ever read. I was in my 20's and opening to a new world, much larger and more interesting than I thought possible before. Like me, Robert Monroe was a skeptic about "all of this" and he was the perfect one to break the ice for me. He writes in a very concrete, technical way about very non-ordinary experience. This is probably the only reason I was able to read through the book. It is just the way I needed it to be presented at the time. The exercises at the end of the book were very interesting, and though no OBE was experienced, a lot of non-physical vibration and awareness was.

This was my introduction to how much more we are than our physical bodies. Far Journey and Ultimate Journey are must reads for those that liked this book and want to learn more, including the further conclusions of his research. If you still want more then go for it, get the "Gateway Experience" CDs, or go to The Monroe Institute like I did. I always use his Hemi-Sync CDs in my healing sessions.

This book helped catapult me into my deep studies of Chinese Energetic Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, proving the validity of the main conclusion of Robert Monroe's works --"I am more than my physical body..."

Bradley Gilbert, author of the DVD, "Reduce Your Stress Improve Your Health, Daoist Healing Qigong."