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Title: The Holographic Universe
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URL Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/holographic.html
Published: Nov 5, 2008
Author: Michael Talbot
Post Date: 2008-11-05 14:39:03 by gengis gandhi
Keywords: None
Views: 221
Comments: 14
Michael Talbot (1953-1992), was the author of a number of books highlighting parallels between ancient mysticism and quantum mechanics, and espousing a theoretical model of reality that suggests the physical universe is akin to a giant hologram. In The Holographic Universe, Talbot made many references to the work of David Bohm and Karl Pribram, and it is quite apparent that the combined work of Bohm and Karl Pribram is largely the cornerstone upon which Talbot built his ideas. The Holographic Universe In 1982 a remarkable event took place. At the University of Paris a research team led by physicist Alain Aspect performed what may turn out to be one of the most important experiments of the 20th century. You did not hear about it on the evening news. In fact, unless you are in the habit of reading scientific journals you probably have never even heard Aspect's name, though there are some who believe his discovery may change the face of science. Aspect's experiment is related to the EPR Experiment, a consicousness experiment which had been devised by Albert Einstein, and his colleagues, Poldlsky and Rosen, in order to disprove Quantum Mechanics on the basis of the Pauli Exclusion Principle contradicting Special Relativity. Aspect and his team discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. It doesn't matter whether they are 10 feet or 10 billion miles apart. Somehow each particle always seems to know what the other is doing. The problem with this feat is that it violates Einstein's long-held tenet that no communication can travel faster than the speed of light. Since traveling faster than the speed of light is tantamount to breaking the time barrier, this daunting prospect has caused some physicists to try to come up with elaborate ways to explain away Aspect's findings. But it has inspired others to offer even more radical explanations. University of London physicist David Bohm, for example, believes Aspect's findings imply that objective reality does not exist, that despite its apparent solidity the universe is at heart a phantasm, a gigantic and splendidly detailed hologram. To understand why Bohm makes this startling assertion, one must first understand a little about holograms. A hologram is a three- dimensional photograph made with the aid of a laser. To make a hologram, the object to be photographed is first bathed in the light of a laser beam. Then a second laser beam is bounced off the reflected light of the first and the resulting interference pattern (the area where the two laser beams commingle) is captured on film. When the film is developed, it looks like a meaningless swirl of light and dark lines. But as soon as the developed film is illuminated by another laser beam, a three-dimensional image of the original object appears. The three-dimensionality of such images is not the only remarkable characteristic of holograms. If a hologram of a rose is cut in half and then illuminated by a laser, each half will still be found to contain the entire image of the rose. Indeed, even if the halves are divided again, each snippet of film will always be found to contain a smaller but intact version of the original image. Unlike normal photographs, every part of a hologram contains all the information possessed by the whole. The "whole in every part" nature of a hologram provides us with an entirely new way of understanding organization and order. For most of its history, Western science has labored under the bias that the best way to understand a physical phenomenon, whether a frog or an atom, is to dissect it and study its respective parts. A hologram teaches us that some things in the universe may not lend themselves to this approach. If we try to take apart something constructed holographically, we will not get the pieces of which it is made, we will only get smaller wholes. This insight suggested to Bohm another way of understanding Aspect's discovery. Bohm believes the reason subatomic particles are able to remain in contact with one another regardless of the distance separating them is not because they are sending some sort of mysterious signal back and forth, but because their separateness is an illusion. He argues that at some deeper level of reality such particles are not individual entities, but are actually extensions of the same fundamental something. This fundamental connectedness would correlate with The Fifth Element, and its mathematical proof of all aspects of the universe being energetically connected - Hal Puthoff's assertion in his work on Zero-Point Energy of all charges in the universe being connected and that further mass is in all likelihood an illusion as well -- and both of these modern day theories of physics being in accordance with ancient traditions and philosophies, which claim the same connectedness of the diverse parts of the universe. To enable people to better visualize what he means, Bohm offers the following illustration. Imagine an aquarium containing a fish. Imagine also that you are unable to see the aquarium directly and your knowledge about it and what it contains comes from two television cameras, one directed at the aquarium's front and the other directed at its side. As you stare at the two television monitors, you might assume that the fish on each of the screens are separate entities. After all, because the cameras are set at different angles, each of the images will be slightly different. But as you continue to watch the two fish, you will eventually become aware that there is a certain relationship between them. When one turns, the other also makes a slightly different but corresponding turn; when one faces the front, the other always faces toward the side. If you remain unaware of the full scope of the situation, you might even conclude that the fish must be instantaneously communicating with one another, but this is clearly not the case. This, says Bohm, is precisely what is going on between the subatomic particles in Aspect's experiment. According to Bohm, the apparent faster-than-light connection between subatomic particles is really telling us that there is a deeper level of reality we are not privy to, a more complex dimension beyond our own that is analogous to the aquarium. And, he adds, we view objects such as subatomic particles as separate from one another because we are seeing only a portion of their reality. Such particles are not separate "parts", but facets of a deeper and more underlying unity that is ultimately as holographic and indivisible as the previously mentioned rose. And since everything in physical reality is comprised of these "eidolons", the universe is itself a projection, a hologram. In addition to its phantomlike nature, such a universe would possess other rather startling features. If the apparent separateness of subatomic particles is illusory, it means that at a deeper level of reality all things in the universe are infinitely interconnected. The electrons in a carbon atom in the human brain are connected to the subatomic particles that comprise every salmon that swims, every heart that beats, and every star that shimmers in the sky. Everything interpenetrates everything, and although human nature may seek to categorize and pigeonhole and subdivide, the various phenomena of the universe, all apportionments are of necessity artificial and all of nature is ultimately a seamless web. In a holographic universe, even time and space could no longer be viewed as fundamentals. Because concepts such as location break down in a universe in which nothing is truly separate from anything else, time and three-dimensional space, like the images of the fish on the TV monitors, would also have to be viewed as projections of this deeper order. At its deeper level reality is a sort of superhologram in which the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously. This suggests that given the proper tools it might even be possible to someday reach into the superholographic level of reality and pluck out scenes from the long-forgotten past. What else the superhologram contains is an open-ended question. Allowing, for the sake of argument, that the superhologram is the matrix that has given birth to everything in our universe, at the very least it contains every subatomic particle that has been or will be -- every configuration of matter and energy that is possible, from snowflakes to quasars, from bluü whales to gamma rays. It must be seen as a sort of cosmic storehouse of "All That Is." Although Bohm concedes that we have no way of knowing what else might lie hidden in the superhologram, he does venture to say that we have no reason to assume it does not contain more. Or as he puts it, perhaps the superholographic level of reality is a "mere stage" beyond which lies "an infinity of further development". Bohm is not the only researcher who has found evidence that the universe is a hologram. Working independently in the field of brain research, Standford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram has also become persuaded of the holographic nature of reality. Pribram was drawn to the holographic model by the puzzle of how and where memories are stored in the brain. For decades numerous studies have shown that rather than being confined to a specific location, memories are dispersed throughout the brain. In a series of landmark experiments in the 1920s, brain scientist Karl Lashley found that no matter what portion of a rat's brain he removed he was unable to eradicate its memory of how to perform complex tasks it had learned prior to surgery. The only problem was that no one was able to come up with a mechanism that might explain this curious "whole in every part" nature of memory storage. Then in the 1960s Pribram encountered the concept of holography and realized he had found the explanation brain scientists had been looking for. Pribram believes memories are encoded not in neurons, or small groupings of neurons, but in patterns of nerve impulses that crisscross the entire brain in the same way that patterns of laser light interference crisscross the entire area of a piece of film containing a holographic image. In other words, Pribram believes the brain is itself a hologram. Pribram's theory also explains how the human brain can store so many memories in so little space. It has been estimated that the human brain has the capacity to memorize something on the order of 10 billion bits of information during the average human lifetime (or roughly the same amount of information contained in five sets of the Encyclopaedia Britannica). Similarly, it has been discovered that in addition to their other capabilities, holograms possess an astounding capacity for information storage--simply by changing the angle at which the two lasers strike a piece of photographic film, it is possible to record many different images on the same surface. It has been demonstrated that one cubic centimeter of film can hold as many as 10 billion bits of information. Our uncanny ability to quickly retrieve whatever information we need from the enormous store of our memories becomes more understandable if the brain functions according to holographic principles. If a friend asks you to tell him what comes to mind when he says the word "zebra", you do not have to clumsily sort back through ome gigantic and cerebral alphabetic file to arrive at an answer. Instead, associations like "striped", "horselike", and "animal native to Africa" all pop into your head instantly. Indeed, one of the most amazing things about the human thinking process is that every piece of information seems instantly cross-correlated with every other piece of information--another feature intrinsic to the hologram. Because every portion of a hologram is infinitely interconnected with ever other portion, it is perhaps nature's supreme example of a cross-correlated system. The storage of memory is not the only neurophysiological puzzle that becomes more tractable in light of Pribram's holographic model of the brain. Another is how the brain is able to translate the avalanche of frequencies it receives via the senses (light frequencies, sound frequencies, and so on) into the concrete world of our perceptions. Encoding and decoding frequencies is precisely what a hologram does best. Just as a hologram functions as a sort of lens, a translating device able to convert an apparently meaningless blur of frequencies into a coherent image, Pribram believes the brain also comprises a lens and uses holographic principles to mathematically convert the frequencies it receives through he senses into the inner world of our perceptions. An impressive body of evidence suggests that the brain uses holographic principles to perform its operations. Pribram's theory, in fact, has gained increasing support among neurophysiologists. Argentinian-Italian researcher Hugo Zucarelli recently extended the holographic model into the world of acoustic phenomena. Puzzled by the fact that humans can locate the source of sounds without moving their heads, even if they only possess hearing in one ear, Zucarelli discovered that holographic principles can explain this ability. Zucarelli has also developed the technology of holophonic sound, a recording technique able to reproduce acoustic situations with an almost uncanny realism. Pribram's belief that our brains mathematically construct "hard" reality by relying on input from a frequency domain has also received a good deal of experimental support. It has been found that each of our senses is sensitive to a much broader range of frequencies than was previously suspected. Researchers have discovered, for instance, that our visual systems are sensitive to sound frequencies, that our sense of smell is in part dependent on what are now called "cosmic frequencies", and that even the cells in our bodies are sensitive to a broad range of frequencies. Such findings suggest that it is only in the holographic domain of consciousness that such frequencies are sorted out and divided up into conventional perceptions. But the most mind-boggling aspect of Pribram's holographic model of the brain is what happens when it is put together with Bohm's theory. For if the concreteness of the world is but a secondary reality and what is "there" is actually a holographic blur of frequencies, and if the brain is also a hologram and only selects some of the frequencies out of this blur and mathematically transforms them into sensory perceptions, what becomes of objective reality? Put quite simply, it ceases to exist. As the religions of the East have long upheld, the material world is Maya, an illusion, and although we may think we are physical beings moving through a physical world, this too is an illusion. We are really "receivers" floating through a kaleidoscopic sea of frequency, and what we extract from this sea and transmogrify into physical reality is but one channel from many extracted out of the superhologram. This striking new picture of reality, the synthesis of Bohm and Pribram's views, has come to be called the Holographic Paradigm, and although many scientists have greeted it with skepticism, it has galvanized others. A small but growing group of researchers believe it may be the most accurate model of reality science has arrived at thus far. More than that, some believe it may solve some mysteries that have never before been explainable by science and even establish the paranormal as a part of nature. Numerous researchers, including Bohm and Pribram, have noted that many para-psychological phenomena become much more understandable in terms of the holographic paradigm. In a universe in which individual brains are actually indivisible portions of the greater hologram and everything is infinitely interconnected, telepathy may merely be the accessing of the holographic level. It is obviously much easier to understand how information can travel from the mind of individual 'A' to that of individual 'B' at a far distance point and helps to understand a number of unsolved puzzles in psychology. In particular, Stansilov Grof feels the holographic paradigm offers a model for understanding many of the baffling phenomena experienced by individuals during altered states of consciousness. In the 1950s, while conducting research into the beliefs of LSD as a psychotherapeutic tool, Grof had one female patient who suddenly became convinced she had assumed the identity of a female of a species of prehistoric reptile. During the course of her hallucination, she not only gave a richly detailed description of what it felt like to be encapsulated in such a form, but noted that the portion of the male of the species anatomy was a patch of colored scales on the side of its head. What was startling to Grof was that although the woman had no prior knowledge about such things, a conversation with a zoologist later confirmed that in certain species of reptiles colored areas on the head do indeed play an important role as triggers of sexual arousal. The woman¹s experience was not unique. During the course of his research, Grof encountered examples of patients regressing and identifying with virtually every species on the evolutionary tree (research findings which helped influence the man-into-ape scene in the movie, Altered States). Moreover, he found that such experiences frequently contained obscure zoological details which turned out to be accurate. Regressions into the animal kingdom were not the only puzzling psychological phenomena Grof encountered. He also had patients who appeared to tap into some sort of collective or racial unconscious. Individuals with little or no education suddenly gave detailed descriptions of Zoroastrian funerary practices and scenes from Hindu mythology. In other categories of experience, individuals gave persuasive accounts of out-of-body journeys, of precognitive glimpses of the future, of regressions into apparent past-life incarnations. In later research, Grof found the same range of phenomena manifested in therapy sessions which did not involve the use of drugs. Because the common element in such experiences appeared to be the transcending of an individual¹s consciousness beyond the usual boundaries of ego and/or limitations of space and time, Grof called such manifestations transpersonal experiences, and in the late '60s he helped found a branch of psychology called transpersonal psychology devoted entirely to their study. Although Grof¹s newly founded Association of Transpersonal Psychology garnered a rapidly growing group of like-minded professionals and has become a respected branch of psychology, for years neither Grof or any of his colleagues were able to offer a mechanism for explaining the bizarre psychological phenomena they were witnessing. But that has changed with the advent of the holographic paradigm. As Grof noted, if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange. Perhaps, in Creating Reality, we have already become - as in Star Trek, The Next Generation - a Q of the Continuum or we are part of a consciousness virtual reality experiment. The holographic paradigm also has implications for so-called hard sciences like biology. Keith Floyd, a psychologist at Virginia Intermont College, has pointed out that if the concreteness of reality is but a holographic illusion, it would no longer be true to say the brain produces consciousness. Rather, it is Consciousness that creates the appearance of the brain as well as the body and everything else around us we interpret as physical. Such a turnabout in the way we view biological structures has caused researchers to point out that medicine and our understanding of the healing process could also be transformed by the holographic paradigm. If the apparent physical structure of the body is but a holographic projection of consciousness, it becomes clear that each of us is much more responsible for our health than current medical wisdom allows. What we now view as miraculous remissions of disease may actually be due to changes in consciousness which in turn effect changes in the hologram of the body. Similarly, controversial new healing techniques such as visualization may work so well because in the holographic domain of thought images are ultimately as real as reality. Even visions and experiences involving non-ordinary reality become explainable under the holographic paradigm. In his book Gifts of Unknown Things, biologist Lyall Watson describes his encounter with an Indonesian shaman woman who, by performing a ritual dance, was able to make an entire grove of trees instantly vanish into thin air. Watson relates that as he and another astonished onlooker continued to watch the woman, she caused the trees to reappear, then click off again and on again several times in succession. Although current scientific understanding is incapable of explaining such events, experiences like this become more tenable if hard reality is only a holographic projection. Perhaps we agree on what is 'there' or 'not there' because what we call consensus reality is formulated and ratified at the level of the human unconscious at which all minds are infinitely interconnected. If this is true, it is the most profound implication of the holographic paradigm of all, for it means that experiences such as Watson's are not commonplace only because we have not programmed our minds with the beliefs that would make them so. In a holographic universe there are no limits to the extent to which we can alter the fabric of reality. What we perceive as reality is only a canvas waiting for us to draw upon it any picture we want. Anything is possible, from bending spoons with the power of the mind to events experienced by Carlos Castaneda during his encounters with the Yaqui brujo don Juan, for Magic is our birthright, no more or less miraculous than our ability to compute the reality we want when we are in our dreams. Indeed, even our most fundamental notions about reality become suspect, for in a holographic universe, as Pribram has pointed out, even random events would have to be seen as based on holographic principles and therefore determined. Synchronicities or meaningful coincidences suddenly makes sense, and everything in reality would have to be seen as a metaphor. Even the most haphazard events would express some underlying symmetry. Whether Bohm and Pribram's holographic paradigm becomes accepted in science or dies an ignoble death remains to be seen, but it is safe to say that it has already had an influence on the thinking of many scientists. And even if it is found that the holographic model does not provide the best explanation for the instantaneous communications that seem to be passing back and forth between subatomic particles, at the very least, as noted by Basil Hiley, a physicist at Birbeck College in London, Aspect's findings indicate that we must be prepared to consider radically new views of reality.
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#1. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
That book is one of my favorites. I enjoyed the stories of people and the amazing things they have done which traditional billiard ball physics cannot explain. I take a more traditional religious approach to the problem of mattter versus spirit. Immanuel Kant in the Critique of Pure Reason proved that the time and space were ideas in the mind of men and not things with a separate existence out there apart from us. We are able to violate the laws of time and space because we are not separate from either the Creator or Creation.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
hey man, until its on oprah, it ain't real... lol
Many believe in either intelligent design or evolution...but I am opting for unintelligent design, where god is a retarded kid who likes setting army men on fire and leaving his toys out in the rain. Gengis Gandhi, Troubled Genius
I can't even get one side of my brain to communicate with the other.
Turtle's secret Indian name is Two Stuck Dogs.
thats normal. take lots of acid, or go by www.hemi-sync.com.
Many believe in either intelligent design or evolution...but I am opting for unintelligent design, where god is a retarded kid who likes setting army men on fire and leaving his toys out in the rain. Gengis Gandhi, Troubled Genius
Such a storehouse could be considered God. Remember that verse from the Bible where God speaks to Moses and gives his name as "I Am". In more likelyhood that story is a fable that was handed down from an earlier race that was closer to the Truth than latter day civilizations are aware of. Consider the realm of memories and dreams. I find it extremely unlikely that the human brain itself is capable of storing that much data, or randomly conjuring up various realities in its dreamstate. It is much more likely that such things exist in that realm that is beyond our current understanding, and that our brains are simply creating a field that interacts with that other realm.
aka the tao. a sea of endless isness. http://www.taoteching.org/
Many believe in either intelligent design or evolution...but I am opting for unintelligent design, where god is a retarded kid who likes setting army men on fire and leaving his toys out in the rain. Gengis Gandhi, Troubled Genius
Thank God, or should I say "All That Is", that there are those who don't pay that much attention to what others think. As a former biologist, formerly married to a (current) quantum physicist, I must say,"Rich, I TOLD you so! Remember scoffing at "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" et. al??? While you may GET IT now, it's why you could never get anywhere with your precious Unified Field Theory! [I've waited YEARS to get that off my chest...] ;-0 I also love Gregg Braden's work. (see: The Divine Matrix)
I've been aware of this information for a long time. Very interesting stuff, but the question then becomes "what do we do with this"? Needless to say, this is the kind of thinking that is nothing less than anathema to the power elites of this world. Here's what Bill Hicks has to say on the subject. The World is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round, and it has thrills and chills and is very brightly colored, and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they've begun to question, 'Is this real, or is this just a ride?', and other people have remembered, and they've come back to us and they say 'Hey, don't worry. Don't be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.' and we KILL THOSE PEOPLE. "Shut him up! We have alot invested in this ride! SHUT HIM UP! Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real." It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that. You ever noticed that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because ... It's just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear wants you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride: Take all that money we spent on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it feeding, clothing, and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and WE CAN EXPLORE SPACE, TOGETHER, BOTH INNER AND OUTER, forever ... in peace. -- Bill Hicks (1961 - 1994)
#2. To: Horse (#1)
#3. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
#4. To: Turtle (#3)
#5. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
It must be seen as a sort of cosmic storehouse of "All That Is."
"The real deal is this: the ‘royalty’ controlling the court, the ones with the power, the ones with the ability to make a difference, with the ability to change our course, the ones who will live in infamy if we pass the tipping points, are the captains of industry, CEOs in fossil fuel companies such as EXXON/Mobil, automobile manufacturers, utilities, all of the leaders who have placed short-term profit above the fate of the planet and the well-being of our children." - James Hansen
#6. To: FormerLurker (#5)
#7. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
...and although many scientists have greeted it with skepticism...
#8. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
 | Gold and silver are REAL money, paper is but a promise. |
#9. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
This summation of the article is indeed a hefty statement!
In a holographic universe there are no limits to the extent to which we can alter the fabric of reality.
#10. To: Elliott Jackalope (#8)
Thanks for that video! My sweetie has often said that he felt "THEY" killed Bill Hicks...I did not know who he was. I can see now why he said that.
#11. To: Elliott Jackalope, Jethro Tull, HOUNDDAWG, christine, TwentyTwelve, wudidiz, Original_Intent, FormerLurker, lodwick (#8)
i've heard of that. Robert A. Monroe 1915 - 1995 http://www.monroeinstitute.com/content.php?content_id=42 Robert Monroe was a successful and distinguished business executive, dedicated family man, and noted pioneer in the investigation of human consciousness. He also invented Hemi-Sync® and founded The Monroe Institute®, a worldwide organization dedicated to expanding human potential. Born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1915 to a college professor father and medical doctor mother, Robert Monroe was the third of four children. After a childhood spent in Kentucky and Indiana, he attended Ohio State University. Upon graduating in 1937 with a BA in Engineering, Monroe worked as a writer and director at two Ohio radio stations. Two years later he moved to New York and expanded his broadcasting career, producing and directing weekly radio programs and eventually forming his own radio production company. During the 1950s his company was producing 28 radio shows per month, including the popular Take a Number and Meet Your Match quiz shows. At this time Monroe became well known as a composer of music for radio, television, and motion pictures. He also served as vice president and member of the board of directors for the Mutual Broadcasting System network, was listed in Who's Who in America, and was publicized in magazine and newspaper articles on flying and radio production. Building on this success, Monroe's production company acquired several radio stations in North Carolina and Virginia, and later moved into developing cable television systems. In 1956 the firm set up a research and development division to study the effects of various sound patterns on human consciousness, including the feasibility of learning during sleep. Never one to ask others to do something he would not, Monroe often used himself as a test subject for this research. In 1958, a significant result emerged-Monroe began experiencing a state of consciousness separate and apart from the physical body. He described the state as an "out of body experience," which has since become a generic term in consciousness literature. These spontaneous experiences altered the course of Monroe's life and the direction of his professional efforts. While continuing his successful broadcasting activities, Monroe began to experiment and research the expanded forms of human consciousness that he was experiencing. He chronicled his early explorations with a reporter's objectivity and eye for detail in a groundbreaking book, Journeys Out of the Body, which was published in 1971. This public record of his out of body experiences in states beyond space, time, and death has comforted countless people who've encountered paranormal incidents. It also attracted the attention of academic researchers, medical practitioners, engineers, and other professionals. Ever the pragmatic business leader, Monroe, and a growing group of fellow researchers, began to work on methods of inducing and controlling this and other forms of consciousness in a laboratory setting. This research led to the development of a noninvasive and easy to use audio-guidance technology known as hemispheric synchronization or Hemi-Sync®. In 1974, the original research group was expanded to become The Monroe Institute, an organization dedicated to conducting seminars in the control and exploration of human consciousness. A year later, Monroe was issued the first of three patents for the Hemi-Sync® method of altering brain states through sound. Throughout the next 20 years Monroe continued to explore, research, and teach others about expanded states of human consciousness and practical methods of enhancing human potential. He developed a series of multi-day workshops that enable participants to personally experience realms beyond physical time-space reality, built a campus for teaching and research, and created a portfolio of audio exercises designed to focus attention, reduce stress, improve meditation, enhance sleep, and manage pain among other applications. In 1985 he wrote a second book, titled Far Journeys, which expanded upon his personal investigations of nonphysical reality. In 1994 he followed suit with a third book, Ultimate Journey, which explores basic truths about the meaning and purpose of life and what lies beyond the limits of our physical world. Monroe died in 1995, at the age of 80. His legacy continues today and has touched the lives of literally millions of people all around the world. http://www.scribd.com/doc/537191/Robert-Monroe-Journeys-Out-of-The-Body Robert Monroe From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Consciousness Researcher Biography Robert Allan Monroe (October 30, 1915–March 17, 1995) was an advertising executive from Virginia who became known for his research into altered consciousness. His 1971 book Journeys Out of the Body is credited with popularizing the term "out-of-body experience". In 1978 Monroe founded The Monroe Institute, which carried on his work after his death. [1][2][3][4][5] He is also notable as one of the founders of the Jefferson Cable Corporation, the first cable company to cover central Virginia. [6] Contents [hide] * 1 Biography * 2 Hemi-Sync * 3 Remote Viewing * 4 Bibliography * 5 See also * 6 References * 7 External links [edit] Biography 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 goes on to say that this occurred another nine times over the next six weeks, culminating in his first out-of-body experience. 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. [1][2][3][4] Monroe later authored two more books, Far Journeys (1985) and Ultimate Journey (1994). In 1978 he founded The Monroe Institute, a non-profit education and research foundation describing itself as being "devoted to the exploration of human consciousness". In his last book "Ultimate Journey" there is a chapter "About the Author". In this chapter it's said that Robert Monroe is directing Monroe Institute - from There, meaning that he is able to take part in his Institute life from his post-death state. [edit] Hemi-Sync In 1975, Monroe registered a patent for an audio-visual device 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 on a commercial basis by the self help industry. [7] [edit] Remote Viewing During the "Project Stargate" studies period into what we call today Remote Viewing, Robert Monroe's interests and research in Out of Body Experience OOBE would extend into what would be the accepted scientific scope of Remote Viewing. His personal friendship and association with U. S. Army officer, Joseph McMoneagle from Ft. Meade, expanded remote viewing into the remote past and future. McMoneagle would later date and marry Monroe's stepdaughter, Nancy Honeycutt,[8] and become associated with research and study at The Monroe Institute. In a related note. U.S. Media consultant and White House speech writer, Donald A. Stewart, who was also a personal friend and a former student in media, would be influenced and inspired by Monroe, with their mutual interests into parapsychology and psychical research. As like Monroe, he would later meet pioneer remote viewer, psychical-consultant, A. Edward Moch, who would date and marry his daughter. [edit] Bibliography Robert Monroe was the author of three books: * Journeys Out of the Body (1971) ISBN 0-385-00861-9 * Far Journeys ISBN 0-385-23182-2 * Ultimate Journey ISBN 0-385-47208-0 [edit] See also * Hemi-Sync * Parapsychology * Out-of-body experience * Astral projection * Remote viewing * Lucid dreaming * Bruce Moen [edit] References 1. ^ a b Monroe, Robert A (1977) "Journeys Out of the Body", Anchor Press, ISBN 0385008619 2. ^ a b Russell Ronald (2007) "The Journey of Robert Monroe: From Out-Of-Body Explorer to Consciousness Pioneer", Hampton Roads Publishing, ISBN 1571745335 3. ^ a b Stockton Bayard (1989) "Catapult: The Biography of Robert A. Monroe", Donning Co.,ISBN 0898657563 4. ^ a b Mayer, Robert A. (2007) "The Intrigue of the Possible", AuthorHouse, ISBN 1434308294 5. ^ Randolph Keith (1983) "The Truth about Astral Projection", Llewellyn Worldwide, ISBN 0875423507 6. ^ Barling, Stephen (2003-02-13) "Cosmic degrees: Out of body at the Monroe Institute", The Hook (Charlottesville), Issue 206 7. ^ Sheikh, Anees A.(2003) "Healing Images: The Role Of Imagination in Health", Baywood Publishing, ISBN 0895032082 8. ^ Memoirs of a Psychic Spy: The Remarkable Life of Remote Viewer 001 by Joseph McMoneagle, Hampton Books, 2002 and 2006, pages 140 and 188-189 Far Journeys, Robert Monroe: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4059245/FarJourneys-ROBERT-MONROE Book Reviews Robert Monroe’s Far Journeys Reviewed by Roy Salley Far Journeys is the long awaited sequel to Robert Monroe's Journeys Out of the Body. This latter work has become an international classic in the out-of-body literature. In Far Journeys, Monroe describes the further development of his own out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and his development of an institute to study states of consciousness. This new work is likely to be even more widely read than his first book although, unfortunately, neither book has been, or is likely to be, widely read in current scientific circles. The world view that Monroe presents is simply so foreign to the current scientific zeitgeist that most will view this book as a work of fantasy or kookery. I view this book as neither. More than anything else, Far Journeys is a road map or travel guide describing the flora and fauna one may encounter on inner exploration in consciousness. This type of literature is not new with countless renditions found in most religious and occult schools from Swedenborg to theosophy. What is unique here is the attempt to remove the trappings of religious doctrine and mysticism and to simply describe the adventures of a man who has devoted the last quarter of a century to inner exploration. Part I of Far Journeys describes briefly the early experimental work with sound that led to what Monroe calls the Hemi-Sync process. This process was derived from the EEG frequency following response literature and is based on the principle that brain wave patterns will follow external auditory frequencies. Varying both the pitch and the sound frequency introduced to each ear, Monroe claims to be able to modify states of consciousness. He was granted a patent for this process in 1975. Over several years experimenting with these binaural beat frequencies, Monroe found that many subjects reported the same phenomenological experiences when exposed to certain auditory patterns. Certain combinations of these patterns appeared to help induce OBEs. Several of his "explorers" became adept OBEers and began the out-of-body search for other life forms in the solar system. Part I describes the fruitlessness of this venture and the barrenness of the physical universe. In 1974, a breakthrough occurred when Monroe began to allow his own OBEs to be guided by aspects of consciousness other than his conscious ego; as he puts it, he "let somebody else do the driving." For Monroe and his explorers this shift opened up a universe teeming with intelligent life that exists in nonphysical form. Part I continues to describe the development of an institute designed to train others in this exploration. Excerpts from reports of some of the 3,000 people trained at the institute over the last ten years comprise the rest of this section. These excerpts document the replicability of Hemi-Sync induced experiences in others. Part II is devoted to the further development of Monroe's experiences out-of-body. In describing his adventures, he introduces the reader to a new language (nonverbal communication) and an expansive cosmology encompassing life, death, after death experiences, nonphysical life forms, and the development of consciousness in the largest sense. His description is captivating and congruent with many other cosmologies. Far Journeys is written for the lay public and is not centered in controlled research data. At present, the institute is at a data collection/case history phase of development describing phenomenological experiences across many subjects while working with Hemi-Sync technology. Hard core researchers will find little in this book to support its suppositions; in fact, the foreignness of the subject matter will find manyunable to relate to this book at all. Far Journeys, despite its lack of controlled research, is an important work. As transpersonal psychology develops a paradigm to study inner experiences (and Ken Wilber's work is particularly promising in this regard), the rough map provided by Monroe may well prove to be a valuable touchstone. For dream workers, the book has many regerences to the deliberate use of sleep stages for consciousness development. A viewpoint on lucid dreaming potential is also presented significantly different from more currently accepted positions. While many readers of this book may not accept Monroe's offer to "go interstate," those that do will find the journey well worth the effort. Ultimate Journeys, Robert Monroe: http://www.scribd.com/doc/4059261/Ultimate-Journey-Robert-A-Monroe Ultimate Journey - A Book Report by Miles Pearce In Ultimate Journey, Robert A. Monroe emphasizes two points that predicate his "Different Overview." We are more than our physical bodies. There is continued existence after death. He goes on to say that our human life experiences serve a very important purpose, but the awareness/intelligence that is us was around long before, and will be around long after, our physical lives on this plane. Our current cultural-societal manifestation does not recognize the existence of anything outside of time and space. This limits most of us to a very small portion of what we may experience as conscious, intelligent beings. To move beyond the perceptual limits of contemporary mainstream society and formulate a solid Different Overview based on experience is the main goal that Monroe sets for the reader. One important factor that Monroe discusses is the powerful effect our physical bodies have on us. We are limited by numerous addictions connected to our Earth Life System realities. More often than not, our "Animal Sub-Self" exercises a great deal of control over what we are able to accomplish. Our conscious mind may have lofty goals and high aspirations, but try as we may we are unable to maintain a commitment to them because we do not have the cooperation of our Animal Sub-Self. Monroe holds that the Animal Sub-Self is responsible for the filtration and dissolution of our mental brilliance (p. 72). He says that its signals taint almost every facet of human life. That idea is one that warrants further debate because there are those who say that the body is a pure vessel and that it is the frantic, uncultivated mind that distorts our intentions. Nevertheless it is extremely important to understand the whims of our biological nature and engage its cooperation. If we can do that, and thus allow ourselves access to nonphysical (M) Field energies, we enter into the realm of unlimited possibilities. Equally important (and possibly more so) are the effects of our cultural programming. From the day we are born, we are constantly exposed to a version of reality shared by almost all members of our society. From the time we are in our mother’s womb, and throughout our physical and mental development, we are told, "This is how it is, this is how the world works . . ." Our society heavily discounts any reports of realities outside of time and space. Any experiences we have as a young child that are incompatible with the popular understanding of reality are strongly discounted and we are admonished not to reveal or repeat them. There is certainly some variation in the collective interpretation of reality, but it is usually minor, especially with the advent of mass media and the extreme homogenization that has recently occurred in our society. The tendency of dominant religious and political institutions to severely punish those having a different overview hasn’t helped either. By the time we reach physical maturity, most of us have a pretty rigid mentality. It is a great challenge to objectively reevaluate our cultural conditioning and thinking patterns. According to Monroe’s discoveries, our life experience on Earth is immensely valuable no matter what we do, but by exploring the realities outside of time-space, we may discover who and what we really are and maximize our life experience. The first step in this process is to develop a different overview that will allow for such explorations. At first it may be necessary to believe the descriptions of Monroe and other explorers until it is possible to turn Beliefs into personal Knowns. After establishing his Different Overview and doing some exploration of other energy systems, Monroe came to an impasse. He did not know what he was supposed to be doing. He felt that somehow he had taken a wrong turn or missed an important element. A new direction materialized: "The prime need was to know myself without equivocation. The more I came to know myself the more I would know what I am in nonphysical expression, and the closer I would come to the reason for the path I seemed to be taking" (p. 141). Upon coming to this conclusion Monroe spent a year delving into the makeup of his I-There (beyond physical existence)[higher self]. He discovered a number of "layers" that played a part in defining his I-There. The memory layer is a complete record of one’s entire life. It is constantly being updated by continuous signals from the physical body. Near the memory layer he found a fear layer and an emotional layer. Apparently the I-There creates an efficient system for dealing with and categorizing these issues. Monroe concludes that we all have our own active I-There, which is constantly looking after us, and that we all have the potential to replicate his experience for ourselves. Other important factors are: 1. understanding (M) Field energies and becoming proficient with them; 2. being aware of influences (both positive and negative) and learning to pick up only what is useful; 3. releasing limiting belief systems. The work of Robert Monroe and The Monroe Institute provides exciting opportunities for expanding human potential. The guided techniques and Hemi-Sync technology are an easy way for people to access energies that were previously available only to those with a lot of self-discipline and determination. A Buddhist monk once told a Monroe Institute facilitator, "It has taken me twenty years to learn what you teach here in a week." Miles Pearce received the 1996 Monroe Institute Scholarship, a four-year scholarship awarded each year to a qualifying Nelson County senior. He is currently a student at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and is considering majoring in anthropology. However, he is open to suggestions from people who are very happy with their chosen vocations. Miles attended the Gateway Voyage in August.
here's some far out stuff. duplicating hicks and others views. the difference is, monroe actually mapped this stuff, and anyone who wants to can map and verify on their own. thousands of students do just that every year, at the monroe institute. www.monroe-institute.org, www.hemi-sync.com
Name: Robert Allan Monroe
Born: October 30, 1915
Virginia Died: March 17, 1995
Resume
Field: Advertising Executive
Paranormal Area: Altered Consciousness Researcher
Affiliates: Monroe Institute (founder),
Jefferson Cable Corporation (Founder)
Many believe in either intelligent design or evolution...but I am opting for unintelligent design, where god is a retarded kid who likes setting army men on fire and leaving his toys out in the rain.
Gengis Gandhi, Troubled Genius
#12. To: gengis gandhi, Elliott Jackalope, Jethro Tull, HOUNDDAWG, christine, TwentyTwelve, Original_Intent, FormerLurker, lodwick (#11)
"It is like a trance. So what can break a trance? The only thing that can break the trance is the light of truth."
~ Canadian Philosopher John McMurtry as he comments on the psychological warfare that has afflicted us all
#13. To: wudidiz (#12)
forgot to ping you. sorry.
Many believe in either intelligent design or evolution...but I am opting for unintelligent design, where god is a retarded kid who likes setting army men on fire and leaving his toys out in the rain.
Gengis Gandhi, Troubled Genius
#14. To: gengis gandhi (#13)
But you did though, thank you. Very interesting stuff.
"It is like a trance. So what can break a trance? The only thing that can break the trance is the light of truth."
~ Canadian Philosopher John McMurtry as he comments on the psychological warfare that has afflicted us all
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