The 29-page report, “Analysis and Assessment of the Gateway Process,” is a combination of science, séance, and Cold War madness. It reads like Stephen Hawking fell asleep on a yoga mat and woke up in a pyramid scheme.

Courtesy of TikTok, the Gateway Process is back, because nothing says global awakening like Gen Z explaining quantum physics between mascara tutorials.

What is the Gateway Process?

In essence, it’s the CIA’s attempt to figure out whether humans can think their way out of space and time. Yes, really. Think mind flight.

The Gateway Process was inspired by Robert Monroe, a former radio executive who discovered that specific sound frequencies could sync the brain’s left and right hemispheres—a state he called hemi-sync.

The idea was that when both halves of your brain were in harmony, your consciousness could detach from your body and go exploring.

[ZH: And so you don't have to go to cia.gov, or read Nicole James' masterful Aussie snark, dive into the CIA's analysis below]

[29 page PDF]

The theory goes that everything from your cat to your bad mood is made up of vibrating energy fields. If you can tune your brain to just the right frequency, you can theoretically pop out of your body, transcend space-time, and maybe, if you’re lucky, have a word with God or at least get better parking karma.

Who Came Up With This (and Why Did the CIA Care)?

You’d think the CIA would have bigger fish to fry in 1983, like the Soviets, or disco, but apparently not.

The report’s author, Lt. Col. Wayne McDonnell, took Monroe’s new-age noodling and dressed it up in quantum mechanics. He spoke of “vibrational systems,” “energy patterns,” and “escaping time-space.”

In fairness, the Cold War was a paranoid time. The Soviets were rumoured to be studying telepathy, remote viewing, and spoon-bending. So naturally, the CIA thought, let’s not be left behind in the psychic arms race.

The Gateway report is a glorious mess of science and spirituality. It cites string theory, holographic universes, and something called “the cosmic egg,” which sounds more like brunch.

Essentially, it argues that the universe is a big hologram of energy, and human consciousness is just one shimmering part of that infinite field. By syncing your brainwaves, you can allegedly project your mind into this field, alter reality, and, if you’ve focused properly, manifest your desired outcomes.

It’s like The Secret, but with more footnotes and less Oprah.

How Does It Actually Work?

The technique is built around Hemi-Sync audio tapes. These are something like if guided meditations met Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. You pop on your headphones, listen to two slightly different tones in each ear, and your brain merges them into a single frequency.

That’s when the magic (or madness) happens. You’re meant to enter a state between wakefulness and sleep known as Focus 10, where your body is “asleep but your mind is awake.” From there, you can move to Focus 12, where you may meet your “higher self,” or Focus 15, where time apparently becomes optional.

People who’ve tried it say it’s like lucid dreaming.

What’s This About “Patterning”?

The CIA’s take on manifestation is called patterning.

Patterning involves visualising what you want so clearly and intensely that it becomes inevitable. You imagine your goal as already achieved, whether it is the job, the house, the functioning romantic relationship, and by doing so, your consciousness “projects that reality into time-space.”

It’s basically vision boarding, except it’s written in Courier font and possibly classified.

Why Are People Obsessed With It Again?

Because in 2025, nothing unites humanity like wanting to hack reality without logging off TikTok.

The document resurfaced after a few enterprising influencers decided it proved the Law of Attraction. (“Even the CIA believes in manifesting!” they shrieked, between sponsorships.)

But still, it’s a seductive idea. Who doesn’t want to believe they can rearrange the universe by focusing really hard?

Can You Actually Try It?

Yes, and you don’t even need security clearance.

The Monroe Institute still exists and runs retreats where you can learn the Gateway techniques. For around US$79, you can take a digital “Beyond Meditation” course. For $2,805, you can attend an in-person Remote Viewing programme and try to see through walls, time, and possibly your ex’s emotional unavailability.

The advanced levels go all the way to Focus 49, where you can allegedly “strengthen the energetic pathway between Earth’s core and the galactic core.”

How to Manifest Like a Spy (Sort Of)

Here’s a CIA-approved approach to manifestation, minus the lab coat:

Visualise. Picture your goal vividly, like it’s already happened. (Apparently, the universe loves confidence.) Intend. Attach emotion and belief to that image. Focus. Hold that thought. Don’t get distracted by emails or carbs. Detach. Let it go. Nothing kills a cosmic vibration faster than neediness. Repeat. Because even quantum physics loves consistency.

If you’re lucky, you’ll get a sudden insight, a burst of intuition, or possibly just a really nice nap.

[ZH: Or, they were on to something...]