Journeys Out of the Body

If you are deep into the subject matter and have familiarity with Bob Monroe’s audio materials you may find this book a great read. He is very careful to assure the reader he doesn’t intend to impose a belief system on the reader as an absolute truth or directly claim to have answers. If you are a curious passerby, you may find some of the information a bit wordy and dry, subject matters not embellished for entertainment. It is the closest thing (I’ve read so far) to a 1950’s-70’s era scientist applying scientific method to something ultimately denied by the scientific community. A good portion will be his research notes organized by subject matter in an order designed to make some concepts easy to grasp (since the order of the experiences don’t always yield a great “teaching” order). You will see a lot of his thought process during these tests. It feels very honest without much push to believe him. Different than many other books that claim to teach the neophyte, there is no preditorial hooks attempting to manipulate any emotionally vulnerable readers looking for the secrets or short cuts. Right about the time I felt like this would be another book where the author is just beating around the bush and blowing smoke, he hits with a section all about his step-by-step processes and their importance. Having taken one of the entry level courses from the Monroe Institute already, I felt like this section was a great way to follow that class with “meat and potatos” and I realized so many things I was doing wrong (distractions that inhibit results) and he did such a thorough job to lay out expectations of what success looks like. As he gets into some theories later in the book, stating that it’s a very loose idea that is for consideration, I felt an eery correlation with a few other unrelated bodies of work. It seems like a good fragment of one’s seeking journey as long as it isn’t taken as a singular source of truth. If you combine it with a passionate seeking into many different “underground” subjects you may see this book as a Must Read. My personal addition to this book is that it did take place in a different era. He illustrates a small number of observations correlating the Second Body with electricity and magnetic fields (I think ghost buster traps). In a much more dense day and age with intensely charged magnetic fields, radio frequencies, wifi, Bluetooth etc. I started to get the impression that if you feel suppressed in your spiritual experiences, consider there may be a correlation to the density of computer equipment in your meditation space. A sylvan environment with as little wireless data as possible is my next test.

Interesting book worth the read.

I have heard of Robert Monroe and his Institute, but never heard how he got started on remote viewing. His story was fascinating!

This is undeniably a landmark work in the field of out-of-body exploration. The book reads primarily as a detailed record of Monroe’s personal experiences, observations, and evolving interpretations of non-physical states. In that sense, it feels almost like a research journal. Methodical, reflective, and sometimes highly analytical. I found many of the accounts intriguing and thought-provoking. Monroe approaches the subject with a surprisingly grounded tone, which makes the material more accessible than I expected. His attempts to categorize and understand his experiences add a layer of seriousness that separates this from purely mystical writing. That said, I was hoping for more structured, guided exercises or practical instruction. The book is much more experiential and descriptive than instructional. Readers looking for step-by-step techniques may find it a bit dry at times, as much of the content focuses on narrative rather than application.

I don't know what to make of this book. I read it because Dr. Eben Alexander cited it in his book. From my reading, the author Robert Monroe, a very educated, accomplished, and obviously functional member of society, with candor and apparent sincerity, describes decidedly otherworldly experiences. And he does so in detail and with the same sort of random narration of people, places, and events that somebody might write into their personal journal during a trip to, say, Europe or the Far East. I've never quite read anything like it before, regarding its scope and breadth. This puts Dr. Alexander's brief account into much broader perspective, to say the least. It's so interesting and inspires intense curiosity, but I'm afraid that I've absolutely no basis to fairly evaluate the larger question that many reading this book surely must ask: did this really happen? I don't know how to begin to answer that without making the journey for myself, and I'm not sure if I can even do that. This is all new to me. The thought that somebody might actually leave their body shocks my admittedly pedestrian notions of reality. The book receives 5 stars for making me sincerely wonder what happen to him, the how and why. This doesn't read like fiction or somebody's dream journal. He's not crazy, and he had no apparent, ulterior motive to write this book, either. So what happened to him? The questions it raises and possible answers obviously carry great weight and importance.

The author’s objective analysis, free from theology or the veil of ego was fascinating. It helped to explain, or at least validate the experiences I have had. I look forward to his other 2 books.

I am hoping to learn from Mr Robert Manroe. I have listened to his tapes, but honestly didn't notice much, so I am hoping to learn things from him in this book. I bought the other three as well, and they seem to be different aspects of his journey in detail, with this book being the entire journey itself written into one book.

Interesting read highlighting the founding of what was, at the time of its writing, essentially a new field of expirence to both the writer and the mainstream environment of that era. Depending on where someone is currently at in their journey, they may still find this to be a challenging book inviting them to explore aspects of themselves and reality that have always been there but may been largely unexplored and unacknowledged. For such new initiates, this book does contain useful and practical knowledge for beginning exploration. However, it is important to note that this text is also colored by the very dim and sometimes toxic assumptions of it's time. That being said, Bob Monroe does deserve credit for being a trailblazer in what was arguably the most impoverished psychic environment and culture in human history. I just want anyone who reads this review to understand that so much more light has been brought forth to humanity in regards to these abilities since this was published and it is no longer fitting to consider this "cutting edge". Though they may being doing so outside of the perception of some, there are beings walking the Earth at this very moment who are functioning from states that would have been challenging for even Bob to understand at the time of this writing. The scope of True Reality and human potential is seemingly limitless. ❤️

A wonderful book, and the first of a beautiful trilogy which opened my heart to greater truths.

Good read, interesting insights and practical tipps.

Very good insight into one of the few people who speaks from a different time and angle. it is worth reading and thinking about. it does touch on the akasha and space time. You will gain more out of it if you have read more scientific studies from various other authors to collaborate the works of this man, and develop an understanding based on fact and intuition of how you deem it to be valuable. it is not for everyone, but I'm rating it a second time now, for clarity. it is a lot of information to grasp at once, but read this for an insight into something very few have written about so well.

The book is a valuable intro to all the out of body states and books that follow. Monroe was a real cool dude and this might be groundbreaking book for these topics

Item is great. It was left at the wrong house though.