Ronald Russell

This is a biography of the famous out-of-body explorer, Robert Monroe. I loved all three of his books – see my reviews of these. The present book tells us both about Bob’s ancestors, what sort of a man he was, his books, the various places he lived, his research work at the Monroe Institute, and his relationships, particularly with his beloved wife, Nancy. It contains several photos of Bob and those involved with him.

For me, the book has provided valuable information about Bob Monroe, though I didn’t find it all that readable, it being filled with many, perhaps excessive, details about his colleagues at the Institute, and practically everyone connected in any way with his work there.

Bob was a multifaceted character; he previously worked in radio; had many hobbies; “he delighted in living on the edge of danger, in gliding, sailing, flying rickety aircraft, and driving fast cars that he had built himself”.

The author talks of Bob’s OBEs, and though I’ve read his books, I found new information here, indicating that I will really have to re-read them.

He called the body he used when out-of-body “the Second Body”, He deduced that the Second Body “had weight and a small degree of gravitational attraction”. It could take on whatever shape or form the individual desired.

Russell tells us of the various “worlds” explored by Monroe; Locale 1, the material world; Locale II, “a non-material environment with laws of motion and matter only remotely related to the physical world”, containing all the aspects we generally attribute to Heaven and Hell; and Locale III, “a physical-matter world almost identical to our own”, but with no electricity, petrol or oil and with steam-driven “locomotives”. In Locale III, Monroe merges with another man, taking over his body, so to speak, though he is well aware he is not that man. He marries a woman called Lea and has children.

Many people attend Bob’s courses at the Institute, including the illustrious Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, They learn how to reach various states of consciousness, e.g. Focus 10, the state of “mind awake, body asleep”, Focus 12, “a state of expanded awareness, Focus 15, “a state of no time” and Focus 21, “the edge of here-now”.

The participants in certain of the courses, called “Explorers”, make voyages in consciousness, simultaneously reporting on their experiences, these reports being recorded (some of these recordings were at least previously available from the Monroe website). They are aided by “invisible helpers”, guiding and directing the voyages.

The Explorers help earth-bound spirits, “ghosts”, who are locked into a time zone, not realizing they are “dead”. Once they realize this, they can be helped by beings from the spirit dimension, “Hell is actually a level of consciousness . in which a soul can exist whether in the body or out – It is a continuous process to help souls become aware of the true nature of their reality”.

Following Nancy’s death from cancer, Bob became depressed and his own health was declining too; he smoked heavily and his diet was “horrific”.

In his last years, Bob became difficult to get along with and invited people to visit/work with him, but then ignored them or refrained from hiring them.

He made an “Emergency” series of tapes which assisted people during operations. His last programme, “Going Home”, contained support exercises for those approaching death, and their relations and caregivers.

For those interested in Bob Monroe and his valuable consciousness-expanding work, I highly recommend this well-written and informative book.… (más)