I found this New York Times article to be of particular interest in terms of the Subtle Realm's influence on our lives without our even knowing it. The author was diagnosed with cancer at age 36, and found herself facing the fact that the medical field has surprisingly few answers to many of the life-changing questions that face someone in that situation. 

Take decisions about treatment for example. This woman had to make a decision where, if she was wrong, the results would have been either needless surgical alteration or death, and if she was right (at best) she would still have parts of her body removed and live to tell the tale, but it would be with no help from her doctor, who essentially gave her a coin to toss. Any one of us in her position would obsess about questions like that, mind racing with the consequences of every possible outcome and the likelihood of each one. Given the enormity of the stress induced from having to make these decisions, it would be the most natural thing in the world for her to take these concerns with her into the Subtle Realm when she falls asleep.

The TLDR from the article is that a woman with cancer used her dreams to formulate a course of treatment and healing in the face of uncertainty presented by the doctors who weren't able to provide any answers. As it turned out, she was successful at minimizing the surgical procedures and eventually beat the cancer. While this is remarkable, and is certainly worth further scrutiny (and will be further explored later in this article) I want to focus on a particular term the author uses to describe her experience with dreams, along with the inevitable attendant mindset that necessarily follows the use of the term.

The author says, "I’m a deeply practical person. I grew up in a Scots family of farmers, coal miners, construction workers and veterinarians. I finished college one class short of a biology degree. I understand the importance of common sense and double-blind scientific studies, but at the same time, I believe that occasionally a little bit of woo-woo can’t hurt."

She is careful to point out to the reader that she comes from an educated family. Not only is she educated herself, but she comes from a long line of people whose very livelihoods depended upon science. She is saying, in essence, I am not one of those people. One is left to oneself to think about who those people are. The uneducated? Someone who doesn't understand science? A "new ager" who wants to sell crystals at a ski resort and talk about good vibes? We can be sure that no matter what the image is that comes up in folks' imaginations, it will be of a person who leaves some characteristics to be desired. 

So she is trying to establish some credibility with the reader. She doesn't wear headbands and bell-bottom jeans. She understands common sense and scientific methodology. But at the same time..."a little bit of woo-woo can't hurt".

"At the same time", a phrase that gives truth to the mindset I mentioned above where if there is something science cannot explain then it must not exist. And if it's admitted that it does exist, it exists only within the brain of the person who has had the experience. So when the author says, "at the same time", she implies that science and the things science cannot explain cannot exist at the same time, and therefore only science exists and not those other things. And those other things - those are 'woo-woo'.

Woo-woo. Pseudo-science. Garbage. Ignorance and superstition. Mental dross. Your overactive imagination. Get over yourself. You've gone around the bend since obviously you are forgetting about science. 

We all understand that all of the above do exist. Charlatans and fraudsters have made fortunes on that which we cannot see, yet desperately want to believe. The widely accepted stereotypes around pseudo-science and snake oil salesmen - which are inarguably deserved - only serve to further veil the subject in the fear of the shame of being fooled. After all, what self-respecting scientist would put forward a theory that might subject them to ridicule by their fellow scientists? Such things could have career-ending consequences for some. Self-centered human priorities such as money, status, and ego probably do more to hinder scientific discoveries than we will ever know.

In light of these things, can one be a scientist and be open to the idea that there may be things in the world that we don't understand scientifically yet - and study them using the scientific method? 

One can imagine how insane television sounded to anyone not in the inner circle of innovation around that technology - the woo-woo of its day. Today, of course, the transport of video around the world on devices a thousand times as complicated as a television is taken for granted...

The prevailing attitude in the scientific community is the basis for this paradigm of science versus woo-woo. It is an antagonistic relationship, and so the subject of unexplainable human experience goes unstudied, and science remains dormant. And even though the subject of Subtle Realm experiences has not been explored, science is ready to dismiss it as non-existent or imagined. And in this vacuum, the 'pinnacle' of modern science is currently putting guns on robot dogs powered by AI. 

Many, many books have been written about scientifically unexplainable experiences. The people who share these stories are people from all walks of life - all races, all belief systems, all economic situations. The vast majority of these people would have nothing to gain by making up a story to tell, and the funny thing is, one has to think that some of them did have something to lose in doing so. For example, the author of the article has something to lose - her credibility in the eyes of both her family and the public at large are at risk, considering the article is published on the internet. What would they think of her victory in her battle against cancer if they didn't understand that she has common sense and understands the importance of double-blind scientific studies? 

Given the fact that this woman beat cancer by listening to and correctly interpreting her dreams, why is science not clamoring to study this same phenomenon in other patients? Why wouldn't we want the same therapeutics and benefits for the rest of human kind? Sadly, right now it's easier and more profitable to hand a gun to a robot than to explore our own innate ability to heal ourselves.

Robert Monroe had countless out-of-body experiences throughout his lifetime. In this, his first book, he takes us through the early days of the discovery, development, and maturation of his special talent.

In the beginning, he worried a great deal about whether something was wrong with him or not. He sought hard to find an explanation as to what was happening to him. Wherever he looked, however, it always seemed that people had more questions than answers. Eventually he came to accept that he was, for the most part, on his own to explore, discover, and document these unusual experiences that he was having.  

On the back cover, the book promises to be a scientific and objective report of out-of-body/subtle-world experiences. Despite that promise, I found there too be too many opinions and overly imaginative interpretations of the facts. More on that later, but for now, let’s talk about how Monroe maps out the landscape of the area we inhabit when out of body.

The body we inhabit when outside of our physical body, he calls the “second body”. That is what we call here the “subtle body” and what has been called “astral body” in other literature. Once in the “second body”, there are 3 main regions it may travel to:

1. “Locale I” – A.K.A. the “here-now”. This is essentially the physical plane. All the things, people, and places one sees here are actual existing items in the physical world. Monroe recounts several experiences in which he traveled to different physical places while in his subtle body and then successfully relating events that took place there with astonishing accuracy.
2. “Locale II” – As best I can tell, this is what he calls the subtle realm. He says that its most defining feature is its likeness and responsiveness to thought: “Superceding all appears to be one prime law. Locale II is a state of being where that which we label thought is the wellspring of existence. It is the vital creative force that produces energy, assembles “matter” into form, and provides channels of perception and communication … As you think, so you are.” (p. 74) And he continues, “’Mere’ thought is the force that supplies any need or desire, and what you think is the matrix of your action, situation, and position in this greater reality … Like attracts like … Your destination seems to be grounded completely within the framework of your innermost constant motivations, emotions, and desires.” (p. 74-75)
3. “Locale III” – This is where things get a little kooky. Monroe’s thesis on “Locale III” is the main reason for me giving this book a 2-star rating. The characteristics he ascribes to do not even remotely resemble anything we’ve read on our extensive “references” page. As far as we can tell he is the only one to assert that in this section of the subtle realm is a “reverse image” reality in which we all have “doubles”, or doppelgangers, living out their own lives in an entirely different alternate reality. When he visits there, he “pops” into the body of his “double” and takes control of it, often at inopportune times for his double, like arguments with his spouse, for example. Monroe says he “popped” into his double’s body, and not knowing why he and his spouse were fighting in the first place, simply returned blank stares and looks of discomfort and confusion. Monroe laments that he caused his double much trouble and anguish for these intrusions into his life. His double eventually divorced and led a solitary, lonely life. Personally, I believe this is a completely fabricated illusion.

In addition to the weirdness of his “Locale III” fantasy, he had a few other oddball interpretations of his experiences in the book that also don’t align with anything else we’ve read and reviewed here at subtlerealm.org. One of which is his description of what “God” is like in Locale II. It one of the was strangest things I have ever heard and it was not something that was even close in resembling anything I’ve come across in any of my other readings.

This book can be very misleading for beginners. One should read this book with great care, finely discriminating between what Monroe actually experienced and his interpretations of those experiences.

It is worth pointing out that, as he himself writes, his experiences began at the same time he had suffered from a mild coronary and when he was under the influence of drugs. This suggests physical and mental imbalance.

Notwithstanding the many oddities, there is still a lot of value in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his many different experiences and experiments and the need to address and resolve one’s emotional challenges before it is possible to make much progress in the subtle realm. He also gives many tips on how to develop this talent whin oneself. His telling of the stages he went through as his talent developed was most valuable.

In conclusion, while I don’t doubt Robert Monroe regularly and consistently left his physical body and explored the subtle realm in his subtle body, his book contains too many opinions dressed up as facts and this could severely mislead people who are just starting to learn about existence out of the physical body. I was lucky to have read this book after reading several other books about this topic before picking this one up. I suggest beginners do the same.

This book is considered by many to be one of the best available guidebooks on how to astral project. Muldoon wrote this book because he saw a real lack of a “how-to” guide from the literature of his day (1929). In the preface he writes, “I am optimistic enough to believe that no one can give the methods which I have outlined a conscientious and thorough trial, and not obtain results.” I can vouch for the veracity of that statement.

The book is about 50% method and 50% background and contextual information. The informational sections of the book include: accounts of several of his own experiences, brief surveys of the relevant literature of his day, descriptions of the trajectory of the withdrawing astral body, attempts at explaining some paranormal phenomena, and reporting on his investigations into the “astral cord” that binds the astral and physical bodies together.

The essence of Muldoon’s formula for producing an astral projection is:

1. Incapacitation of the physical body
2. Intense stress of the mind

In other words, you must desire something so intently that when you are asleep and remember the thing in your dream, the will to get up and go get the thing is overwhelming and overpowering. At the same time, the physical body must be so quiescent and subdued that it is essentially unresponsive to the mind’s will. When these two things are generated together, then what moves up and out of bed is not the physical, but the astral body. This showed me that even biological needs could be used for the driving force of desire in producing out of body projections.

He suggests an experiment with thirst. I followed his instructions one night and went to bed thirsty and after having ate some salty snacks. Exactly what he said would happen did happen: I found myself in my astral body at my sink trying, and failing, to turn it on to get some water to drink.

The most solid piece of advice I found in this whole book was the following:

                “Develop a strong habit of the study of astral projection, make a routine of the practice of the art, desire the ability to project in your astral body so strongly that your mind is dominated by ‘astral projection.’ Induce complete passivity of the physical body, and ‘rise’ to sleep, visualizing the route the phantom (astral body) invariably takes, on projecting. That is the way to project at will.”

I did exactly this for a while and the result were incredible.

I was reading this book every chance I got, soaking it all in and thinking about it deeply and intently. For a few nights in a row I tried out the method of visualizing and feeling myself floating up and out of my body. A few days later I read the section on “incapacitating” the physical body and combined it with the visualizing and feeling. The results were startling that night.

At first, I was dreaming, and because what was happening in my dream was so absurd (I’ll spare you the details), I suddenly became fully aware that I was in a dream. I was fully conscious, as conscious as I am right now, writing this review. Once “awake” in my dream, I got excited and asked myself, “Well, what should I do now?” My answer came quickly: “Meditate!” So, I began to meditate. I quickly entered the “vibrational” or “hypnagogic” state and remained collected and relaxed, enjoying the sensations and welcoming them to spread throughout my body. After about 30 seconds, it suddenly struck me: it’s time! And with all my will, I rolled out of my bed and landed on the floor. I stood up and looked around. At first, I thought I was in my physical body, but after a few seconds, I realized I had done it! I was standing next to my bed in my astral body, completely conscious and aware. I couldn’t hold that awareness for long, however, and quickly slipped back into dream state. But, as many people who have experienced astral projections say, I have absolutely no doubt about what I experienced. The methods in this book really work.

I found that there were many things in this book that I hadn’t read anywhere else. For instance, with great depth and detail, the author discusses the working dynamics of the “astral cord”. In his experience, the cord is responsible for passing vitality to the physical body when the astral is “out” and connects the two by attaching to the pituitary gland of each. (Of personal note, during the time I was reading this section, I had a very vivid dream where I looked down and saw a silvery, thin, and brittle line emerging from my solar plexus and disappearing into the distance ahead of me). He then introduces the concept of “cord-activity range”. This is a range of about 15 feet. When the astral body has left the physical, but remains within cord-activity range, the cord is quite thick (as thick as a silver dollar) and exerts a great deal of influence over the astral body. The cord can shift the astral body around, move it back up over the physical body, and sometimes rapidly pull it back into the physical body. It is important for an astral traveler to get outside this cord-activity range as quickly as possible. Once outside this range, the cord becomes much thinner and has much less influence over the movements of the astral body. The projector is then “free”. As long as this cord remains intact, the astral will always return to the physical body -one need not worry. “Death” results when this astral cable is severed or broken for good. In that case, the astral body becomes entirely free from the physical body and the person cannot return to it even if he/she wanted to.

Another new concept I encountered in this book is the idea that the energy we derive from food is not as crucially important as we westerners think it is. In fact, according to Muldoon’s research, food is mostly used as raw building material for the construction and maintenance of our physical bodies. The bulk of the energy used in animating our bodies and minds is accumulated from the space around us by our astral bodies when we are exteriorized from our physical, whether we are aware of being exteriorized or not. Furthermore, fasting promotes astral projection because the body becomes deprived of one source of energy (food), so it must compensate by ejecting the astral body in order to accumulate more of the “cosmic” energy from the surrounding space. Yogis and mystics from the east have been known to go with little or no food for months, or even years.

One thing that could have been better was if he had ended the book before he began writing about the “crypto-conscious mind”. It becomes clear after a few pages that he is using this as an umbrella term under which to categorize all the dynamics of projection and the subtle world he does not yet understand.

In closing, this book provides a lot of good material, advice, and instructions for helping you induce astral projections in your daily life. Despite its minor peculiarities, this book is very much worth a read for anybody that wants to get serious about astral projection.