Heathen book review: Journeys Out of the Body by Robert Monroe

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This one is a little different from previous ones I've done. It has nothing overtly to do with pagan spirituality or myth. However, as it's a cosmological work that's non-conforming, I think it safely falls into the broad category of "heathen." Other books I've started recently (some of which I intend to check out again and finish) are similar in this regard.

Journeys, published 1971, is one man's account of his extensive out of body experiences and his reflections on the cosmos in light of these experiences.

Monroe maintains he was able to effectively separate a "Second Body" from his physical one during sleep, with no loss in consciousness between states. This continuity, as far as I can tell, is what separates his experiences from dreaming, as he is able to "stay local" in the physical world around him, travelling to observe acquaintances (who can later corroborate what he is able to see) or places he otherwise wouldn't ordinarily be able to.

Second body movement in his accounts is a kind of thought travel, where great distances can be crossed by willing himself toward a person. The seeing that takes place in his out of body accounts is not literal seeing, but rather intuiting. So in his notes of his travels, he frequently misunderstands the experience as his mind will substitute the closest thing that makes sense to something not understood. For example, in one daytime out of body experience he is confused when he sees his friends playing with large white cards around a table that has dishes on it -- in the later corroboration it turns out they had passed out mail at the table and were looking through their letters.

Moving beyond the "Here, now" as he refers to the physical world, Monroe describes more exotic locales, as well as encounters with subhuman, humanoid, and superhuman creatures -- notably 'goblins' that insist on trying to climb onto his back and a demonlike creature that sometimes attacked him. One of these more exotic locales, which he calls Locale II, is a kind of thought -manifested world in which he believe most remembered dreams take place. He also has several accounts of premonitions, some of which have manifested in recognizable ways and others which haven't.

There is no way to verify whether Monroe's accounts are not extremely cherry-picked or outright falsehoods. To his credit, he is fairly open about the lack of falsifiability of his accounts and the challenge that creates for a skeptical person to believe him.

What's most interesting about the book is the section of it dedicated to some practical tips on how to achieve an out of body experience and the state of consciousness leading up to it. It seems fairly hard to do, but worth it for me to start exploring. Even if these Second Body experiences Monroe describes are nothing more than lucid dreams, they are fairly interesting.

Monroe describes a deep psychological fear of leaving the body -- likened to the fear of death -- which is a convenient opportunity to tie this back to the heathen element. From what I've read of Proto-Indo-European shamanic traditions, there is a strong connection between "seeing" and death, with shamans undergoing a supposed 'spiritual death' as the means of purchasing their other sight. In the germanic tradition, Odin -- frequently a diviner in his search for wisdom -- hangs himself to discover the runes, calls up the dead to learn of Ragnarok, and travel's to the realm of death to investigate Baldr's dreams. So there seems to be an analog between the experiences described in this book and older, traditional accounts, even if it's not clear whether this is conscious or inadvertent.

Overall: Worth a read. Monroe has written two other books as well. There is an organization that survives him: https://www.monroeinstitute.org/ -- I haven't looked into this very deeply but not surprisingly they are looking for money so I have some reservations.

It's been a while since I've done one of these. And the reason is it's been a while since I've finished a book. It's been a busy spring/summer and most of the books I've checked out have been due back before I've had time to finish them. This one is a little different from previous ones I've done. It has nothing overtly to do with pagan spirituality or myth. However, as it's a cosmological work that's non-conforming, I think it safely falls into the broad category of "heathen." Other books I've started recently (some of which I intend to check out again and finish) are similar in this regard. --------- Journeys, published 1971, is one man's account of his extensive out of body experiences and his reflections on the cosmos in light of these experiences. Monroe maintains he was able to effectively separate a "Second Body" from his physical one during sleep, with no loss in consciousness between states. This continuity, as far as I can tell, is what separates his experiences from dreaming, as he is able to "stay local" in the physical world around him, travelling to observe acquaintances (who can later corroborate what he is able to see) or places he otherwise wouldn't ordinarily be able to. Second body movement in his accounts is a kind of thought travel, where great distances can be crossed by willing himself toward a person. The seeing that takes place in his out of body accounts is not literal seeing, but rather intuiting. So in his notes of his travels, he frequently misunderstands the experience as his mind will substitute the closest thing that makes sense to something not understood. For example, in one daytime out of body experience he is confused when he sees his friends playing with large white cards around a table that has dishes on it -- in the later corroboration it turns out they had passed out mail at the table and were looking through their letters. Moving beyond the "Here, now" as he refers to the physical world, Monroe describes more exotic locales, as well as encounters with subhuman, humanoid, and superhuman creatures -- notably 'goblins' that insist on trying to climb onto his back and a demonlike creature that sometimes attacked him. One of these more exotic locales, which he calls Locale II, is a kind of thought -manifested world in which he believe most remembered dreams take place. He also has several accounts of premonitions, some of which have manifested in recognizable ways and others which haven't. There is no way to verify whether Monroe's accounts are not extremely cherry-picked or outright falsehoods. To his credit, he is fairly open about the lack of falsifiability of his accounts and the challenge that creates for a skeptical person to believe him. What's most interesting about the book is the section of it dedicated to some practical tips on how to achieve an out of body experience and the state of consciousness leading up to it. It seems fairly hard to do, but worth it for me to start exploring. Even if these Second Body experiences Monroe describes are nothing more than lucid dreams, they are fairly interesting. Monroe describes a deep psychological fear of leaving the body -- likened to the fear of death -- which is a convenient opportunity to tie this back to the heathen element. From what I've read of Proto-Indo-European shamanic traditions, there is a strong connection between "seeing" and death, with shamans undergoing a supposed 'spiritual death' as the means of purchasing their other sight. In the germanic tradition, Odin -- frequently a diviner in his search for wisdom -- hangs himself to discover the runes, calls up the dead to learn of Ragnarok, and travel's to the realm of death to investigate Baldr's dreams. So there seems to be an analog between the experiences described in this book and older, traditional accounts, even if it's not clear whether this is conscious or inadvertent. Overall: Worth a read. Monroe has written two other books as well. There is an organization that survives him: https://www.monroeinstitute.org/ -- I haven't looked into this very deeply but not surprisingly they are looking for money so I have some reservations.

[–] • 2 pts

I wish I had a better comment than good post man, but this was a good read I might even check out the book.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

It is a good book. I've read dozens of books on spirituality and it's variations, including satanic religous books like the Quran. This one was pretty good.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

One can also presume that the people that have out of body experiences are simply intuiting what happens based on what they already know the events leading up to what they "saw". Or not.

[–] • 1 pt

Yes, this is another source for skepticism. Monroe does attempt to point out when what he sees couldn't have been known to him beforehand, for what it's worth. But again, it's another person's story and without independent verification you just don't know.

[–] • 0 pt

From your comment, I feel safe in presuming you have never had an OBE.

Enjoyed reading your post.

For a while I was interested in out of body experiences, made a few efforts to have them. I have lucid dreams occasionally, can't say often. Maybe five in my life of less than four decades? My favorite one I was able to fly and breathe under water, had super fast movement speed. I don't think I can top that one.

The mentioning of accepting a "spiritual death" creepily aligns with some things a very devout christian was telling me in regards to trying to do the out of body experiences. Right down to the extra creatures latching on to you. I've also heard people say that about tripping on psychedelics.

I suppose I will never know, because I'm not willing to allow a spiritual death. And it's not for fear of it so much as not understanding the repercussions. I'm not so much a control freak as a cautious experimenter. How about you?

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