IONS Library

The Journey of Robert Monroe

From Out-of-Body Explorer to Consciousness Pioneer

by Ronald Russell

• Reviewed by The Editors on Sept. 1, 2007

  Robert Monroe is best known for his pioneering work on out-of-body experiences (OBEs), first unveiled in the seminal book Journeys Out of the Body, and then for his development of an audio technology called Hemi-Synch. What is less known about Monroe is the impact these experiences and this work had on his life, a story that leaps off the pages of this richly written biography. As a businessman, Monroe made his mark (and a small fortune) in radio and might have contented himself with an early retirement of creativity and leisure if it weren’t for an unexpected response to a series of physical seizures he had in the late 1950s—the experience of leaving his body. As he later wrote, “Gradually I became accustomed to this strange condition in my life.” Thus began his new journey, artfully chronicled by Russell, a longtime colleague and student of Monroe’s.

  Publisher:

  Review published in Shift magazine