Just starting out with the Gateway Experience

I'm new to meditation / trancework and have been working for a year or so to find effective techniques to quiet my mind and meditate. This has been quite a challenge for me, as my mind doesn't like to quiet down or focus on just one thing, but it's work worth doing, eh ? I am envious of how quickly outofbodydude seems to be with mastering the series but I'm sure he has a lot of experience in that area.

At first I did not like the idea of the hemisync and Monroe's techniques as it seemed a bit too impersonal and sterile an approach... but after reading Maureen Caudill's amazing book, I've decided to give it a try... and it's really grown on me. The structure that I first shied away from, has come to be quite valuable. I look forward to making a trip to TMI as there's nothing quite like being in the environment itself.

After listening to all of Wave I, I've realized that I need to master focus 10 before I can move on to the other waves. I have stuck with "intro to Focus 10" for now, as it keeps things simple and sweet, without too much wandering. The energy conversion box and resonant tuning is plenty for me to digest now.

The interesting thing is that all of Wave I is extremely stimulating to my energy body though the exercises aren't necessarily directed at this kind of work at the time... I have intense body rushes while listening to the tracks.

I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere! Last night's session, I noticed that "closed in / someone's standing near me" feeling I associate with the trance state, and when my arm itched and I instinctively reached over to scratch it, I realized that my physical arm had stayed put and my "other" arm had reached over to do the job. :D This is the second time I've noticed that "doubling" effect with arms while doing these tracks. I think it's probably the first time I've noticed going directly into trance without clicking out first. This is a great balance so far... I'm used to falling too deeply into half-asleep states and seeing hypnagogic imagery without being ALERTLY awake at the time. This is some good progress... from when I started out and basically fell asleep, only to be startled each time Monroe spoke.

Again while I shied at the structure initially, now I like it because I can pinpoint the part in Intro to 10 where I fall asleep... always at the "count to 10 to achieve Focus 10" part. This is great as I can be aware of that shift and try to attain control over it. Lately this has meant slipping into a shaky trance rather than sleep. I like the feeling of making progress with something, rather than the "throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks" chaos I was kinda going through before.

I recommend this series for meditation newbies like me.

Another great session of Intro to Focus 10. I had a brief blip of remote viewing a piece of the nearby door (I call it remote viewing because it had a mind's eye "wandering eye / thoughts" quality to it vs. seeing the door in the RTZ/astral altered way)
Again with doubled arms. Energy rushes always. These are some great effects and progress in a short amount of commitment.

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throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks" chaos I was kinda going through before.

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I don't know...some of my greatest experiences have happened because I did this. Letting go of expectations can have great effects. Everybody's different, though. Some need more structure. I'm kind of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants person. :D

My problem is indeed that I need structure, because while it was great to try many different approaches.. my problem was that I wasn't STICKING with any of them. Spiritual progress takes work, commitment, time.. and I was just flying from notion to notion and never seeing them through. Patience is something I'm trying to learn... Rome wasn't built in a day. :D

I think a structured program is good for me til I learn some basics and then I can do more of that fun pasta throwing and pants seat flying!

Hello, stargazer, I can understand you very well.

I am, too, a friend of structured approaches, though I am rather sceptic at which to accept. It's another kind of sticks-to-the-wall approach - look which approach does it for you, and stick with that. Me, I looked into Monroe tapes, MAP & NEW work, Zen-style meditation, Taoist circulation training and now into Taoist Water Qigong. And that sticked.

Many ways lead to extra-ordinary experiences, and I think many of them can be combined. All of the afore-mentioned exercises sharpened my awareness of energy and the skill in directing it. All lead to experiences out of the ordinary for me.

Now that I found what is good for me as the baseline to follow, I again get hungry for other experiments, and Monroe experiments seem again attractive to me. They worked pretty well for me, and that is no small feat. I had no way to relax before, and am still learning to do so. Unlike other people, unlike many around here actually, I also seem to have no partially opened third eye, or good visual abilities. I have to rely on internal feeling and not filtering out the whisper of intuition, but it worked for me as well.

So I hope Monroe tapes keep on having a good effect on you, and that your success rate will remain high. Mastering Focus 10 is the absolutely essential thing for all Monroe training, so try to get really intimate with it, because then the rest should be reasonably easy. It was really of great help for MAP as well, as I counted myself into trance by going Focus 10, and could trance for hours on end. So I simply assume you will succeed in due course. :)

Good luck,
Oliver

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but after reading Maureen Caudill's amazing book

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stargazer, are you aware that Maureen and Robert Bruce are doing a workshop together at the Monroe Institute soon? You can find the info on AD's home page and go to "workshops".

Tempest
Hehe actually I confess to having followed that train of thought in reverse... I read about the Robert / Maureen conference and read up on Maureen and then read her book, and I was so glad I did.. what an amazing book.

I'm hoping to make a visit to the Monroe Institute soon but I don't think that trip will happen this year... just a feeling, you know? In the meantime I'll work on Focus 10. Maybe Robert will do more workshops there in the future.

Korpo
Thanks so much sweetie for the encouragement... on the one hand I am impatient with slow progress, but on the most hand I realize that I would be terrified by too many dynamic, crazy changes and that it's simply best for me to take it slowly and to practice, practice, practice so that it becomes a part of my life and my thinking. I think that way I only take on what I am able to reasonably handle. So while it's exciting to anticipate being able to whirl around the cosmos, I'm trying to realize that I can only go as fast as I am able and that all good things will come in time... and that these basic skills are absolutely essential as a groundwork. People used to be so jealous of my musical skills and achievements and while I did have a bit of a knack at it, I wanted to tell them "You could do the same thing if you practiced hours a day, too!" :D