F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

Mind

The Monroe Institute

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We Are More Than Our Bodies. By Luigi Schiavonetti (†1810).Tvwatch at de.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons.
We Are More Than Our Bodies. By Luigi Schiavonetti (†1810).Tvwatch at de.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons.
I learned about The Monroe Institute (TMI) long ago, and am not sure if it was through Jane Roberts and Rob Butts’ exploration into the nature of consciousness or from Robert Monroe’s original book, Journeys Out of the Body, published in 1971. But as I read about the world of remote viewing, I discovered that it had also been part of the remote viewing world. TMI is situated near Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, and is, according to their website, “...a non-profit research and educational organization dedicated to enhancing the uses and understanding of human consciousness.” They claim no religious, philosophical, nor spiritual affiliations. Further, they state: “We ask only that you consider the possibility that you are more than your physical body.”

TMI is about exploring human consciousness. It’s about expanding what we think we know about consciousness, life, and death. Anyone who can afford the time away and fee for attendances can go and learn how to tune into the inner world, through various programs and the incorporation of cutting edge audio technical wizardry (e.g., Hemi-Sync, Spatial Angle Modulation). I’ve purchased some of the home-use material, over the years, and have loved what I’ve used. Really cool stuff. I’ve been meditating off and on since kidhood, and have read metaphysical works since same, so none of this was new to me, but I loved how Mr. Monroe, like Jane and Rob, had brought the inner world out into the mainstream. There will always be people out there to dismiss and stomp on anything, no matter the “proof” that exists, and one person’s proof is another’s myth, but I learn from experience. What I learn may not be what you learn…but there is certainly much to be learned from TMI’s (and others’) experiences.

We all have our paths to follow.

So…as my fiction writer’s mind went to work (back in the late 90’s and early 2000s) and I considered probabilities, alternate realities, JFK, psychic “mechanics,” and my next writing project, I thought, man, I’d love to write something about remote viewing and this TMI stuff. Psychic is the result of those musings. Psychic is not Sleepwalkers, but the two are related. Psychic is darker, grittier. In my novel, I created “The Center,” which is a mash-up of TMI and Fort Meade, where the government’s remote viewing projects were located. The Center is a might darker than TMI. TMI is nothing like my novel. I’ve never been to TMI. I like what it’s about, and hope for more of that kind of research to flourish and make itself known. So much good can come from that kind of exploration, spread across the globe without the guise or filters of “religious, philosophical, nor spiritual affiliations.” In my humblest of opinions, we need more non-denominational explorations into the nature of consciousness. People can and will apply that knowledge through their various personal filters, and that is as it should be, but we need to know the lowest common denominators of what it is consciousness is all about. What we make of it, how we employ that knowledge is up to us.

But, hey, let’s make the world a better place with it.

Related articles

Inspiration

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A friend of mine and I were discussing writerly inspiration, when I got inspired to “pen” this post.

What is it and where does it come from?

Can you force it?

Hey, maaan, got any techniques to maximize its potential?

I may be a bit too hardline in my way of thinking, but I really feel that each of us are built to do certain things. Sure, we can change our direction[s], and that can get heavy into metaphysics (which I do get into, below), but as to “teaching” others how to be inspired…well, all I got is that you “simply” need to allow yourself to be aware of your own, unique, whispers.

That’s it. No secret handshakes, no intricate nor arcane protocols.

Tell yourself you allow yourself to be inspired. Go on, do it now. Out loud. Mean it.

People—it seems to me—are always looking outside themselves to find themselves. Trying to unnecessarily complicate matters.

All we are is within us.

All you need to know is already within you and me. We simply have to become aware of who we are, and to do that we need to listen to our inner voices (my standard disclaimer of mental aberrations and crazed ax-murderer inclinations NOTwithstanding…).

You already know who you are.

You do, I bet you do.

You may be afraid to admit it, you may be obfuscating it with other issues, but deep down, it’s all there. Sometimes we have to dig through all kinds of other “stuff” first, and that is something some need to do. There’s a reason for that, and you have to find it, discover your own answers—no one else can do that for you. Techniques for that are abundant, but it again comes down to listening to yourself, your thoughts, your dreams, how you deal with the world…ask yourself questions and allow the answers to come in whatever form they choose to reveal themselves to you in. A TV show, a dream, a phrase on a roadside sign.

Now, the flipside to that—for creative types—is, well, okay, I know who I am, yeah, I’m cool with that, but I seem to have issues expressing it. Please, to help me, Kind Sir!

See above there are no secret handshakes, no intricate nor arcane protocols.

We all have daily inspiration. It’s unavoidable. The problem might appear to be that you are not experiencing what you feel inspiration should be.

The problem may be that you got inspired to write a book, paint an acrylic, and now, nothing else is coming forthwith.

This is what I have to say, and you may not like it, and where my hardcore view comes into play.

You may not a writer nor a painter be.

You may have experienced a bout of said, you may have been inspired to do a single or handful of singular creative acts, for whatever reason your inner self needed that expression, but you may not be a writer. May not be a painter.

And there’s nothing wrong with that!

You may be a reader…may be a viewer…an illustrator, a coder, a cover artist. A cop.

And—getting totally metaphysical on your collective asses—I feel this is the case because you may be very well already be said writer or painter in another life…another existence…but in this existence, you’re experiencing the other side of the coin.

Life is far too complex, too rich to be limited to one single, expendable existence. It’s far too limiting a concept, so I believe we have to live other, simultaneous existences…where all our other existences interact…bleeding through talents, and, yes, inspiration…to all of our other existences.

And what is inspiration?

From Merriam-Webster, it’s “something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create: a force or influence that inspires someone.”

Where does it come from?

It comes from the nonphysical realms of which the mind is a part. And that gets into individual beliefs. But, for me it comes from the playgrounds of the soul. I look at the brain as the medium, the means of intersection between the physical body and the nonphysical mind. I do not see the mind so much as resident within the brain, but Venn diagrammed with it. Accessed through the brain. And as such, our mind has access to a wondrous and neverending array of concepts we simply cannot even begin to imagine…but try to! We have such wondrous access. And since our beliefs drive our lives, and since beliefs are nonphysical, part of our mind, if we don’t believe we can do something or don’t believe we have access to something, anything nonphysical will be so hindered. Our beliefs are the keys to our lives…our thoughts.

So, “forcing” inspiration? See above.

Additionally, what if some inspiration is a thought or a feeling from one of your other selves? One of your other selves’s actual experiences?

Inspiration.

Now, for just a minute, play a little gedankenexperiment. Try to imaging that the life you’re living now is not the prime, only life…but that this life is a probable life to another you, somewhere else…bemoaning their existence and wondering what the hell you’re doing…that they could actually be you.

Wicked freaky, huh?

And, admit it, as belief systems go, wouldn’t you rather that kind of universe exist over one that says you have but one—and only one—life to live? Wouldn’t it take the pressure off having to do one and only one thing? Doesn’t it leave a bit of breathing room, my friends?

Doesn’t it put an entirely different spin on a lot of questions? A lot of angst?

People may use Tarot cards, chicken bones, scrying, handheld pendulums, or whatever to “deliver” inspiration, and that’s fine, it’s okay, it’s part of who they are…and you can go ahead and try them. But, I say, and truly mean this, because I really do care about people, listen to yourselves. Discover what makes you tick and just be yourself. As for writer’s block, that is usually not so much a lack of inspiration, but (in my humble opinion) an obfuscation of inspiration. Something is blocking your methods and I feel it’s usually stress or some other issue that needs resolution before you can move forward. Sometimes you just need to stop and take stock, but I feel the correction to “writer’s block” is as varied as—and directly related to—the causes, rather than just listing out a series of “steps” to follow. Again, listening to your inner self can only help.

And if you’re not a writer, have no more writerly inspiration in you, that’s okay. Write out your one or two books and be good with it, if no more ever comes to you…or doesn’t manifest itself for years to come. Enjoy your life and who you are. Move on.

We need readers, too.