Summer/Fall 2004
by Laurie A. Monroe

This advertising phrase is familiar to most of us. Perhaps when we hear it we visualize the little guy, phone to ear, walking around in different locations, some of them absurd, asking, "Can you hear me now?" It's possible that those who have passed on from this physical journey are asking us the same question, especially if they desired to prove the survival of consciousness after death. If our intention is to listen, are we receiving the messages? Many of us ignore the messages because they usually don't come in the form of words. However, the practice of awareness, love, and forgiveness assists us to be in sympathetic resonance with new and higher frequencies and to "hear" their messages.

In my decade at TMI, I have been the observer, the participant, and the cocreator of where we are today. Many people ask me if I am in communication with my father. It is always an interesting question that leads me to wonder what they mean by communication. By my definition, communication in the nonphysical realms is not the same as it is in the physical. I feel that I am periodically in resonance with the frequency level my father visits from time to time, a level that some of you may call Focus™ 27. Many times we connect beyond that level, which I perceive as a much higher vibration. Everyone is capable of communicating with one who has died, but doing so is always a choice for both participants.
Many good friends have passed in the last ten years. My father decided to change residences on March 17, 1995, followed closely by Ed Carter, a close friend and supporter of TMI. From 1998 through 2001, Dave Wallis, revered friend and employee of TMI, Jim Greene, a precious friend and supporter who cocreated the POSITIVE IMMUNITY PROGRAM, Martin Warren, brilliant mind and early Explorer monitor in the lab, and my beloved mother made their transitions. Inspiring friend and colleague Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the author of many books, notably On Death and Dying, and cocreator-with Bob Monroe-of the GOING HOME® series, and Wink Franklin, former president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), who was devoted to a vision of human evolution and the manifestation of higher consciousness, left this physical life in 2004.

My sister, Maria Monroe Whitehead, wrote the following description of after-death communication a year after our mother died:

"It had been a nice Saturday . . . a cool, crisp harbinger of fall. I had just returned from the LIFELINE program at The Monroe Institute® and I was deeply grateful that our home, which had been directly in the path of Hurricane Floyd, had been spared the wrath. My sister, Laurie, was down for the weekend and we had spent most of the day planting shrubbery in memory of our mother, who had made her transition last December. It seemed an appropriate time to remember her because it was her birthday, September 18.

At sunset I decided to take my usual walk. I was feeling particularly good because my sister was visiting, my husband was returning from a business trip that evening, and I was still rather euphoric from the LIFELINE. As I was contemplating all of the good things the Universe had bestowed on me, I approached a cornfield and noticed a rainbow, or at least part of one. I turned full-circle to find the remaining arc and noticed it appeared as if the rainbow was a parenthesis around the setting sun. I wondered what kind of cloud formation would cause this and then noticed a huge cloud in the shape of an angel with wings extended. I searched for the face and was amazed to see the exact likeness of my mother! I stopped dead in my tracks and stared incredulously for a moment before running the two miles home to tell Laurie.
In retrospect, I interpret this as a beautifully orchestrated form of communication. My mother was a brilliant artist, and I was fortunate to have inherited her talent. I can't think of a better way to attract another artist's attention than by displaying a beautiful rainbow of color. What could be more 'celestial' than to paint one's own portrait with the clouds?"

As Elton John says in his newest song, "Sometimes we find an answer in the sky."

Then there was my own recent experience following the passing of Wink Franklin. I went to sleep with the intent of contacting Wink. I thought since he was "new" over there, he could give me some valuable information to share in this article. I moved to Focus 27 and was guided to an unfamiliar area. Slowly Wink's "head" came into my vision. A white light resembling that seen in professional portraits surrounded him. He told me to remember the "Noetic Bet" (especially his part of it) and to remember the feeling I had the last time we met. He simply smiled and faded away. I woke up immediately and wrote down what I remembered.

The next morning, I immediately thought about the "Noetic Bet." I was sure I'd heard of it but couldn't remember the particulars. I did remember the feeling of love and gratitude I had after one of Wink's talks while giving him a hug. A part of his talk had resonated with me in a special way. He had spoken of sometimes feeling constrained about expressing his own personal views. As president of IONS, he felt it was difficult for people to separate his own views from his role as president. I understood that feeling, and hearing his words somehow gave me a sense of release.
Later I found the tape of Wink's talk at the 2003 IONS conference, "Awakening a Global Vision: Collective Wisdom and Spiritual Activism," held in Palm Springs, California. Its message turned out to be far more important than whether or not I had actually "contacted" Wink. After listening to the tape, I understood the meaning of his guidance. He had talked of the emergence of a global vision that would move humanity to the future. The "Noetic Bet" is a bet against the currently dominant paradigm. It contains "core noetic hypotheses" that assert (1) "Reality is more than merely physical"; (2) "Everything and everyone are interconnected"; and (3) "We are participants in our own evolution."

Then he had added "Wink's addendum," his personal expression: (4) "There is a divine plan or a divine evolution that is evolving all the time. There is a purpose, a direction, a divine order we are moving toward, both as humans and as a planet"; (5) "We can know that plan, but not all of it because it is not complete. It is still evolving, but we can get glimpses of it"; and (6) "In knowing that plan, Science, Spirituality and Personal Experience are windows in. The major virtues, truth, beauty and goodness, are windows into that plan."

He spoke about a convergence of science and spirit in action and that a Global Vision based in values of spirituality leads to more justice and equity on a global level and of how important it was for us to have the courage to share deeply our inner journeys. When people share their personal stories of love and forgiveness, we enter into the subtle realms. The power and effectiveness come from going deep. The primary benefit is that through inner work, we get clarity. Clarity gives us glimpses into the divine plan.

In the process of writing this article, I have gained greater clarity about the importance of TMI. We have created a safe place where people open to each other and share their innermost thoughts and experiences; in turn they gain glimpses into their part and purpose within the evolving divine plan. Through the energy of unlimited love within the subtle realms, we all can move to a future that is compassionate, just, and builds on the insights and legacies of these departed souls mentioned above, as well as all of you who so generously support the work of TMI.
It seems to me that the following quote from ULTIMATE JOURNEY is a perfect summation:

There is no beginning, there is no end,
There is only change.
There is no teacher, there is no student,
There is only remembering.
There is no good, there is no evil,
There is only expression.
There is no union, there is no sharing,
There is only one.
There is no joy, there is no sadness,

There is only love.
There is no greater, there is no lesser,
There is only balance.
There is no stasis, there is no entropy,
There is only motion.
There is no wakefulness, there is no sleep,
There is only being.
There is no limit, there is no chance,
There is only a plan.
WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW!!

© 2004 by The Monroe Institute