If Bob were still alive, he would be 104 years old on October 30, 2019.

I am honored to have worked with Bob Monroe when I was a trainer in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. It was inspiring to hear him regale Gateway Voyage participants—with incredible lucidity and pragmatism—about his discoveries in consciousness.

The gifts of a visionary

Bob was a visionary. He gave us locations in the nonphysical universe that were strange and otherworldly at the time. He gave us tools to explore those locations and make meaning of the things we discovered. And he gave us hope for more meaning and joy in our lives.

Beyond these gifts, his greatest contribution to humanity was his insatiable curiosity and commitment to innovation. He challenged us to keep looking, probing and asking, “What is possible?” His penchant for innovation flowed directly from that curiosity. He was constantly testing, adjusting and retesting. Today, we call that process “rapid iteration” or “agile development.” Back then, we called it Bob’s way.

Of all the ways we can explore expanded awareness, playfulness is the most effective.

There’s another aspect of Bob’s legacy that I deeply admire. His explorations have a sense of playfulness about them. Of all the ways we can explore expanded awareness, playfulness is the most effective. I think it’s one of the reasons people return for programs over and over. Not only do they have meaningful experiences, but they truly enjoy the process. That’s part of the magic of Monroe.

Catching up with the vision

Almost 50 years after Bob co-founded the Monroe Institute, we are still catching up with his vision. He charged us with going deeper and farther in our quest to understand the mysteries of the universe. And he encouraged us to constantly develop new programs and new ways to transform the lives of our participants.

That requires us to change—all while honoring Bob’s legacy. It’s a delicate balance. What do we mean by change? Making the participant experience more positive; leveraging online technology to make information and programs more accessible to global participants; updating exercises to resonate with media-savvy learners; being clearer about why we exist and what we do so more people can benefit from our work.    

If Bob were still alive, he would be 104 years old on October 30th. His birthday is a nice time to reflect on where we’ve been and where we are going. What aspects of Bob’s legacy do we carry forward? What’s next for Monroe? What is beyond his vision?

When we move into a Focus level, we are stepping into an energetic pathway of everyone else who’s ever been in that Focus level.

Fueling a culture of innovation

In my first seven months on the job, I’ve thought a lot about how to foster a culture of innovation that is worthy of Bob’s legacy. Innovation is in Monroe’s DNA. It deserves to be nurtured and supported.

There’s a palpable energy associated with innovation. I’m hoping that when people are on the Virginia campus, they sense it. It shows up in our food, our facilities, our programs, our staff, our trainers, the research we’re doing, and the updating of existing programs. This is a wonderful time to be at the Monroe Institute.

Entering the energetic pathway

Bob’s approach is supported by Monroe audio technologies, but that was never the whole story. Technology accelerates participants’ growth. The real magic is the participants themselves!

When we move into a Focus level, we are stepping into an energetic pathway of everyone else who’s ever been in that Focus level. It doesn’t matter if that happens when we’re online, at a bus stop or lying in bed. Portals exist everywhere. We are entering the morphogenetic field—the energetic pathways carved by all Monroe participants. That field, begun with Bob’s cosmology, is now so populated that it’s much easier to simply jump in and experience.

We are much larger and better resourced than at any time in our history. We have embraced a more collaborative leadership style. Best of all, we are tapping into the collective creativity ...

Shifting from next to best practices

What Bob envisioned as “next practices” have become “best practices” in teaching expanded awareness. We now know that if you are a willing participant, and you are listening to a Monroe exercise, you are “there.” The question changes from “Are you there?” to “What are you perceiving?” That single shift has altered the world’s awareness of what it means to be expanded. And it has heightened our participants’ feelings of success.

Bob often said, “Go and find out for yourself.” We are taking him at his word. Our pedagogy, our method and practice of teaching, are constantly evolving. So is the organization. We are much larger and better resourced than at any time in our history. We have embraced a more collaborative leadership style. Best of all, we are tapping into the collective creativity of staff, trainers, participants, board members and partners.  

Bob would have loved exploring all the new possibilities!

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