Thoughts on the Gateway Method

[Traveler_2649]

I'm curious if anyone else has used the Gateway Method tapes.

They were crucial to my introduction to spirituality and my exploration of OBEs. My first OBE was partially induced through a combination of Yoga Nidra and following the Gateway Method. It was very brief, but it solidified my belief as a former skeptic that there is definitely more to our existence beyond the physical universe surrounding us.

As I progressed through the tapes, I felt less and less in terms of developing my Out of Body exploratory abilities. I got busy and distracted by daily life, and I made the mistake of trying to explore other methods to increase my abilities and possibly develop the skills to manually induce OBEs.

It got to the point where I stopped the tapes altogether, and I noticed recently that I had gotten back into all of the old bad habits that I had left behind when I started this journey of spirituality and exploration. This prompted me to get back to the basics, and I decided to refresh myself on the tapes from the beginning.

I started today, and I was not expecting the results I received.

I had to stop the tape on my first attempt because I heard my dogs barking and my daughter had woken from a nap. During this meditation, I followed the instructions and made a point to listen as though I was brand new to the tapes. At one point, I saw something. I was on a beach, looking at the ocean. I could hear the waves rolling up to the shores. A woman then appeared before me. She looked as though she had just come out of the ocean. She seemed to be in distress, and she was soaking wet. Her hair was long and dark, and was covering the sides of her face. She stood maybe 2-3 feet in front of me. She said nothing, but her mouth hung open. Her skin seemed pale, and her eyes a bit sunken. I didn't sense any malicious intention from her. She simply stood before me, breathing and looking into my eyes. I wasn't afraid, but I was caught off guard by her presence.

This was happening during the "Orientation" tape, where you are introduced to the very first step of reaching the meditative state that most Out of Body exploration is expected.

On my second attempt to listen to the tape in its entirety, I saw other things  throughout the progression of the tape. It was as though I was watching someone play a game similar to Age of Empires, where you progress through different periods of the civilizations of mankind. The "game" was in the very beginning where early man was divided into small groups of essentially cavemen. I saw them from above, in a third person perspective. It appeared as though I was seeing them on screen, like in the game. At one point, my field of vision shifted, as though I had turned my head. I realized that I hadn't been looking at a computer screen, I was looking through a window. To my right I saw a large computer console of sorts. It was maybe 12 feet tall, spanning from floor to ceiling. I saw numerous control panels on the large console. It was like the scene in The Truman Show where the director is observing Truman from above, but we were observing early man.

Again, this was all during the "Orientation" tape, where you are introduced to the basic concepts of The Gateway Method. I didn't see anything remotely close to any of this during my first time listening to the tapes, and I'm curious where this will take me.

I will continue this "refresher" course, but I was curious of anyone's thoughts or experiences with The Gateway Method.

[EscapeVelocity]

I bought and used the Gateway tapes back in 1995, the CD version in 2005, finally attending the course at Monroe in 2018.

The results and visuals you are experiencing indicate that you are in a much better  energetic position and place to benefit from them now. My advice is to continue as you are currently- you are getting results. Go with the flow is the rule, now. Repeat an exercise or move on as you see fit, trust yourself. Do two or three sessions a day or two back to back to see if results change or increase...if you can manage it in your day; otherwise just keep doing what you are doing.
If you get visuals or energy changes that differ from what you are expecting in a session, there is no problem in stopping the tape and just working the visuals/energy from where you are. A strict adherence to the Hemi-Sync is not necessary; you are doing most of the work yourself. After a few trips to Monroe, I learned I could sit up, turn the light on and take some short notes in the middle of a session and then slip right back in...heck, a few times I even went to the bathroom and was surprised at how easy it was to blend back into the exercise...so, don't be afraid to experiment. If the energy or visual seems to be taking you somewhere else, shut off the tape and focus on what you have.

[Traveler_2649]

I am really interested in the course at the institute, but the cost and time are a big obstacle right now, unfortunately.

What was the institute like? Did you have any profound experiences while you were there?

[Tak]

Hi Traveler, first of all, I want to congratulate you because I can see you're making some amazing progress, letting yourself go and getting completely involved in your practices. You've got great visualization skills and attention to detail - great! 

I used the Gateway tapes when I first started practicing over ten years ago, and I was blown away by the results. My only issue is that they're too short, and the speaker's voice (which isn't Monroe's, since they're in Spanish) brings me back too quickly. When I finally got into, it would pull me back out! That used to frustrate me so much. So, I decided to modify them and remove the ending, extending the binaural waves to between an hour and two hours. 

When I reach Focus 10, something happens... I lose awareness for a second and switch. When I regain it, I'm in the non-physical realm. It happens spontaneously, so I don't control how or where I go. Sometimes I have done the phase directly, but not so much.

Here are a few ones:

This one is from 10 year ago.
- I find myself floating and being carried by an invisible force through a dark stone tunnel. We come out through a hole, and I see myself in a medieval castle's vestibule, with a table and about 12 people in hoods and long dark violet robes around it. It looked intimidating at first, but then I realized they were welcoming and waiting for me... I fly over and they analyze me somehow. The force takes me back into another tunnel, and we head somewhere else. The speaker's voice brings me back .
I never knew what to make of this experience, but in the books I've recently read, it's described as the famous "Council." This happened over ten years ago, with the tape that follows Orientation, if I remember correctly. 

This ones are from the last year.
- I switch and find myself sitting in a waiting room with many people. I decide to get up because I see a glass door with a beautiful garden behind it (E27?) I want to enter there, but as I do so, a white light dazzles me, and I return to my body. I interpret it as having wanted to enter an area of a higher frequency than mine at that moment, and that made me return. Like an electric kick LOL.

- I switch and find myself in a garden, where children were playing around. Then I realize I'm just a point of consciousness, so I decide to merge with the wind and create swirls among the autumn leaves to make patterns and entertain the kids, who are happily playing alongside me. It was a blast! The speaker's voice brings me back  . 

- This was one of the most beautiful experiences, and it happened with wave #4... I switch and find myself immersed in white light, feeling like I'm floating on a calm river, even though everything is just energy. I feel an otherworldly sense of peace and joy. Suddenly, I feel myself being lifted up, and my body becomes a whirlwind, the peace and happiness are increasingly intense.... Until the speaker's voice brings me back .   

- I made the switch and was still lying on my bed, but in a deep hypnagogic state, seeing beautiful colored fractals, like crystals... Suddenly, I felt two hands tightly grabbing me by both arms, one on each side. This felt very physical and was quite shocking! I reminded myself not to be afraid, that they are probably my helpers. I told them, "It's time, get me out now!" and they pulled me out. I was left outside my body, but partially, sitting, still holding their hands. When I came out, I didn't see anyone. Then I rolled to the side of my bed and saw my room as it were ten years ago. I returned to my body.
All this left me with such an intense feeling of well-being that I stayed in bed enjoying it for a long time. 

The truth is that these tapes are promising, I really liked them, at least to start. Do you know the Monroe Institute's Hemi Sync Flow App? Besides the Gateway experience, there are hundreds of binaural wave meditations there that look interesting, of all kinds. If anyone has it and wants to give their opinion, it would be great. 
Not long ago, I discovered that there's a TMI in Spain (I am Spanish speaker). I have my best friends living there, and it's tempting to take a course if I'm going to visit them anyway.

Nice work, Traveler!

[Volgerle]

As coincidence has it (or not?) for this thread, I resumed the Gateway tapes a few weeks ago and am now at Wave II - 4.

I started this actually almost 15 years ago (early 2010) but then also switched to other methods and had stopped already at Wave I. I used the indirect WBTB projection method then only since with this one I project with success only - til today. 

I have problems with my jaw (CMD/TMD/TMJ or so) and so I have a hard time lying down on my back meditating. This probably (iirc) is what kept me back from continuing then and makes me desperate at times now again when meditating etc. It keeps me from directly projecting (which is the Gatway method for me). Although I also had better sessions recently with a better jaw and less pain and distraction, at least I was in a meditative Focus 10 then, sometimes with hypnagogic imagery, but not more.

I asked for help for my jaw problem from my guides and the Healing Center in Focus 27 where I want to go to soon (I made an appointment, don't laugh, I'm serious with this    ) to solve it for good now. I want to continue this time with the tapes and increased practice, also at night with the WBTB method which yielded some good results recently after a longer dry period. I also do physiotherapy for my jaw and have a manual jaw trainer now (actually it's just like a kind of crown cork which stretches the open mouth, looks ridiculous... but could do some good work).

I have the Monroe 'tapes' all as mp3s on my player in a row and even got Wave 8 now where you go to Focus 27 (there's a longer one called 'free flow in F27 now which is quite new with a new voice of course). Wave I-VII are all the original tapes with Monroe's voice which I love, he was really good at this, so soothing.

Even if I cannot project directly with it I feel that it might still help me with meditation. I won't give up. It is still my dream to be able to project directly one day with binaural beats, meditation or even the Gateway method. But it's hard work for me.

[Volgerle]

Here is the one I downloaded from the Hemisync shop:

https://hemi-sync.com/product/free-flow-27/

I tried it once at night with the WB2B method and I felt that it almost worked. But then fell asleep or got too tired and stopped. But it was promising.