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his brain, which could create a state of low oxygenation known to precipitate these sorts of experiences. The way in which Monroe utilizes his experiences is what is unusual. If we were to have such experiences most of us would be extremely frightened, and attempt to avoid them. It is significant that initially Monroe's repeated visits to physicians in an attempt to explain these unusual experiences were motivated by the intellectual and medical orientation of his parents. It is striking how the behavior of human beings reflects an attempt to understand by action and experiment the dominant preoccupations of their unconscious minds. One of the most consistent themes in Monroe's history is his interest in the air. The air is his medium. From an early age he built model planes, learned to fly airplanes in high school, and later became an accomplished glider pilot. This is something I have noticed in people who have direct personal out-of-the-body experience as opposed to those who study or research the phenomenon. I have noticed that not only do they generally have such childhood fantasy experiences as playing with imaginary friends and seeing fairies, but also they often remember fantasies of wanting to fly like a bird, and report an increased number of flying and falling dreams. Another significant theme in Monroe's life is his preoccupation with movement. In reviewing his family background he became very excited at his childhood recollections, especially of riding on trains. Movement themes are common throughout his life, as they were in the psychological test materials. Monroe had many unevenly developed talents. From an early age he was extremely independent. His father, an academic, was quiet and authoritative, an excellent parental model with an even temper. His mother was a physician, and more in control of the family, though not in a dominant, aggressive way. Monroe appeared to be able to actualize his individual talents in a manner somewhat unusual in traditional families. His parents allowed him a considerable degree of latitude, somehow recognising his unusual talents, particularly his mechanical ability, which appeared not to be represented in anyone else in his immediate family. He had two elder sisters, the elder of whom was quite competitive with him, and he had a very much younger brother. Some of his unevenly developed talents included his ability to read and write at the age of four years. In spite of this his school performance was quite average until he developed a relationship with a teacher at college whom he felt accepted and guided him. He then became a straight-A student. He was a leader of his peers as a child, and highly creative, constantly searching for answers. He was self-generating, as so many people in this field are. He also demonstrated a common characteristic of people exploring altered states of consciousness, and that was that he listened to and acted on his own subjective experience. In other words, he