Lehal Library

Foreword Robert Monroe is a mapmaker. In Ultimate Journey he seeks to chart that area which lies “over the edge,” beyond the limits of the physical world. He presents us with a map of the “Interstate”’—the route that opens to us when we leave our physical lives, with its entry and exit ramps, its signposts and its hazards. This he is able to do because he has traveled the route himself; he writes from knowledge, not from belief. Monroe’s first book, Journeys out of the Body, was published in 1971. Since then, according to Dr. Charles Tart, one of the leading experts on consciousness and human potential, “innumerable people have found comfort and help in the knowledge that they weren’t alone and weren’t crazy just because they had had out-of-body experiences.” In that book and its successor, Far Journeys, Monroe recorded his out-of-body experiences over three decades and established a reputation as a trailblazer in the exploration of the far reaches of human consciousness. Now in Ultimate Journey he takes the exploration a stage further—though he would be the last to say that he has reached the limit. There is one major difference between this book and _ its predecessors. Until now, the story has been Monroe’s alone; it has been his own adventures he has described, his own meetings, dialogues, perils, and discoveries. In Ultimate Journey, he tells how he found the route—the new direction—traveled it, and uncovered the reason and the purpose for this pioneering expedition. And, most important, he includes the reports of others who, through his new teaching program, have been able to read the map, follow the direction, and fulfill the same purpose. Those who are not familiar with the out-of-body state may find in this book echoes, significances, clues, or points of recognition that may remind them of something that happened, in a dream perhaps, in that twilight state between sleep and wakefulness, or in a sudden moment of understanding or insight when everything seems to fall into place and make sense. Those who are familiar will, in addition, be aware of the difficulty of translating the experiences into language that is easily comprehended. All may know that it is possible for anyone to follow this new direction if belief systems are set aside and the mind is open and willing. Monroe says that nothing in this book negates the validity of its two predecessors, “which represent stages of growth and are accurate according to the Knowns available through personal experience at the time.” His personal experience while working on his third book, however, took a sad and unforeseen turn when his wife Nancy was diagnosed with cancer. His search for the missing Basic was intensified by the knowledge that for Nancy’s sake there was little time to spare. It is good to record that he completed his exploration and found both the new direction and the missing Basic while Nancy was still with him in physical reality, and that he and others were able to apply the knowledge he gained to help her in her own ultimate journey. —Ronald Russell Cambridge, England