The Journey Within That Changes Everything: Gateway Voyage

A voyage of self-discovery through the gateway of expanded awareness - Bob Monroe

Gateway Voyage Online is the most accessible way to begin your journey into the extraordinary. Rooted in over 50 years of research and life-changing experiences at the Monroe Institute, this immersive program provides the tools, practices, and guidance to assist you in exploring beyond physical reality, and returning transformed.

Whether you’re seeking meaning, clarity, healing, or are simply curious about experiencing something more, Gateway helps you cultivate expanded states of consciousness using Monroe Sound Science and the voice of Bob Monroe, founder of the Monroe Institute and creator of the Gateway Voyage. You'll explore dimensions of awareness beyond the five senses, while remaining fully conscious, safe, and grounded.

This program has been life-changing for thousands, including NASA engineers, consciousness researchers, veterans, therapists, and everyday people from all walks of life, drawn by curiosity or a desire for deeper understanding.

Gateway is the ideal starting point for your journey at the Monroe Institute and serves as a prerequisite for many of our advanced consciousness training programs.

What you will gain

Know and better understand your Total Self
Develop and explore human consciousness
Know and experience the far-reaches of expanded awareness

The Curriculum

Gateway Online is an 8-12 week self-paced program, with a total of 23 guided sessions (each ~60 minutes). You'll be led by Monroe Institute CEO Allyn Evans and trainer Luigi Sciambarella, with over 40 years of combined Monroe experience, who will introduce you to each level of consciousness and how to engage with it effectively.

Each chapter includes a blend of:

Video instructions
Guided exercises using Monroe Sound Science
Integration prompts and journaling
Opportunities to reflect, share, and ask questions (via discussion groups)

By the end of the program, you will:

Cultivate the ability to maintain full awareness in expanded states
Strengthen your intuitive and perceptual abilities
Experience guidance, healing, and insight from beyond the physical
Reclaim a deeper sense of purpose and presence in daily life

Through a sequence of six expertly guided chapters, you’ll learn to navigate four key states of expanded awareness:

Focus 10

This is the first state of consciousness explored in Gateway. Your physical body is deeply relaxed while your mind remains conscious, awake, and alert. Consciousness is fully retained without dependence upon signals from the physical body. One learns to ride the edge of sleep. We refer to this as “Mind Awake, Body Asleep”.

Focus 12

This is a state where conscious awareness is expanded beyond the limits of the five physical senses. Focus 12 has many different facets, including manifesting, exploring nonphysical realities, decision making, problem solving and enhanced creative expression. We refer to this as "Expanded Awareness."

Focus 15

This is a state we refer to as, “No-Time.” Your consciousness is now far removed from physical body signals. Linear time is no longer relevant to your experience. This is a state targeted by many wisdom traditions. It has a dual nature. One experience is a vast blackness, "The Void," a sense of one-pointedness. A second aspect is quite active, allowing one to explore a sense of timelessness, all potentiality, and creation of patterns on levels beyond time and space.

Focus 21

This state of consciousness provides a bridge between the physical and the nonphysical realms, where access to nonphysical energies and intelligences is possible, a state where greatly expanded awareness is facilitated. Here, you’re on the very edge of the time/space continuum. We refer to this as, "The Bridge."

Practice maintaining full awareness as you navigate these states, staying open to insights, visions, and information that can support you - whether it’s solving everyday challenges or completely transforming your perception of reality.

Your Guide: Robert Monroe

Robert Monroe, Founder of the Gateway Process, Pioneer in Altered States of Consciousness

Born October 30, 1915, Bob spent his childhood in Kentucky and Indiana. After graduating Ohio State University in 1937 with a BA in English, he worked as a writer and director at two Ohio radio stations. Two years later he moved to New York and expanded his broadcasting career, producing and directing weekly radio programs and eventually forming his own radio production company.

In 1956 his production company set up a research and development division to study the effects of various sound patterns on human consciousness, including the feasibility of learning during sleep. Monroe often used himself as a test subject for this research and in 1958 he began experiencing what he described as an "out-of-body experience," the term popularized by Charles T. Tart, PhD, a leader in the area of consciousness studies. These spontaneous experiences altered the course of Monroe's life and the direction of his professional efforts.

Throughout the next twenty years, Monroe continued to explore, research, and teach others about practical methods of attaining and using expanded consciousness. He developed a series of multi-day workshops, built a campus for education and research, and created a portfolio of binaural beat audio-guided technology. He chronicled his early explorations with a reporter's objectivity and eye for detail in a groundbreaking book, "Journeys Out of the Body," which was published in 1971.

In 1985 he wrote a second book, titled "Far Journeys," which expanded upon his personal investigations of nonphysical reality. In 1994 he followed suit with a third book, "Ultimate Journey," which explores basic truths about the meaning and purpose of life and what lies beyond the limits of our physical world. Monroe died in 1995, at the age of seventy-nine. His legacy continues today and has touched the lives of literally millions of people all around the world.

Credentials

Bob's best selling books have helped millions in their exploration of consciousness and are credited with popularizing the term "out of body experiences"
Bob created the Monroe Institute, global leader in consciousness education and research
Bob himself went through thousands of journeys and is recognized as a non-dogmatic pioneer of consciousness exploration in the West
With the help of a team of consciousness explorers, Bob created a conceptual map of expanded states of consciousness and various non-physical locales based on a systematic and scientific approach.

Your trainers: Allyn Evans and Luigi Sciambarella

Allyn is serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Monroe Institute. She earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Mississippi, an MBA from Texas Tech University and is also a certified Reiki Master Teacher. She has been a beloved Monroe trainer for more than a decade. Allyn previously served as Monroe's Chief Program Officer and also played a key role in helping to develop content for Monroe's meditation app, Expand.

Luigi Sciambarella is a Monroe Institute trainer in the UK and a hypno-psychotherapist. Since 2010, Luigi has been teaching and giving talks on meditation, lucid dreaming and personal development around the world to thousands of people who are interested in exploring the many different facets of mind (conscious, unconscious and everything in-between). This has led Luigi to develop a deep understanding of the waking, dreaming and sleeping mind and the phenomena of lucid dreaming, out of body experiences, sleep paralysis, insomnia and the various parasomnias that can disturb a good night's sleep. Luigi holds qualifications in Psychology and Psychotherapy and is involved in teaching and accrediting hypno-psychotherapy students through the UK’s National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy.

Disclaimer

Important: This program involves deep states of consciousness and the use of Monroe Sound Science (auditory neural entrainment). If you have a history of epilepsy, psychosis, dissociative disorders, or other conditions that may affect your experience of altered states, we strongly encourage you to consult with your healthcare provider before participating. For your safety, do not listen to the exercises while driving, and avoid driving or engaging in activities that require significant focus, coordination, or could endanger yourself or others for at least one hour afterward.

FAQ

What is the Gateway program?

A guided, experiential training designed to help you explore expanded states of awareness. It uses specially engineered audio tracks and meditation techniques to help you navigate nonphysical realms.

What are Focus levels?

Focus levels are specific states of consciousness mapped by the Monroe Institute's team of explorers. Each level represents a unique state of awareness beyond ordinary waking consciousness.

What is Monroe Sound Science?

A sound technology developed by Monroe Institute that uses advanced neural entrainment techniques synchronize brainwave activity and induce altered states safely and reliably.

Is Gateway Online the same as the original Gateway Tapes?

Gateway Online is the first ever online program that uses the same guidance as the residential retreats at the Monroe Institute. It has Bob Monroe's original voice, and is enhanced with modern audio technology, expert guidance before and after each session, reflection prompts and access to the community via discussion groups specific to each exercise. The Gateway Tapes (also known as Hemi-Sync tapes), are slightly different exercises created by Bob, as part of a for-profit initiative, and are audio only.

Is the program safe?

Yes. Gateway is a deeply relaxing and safe experience. You remain in control at all times and can stop or pause whenever needed.

However, we strongly encourage to consult with a healthcare provider if you have any of the following conditions: Active psychosis or schizophrenia, Dissociative identity disorder (DID), Uncontrolled epilepsy, Acute mania (Bipolar I), PTSD or severe trauma, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Severe depression with suicidal ideation, OCD, Delusional beliefs.

For any of these, before Gateway, we recommend to first try: Body-based or trauma-informed practices, Gentle present-focused techniques - preferably eyes open techniques, and work with a trained professional.

Will I have out-of-body experiences (OBEs)?

OBEs are possible, but not guaranteed. Gateway trains you in the foundational states from which OBEs, lucid dreams, remote viewing, and intuitive insights can naturally emerge. The goal of Gateway is not to have an OBE, but to live a more meaningful and purposeful life.

How should I listen to the sessions?

Use stereo headphones in a quiet, comfortable space. Don’t multitask and make sure you will not be disturbed. Sit or lie down with eyes closed. We will remind you of these tips before each session.

Can I fall asleep during the tracks?

Yes—and it’s okay! Sleep can be part of the learning process. But over time, the goal is to remain aware as the body relaxes.

What’s the difference between meditation and Gateway?

While both involve altered states, Gateway uses specific neural entrainment to guide you to repeatable, structured states (Focus levels) with clear purposes and outcomes.

How long is the program?

You can move through the content at your own pace, although we recommend to ideally complete it over 8-12 weeks, assuming at least 2 sessions per week (~60 min each). You can go faster or slower depending on your schedule.

Do I need prior experience with meditation or Monroe programs?

Not at all. Gateway is designed for beginners and experienced explorers alike.

What if I already have the Gateway CDs or tapes?

You’ll still benefit from this version—it adds structured learning, guided context, and new tools to support integration.

Can I repeat the program?

Absolutely. You have lifetime access to the content. Many participants revisit the tracks multiple times and continue to discover deeper insights.

Will I meet guides or receive messages?

Many participants report encounters with guides, archetypes, or symbols. Whether literal or symbolic, they often offer helpful insight.

Is this religious or spiritual?

Gateway is not tied to any religion or belief system. It encourages personal discovery and direct experience via a non-dogmatic approach, whatever your background.

What states of consciousness will I access?

Focus 10 (relaxed body, alert mind), Focus 12 (expanded perception), Focus 15 (timeless awareness), and Focus 21 (threshold to nonphysical realities).

Will this help me in “real life”?

Yes. Participants often report improved clarity, creativity, intuition, and emotional resilience in the midst of everyday challenges. A majority of participants also report a shift in their perspective of what reality and life are. Bob Monroe called this "a different overview"

By purchasing this program, you acknowledge that participation is voluntary, undertaken at your own risk, and that The Monroe Institute is not liable for any outcome. This program is licensed for your personal use only and may not be shared or transferred.

Online Courses

Connecting With Your Guides

Introduction to Beyond Meditation

Introduction to Lucid Dreaming

Developing Intuition

Gateway Voyage Online