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JF:  Could you describe the sensation of remote viewing?

RL: It is somewhat difficult to explain the sensation without incorporating some of my internal process.  The sensations change depending on where I am in the session.  I begin by clearing my mind, which then puts me into a daydream or light hypnagogic state. My mind is clear, I feel relaxed and peaceful.  I feel my ego slipping away and then my conscious mind fades somewhat off to the side.  It stays just on the periphery of this space that I’m in for when it is needed.   It is in this state of being only slightly aware of anything outside of me that I feel my subconscious expand and start to provide information.  As the information begins to come in, it does not make sense to me.  But these bits of information are the beginning pieces of the puzzle that my subconscious is providing me based on my original intention and the intention placed on the target number by the tasker.  It is almost like a running film showing random photos out of sequence, but these photos have feelings and emotions attached to them. So at this point my sense of calm, and being at peace, are gone and now I could be feeling any variety of feelings.   

At this stage, although I am aware that I am at my desk with a pen in my hand and a stack of papers in front of me, I am also aware of being at another place, a location somewhere.  I am an observer there and have a desire to learn what I can. It is like I’m there as an investigator.  I am aware that I can’t change anything that has taken place there. I know where I am in relation to what I am seeing and will move throughout the site by move commands. Sometimes my subconscious will change my location unexpectedly.  I don’t feel any sensations physically with the movements but I do feel the textures, the temperature changes, the feelings and thoughts of the people there or the mood of the location. On occasion, I will hear sounds and literally feel someone else’s injury on my physical body. If this is an operational target, I am now beginning to become aware of what this target is about. I don’t have a full picture of what has taken place, but I will have a general idea of the type of incident that this is.  I don’t experience a certain feeling for death, abduction, or a missing person, it is more like a knowing. I don’t know where that comes from but when it happens I am pretty confident that it is accurate.  

JF: What has been your personal experience with RV, did it come naturally to you or did it require training?  Could you share an example of an RV journey you had that had a profound impact on you?

RL: I think that I do have some natural talent for remote viewing. However, I definitely needed the training. I got off to a good start and had been mostly accurate in the beginning. But then two things happened, the ego got in the way and I fell into a slump, which certainly derailed any progress. The second thing that happened after I figured out a few things to help suppress my ego, was realising that I had no idea how to progress and acquire the detail that I desired in a RV session. So I took Joe McMoneagle’s RV I & II programs and then Pam Coronado’s  beginners & intermediate CRV(Coordinate Remote Viewing) courses. I have continued working practice targets with Pam Coronado for the past 3 years. The training with Joe and Pam has exposed me to different styles and concepts and allowed me to find my own process for what works for me.  In addition to training, maintaining a regular practice schedule is also crucial.  

I try to do two CRV targets a week, which takes me about 3-4 hours for each session.  It generates anywhere from 15-20 pages of information.  I also do two ERV (Extended Remote Viewing) targets a week, which are really just for fun. These sessions are one page and take about 15 minutes to complete.  I will use ERV for outbound targets when the opportunity comes along.

I will provide you with two RV sessions that had an impact on me.

The first, was the very first RV that I ever did.  It was the first practice session for the 2017 Discovery program at the Monroe Institute.  We were all sitting in the white carpet room, when the instructor Bob Holbrook announced that we were going to do a practice remote viewing target to prepare for the remote viewing sessions that we will be doing throughout the week.  He then asked if anyone had ever done a remote viewing or had training in remote viewing? I actually don’t recall if anyone raised their hand or not. I was focused on how I was going to do this without some form of training?  

Bob said that all you have to do is clear your mind and write down whatever your impressions are. Don’t name them, describe them. He then said the target is on the desk in the control room. I was wondering if I had ever even been in the control room and how would I get an impression of something in a room that I couldn’t even describe? I also thought that the possibilities of what the target was were endless.  It was almost humorous to me to attempt this.  

At that point, Bob instructed us to go up to our check units to begin the exercise.  As I stood up thinking this is almost ridiculous, a picture of a thin rabbit standing on its hind legs like Bugs Bunny appeared in my mind's eye.  The bunny, which was a child’s stuffed toy was wearing a vest and had two floppy ears. As I walked upstairs I could not shake this image. Nothing other than that image came to me while in my check unit. I did a quick little sketch of something that slightly resembled a rabbit standing and wrote white, blue, cloth and stitching.  I returned to the white carpet room and Bob asked “Who wants to share?”  Seeing that everyone was a little nervous I spoke up saying I’ll start. My thinking was that what I did was funny and that it would break the ice for everyone else.

I said I had an impression of a child’s stuffed toy that looked like a rabbit wearing a vest and then provided the words that I had written down.  Bob’s expression didn’t reveal any insight as to what the target was and then he simply said “Anyone else want to share?” Various people provided their impressions and experiences for the next several minutes. Bob then either got up to get the target or had it covered and then displayed it. It was a stuffed Yoda toy doll with a vest. The colours were white, brown and green. My description wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty good. I was astonished as to what I had done. 

That was a pivotal point for me, because now I knew I could do it. I then went on to hit 6 #1 scores 1 #2 score and 1 #4 score for the week of the Discovery program. The odd thing was that by the second to the last day of the program, I knew that I was doing well and was on target.  At that point, I was hooked on remote viewing. That week of successes brought me to where I am today with RV. Although I was interested in how RV worked before that program, I don’t know if I would have devoted the time and energy to it, if I did not have those early successes. 

The second is a recent operational target, which was profound and extremely thought provoking.  In the beginning of the session, I described the physical description of a young energetic woman. Her activities, her hobbies and a vehicle, as well as the fact that she was a missing person. As the session progressed it took a very dark turn.  I continued with the session but avoided some of the questions that I would normally ask in an operational target.  I described the current location of where she was but didn’t pursue her physical status, other than her being injured.  I was aware that she had been missing for years but because of the darkness of this session I pushed away some of the information that I was getting. I thought that I must be off target and that for some reason I was recalling details from previous cases I worked as a former detective and was incorporating those elements into this session. I submitted my session and waited for my feedback, which I would get the following day.  

Despite thinking that I blew the target by taking these sessions into a dark place, the feedback confirmed a lot of what I had submitted.  Her description and hobbies I accurately described and drew the vehicle that she was last seen in.  

This created some conflict for me because I was on target but had avoided digging into the session to acquire as much information as possible. So, I don’t know if it was my conscious mind or my subconscious mind that was trying to protect me.  Or was it the ego not wanting to present such a dark session in the event that I was off target.  

JF: What principal methods do you use to achieve the RV state?

RL: I use the Monroe sounds. If I am doing an ERV where a lot of information is required I will usually listen with headphones throughout the session. If I am doing a CRV session, I will use the Monroe sounds for 10-20 minutes for the cool down period prior to starting the session.  I have been using the Monroe sounds long enough at this point, that I can put myself in that state/place that I need to be in without the music if I have to. The Monroe sounds create landmarks for me depending on what I want to accomplish. If it's rest and relaxation I know what it looks like and how to get there. The same for acquiring information.  It’s a different location but I know what and where it is.  

I also have been practising TM for 23 minutes twice a day since 2015.  This may aid in the RV process but, I personally feel that it is the Monroe sounds that have created those landmarks in my brain that have been so helpful.  Those places for me are far deeper than where TM takes me.  

NM-W: The specific method used to achieve an ASC where RV may be possible is up to the person who is doing the remote viewing. Methods employed by a practitioner can vary based on who they trained with, how they trained or if they were self-taught. 

Here at MI, Joe McMoneagle heads the Remote Viewing I and II Training Courses and his methods incorporate the sound technology that Monroe Institute has developed. This sound technology is used in all of our programs and has enabled listeners to achieve desired states of consciousness within less time than conventional methods. 

JF: What new practices are evolving from your research? 

NM-W:

The best I can answer is to say that our target acquisition and judging practices have evolved toward the suggested methods established by IRVA (International Remote Viewing Association). It is important to have parameters that adhere to a uniform, industry standard. In doing this we minimize criticisms and potential critiquing of our methods and our findings. It is easy for another researcher to pick apart someone’s entire study – even with statistically significant results – based on scientific rigor or methodology and design. 

Our work in the sound science and neuro feedback area adding to the methods used to achieve remote viewing in programs, which have been designed specifically to teach participants how to accomplish this. Our Co-Director, Ross Dunseath Ph.D., has been the lead researcher involved with our Discovery Program since its inception in 2017. I came on board in late 2019 and took the lead on the target acquisition and judging protocols. It is at that point, where our RV protocol started moving toward the recommendations of IRVA. It is through this program that we are able to study brainwave activity during remote viewing exercises on such a large scale. As the data collection is ongoing, so is our analysis of it. 

The Discovery program focuses on the utilization of our sound science in driving meditative states while collecting EEG data on every participant, simultaneously. The sound science is driven by the feedback received during the programs – wherein our Director of Innovation, Bob Holbrook, creates tracks in response to the participants experiential feedback combined with the brainwave states that are recognized by the monitors running the data acquisition. 

One direction for this work is the exploration for variations in the EEG data acquired of brainwave pattern anomalies during remote viewing, when the designated target is achieved and when it is not. More importantly, we have a record of the participants Pre/Post EEG and the daily data that is acquired during their program when the person is meditating but not remote viewing as a task. 

JF: How is sound used to support altered states of consciousness in your work? 

NM-W: Sound has been used for millennia to achieve altered states of consciousness; from its use in shamanism to ancient rituals and modern drumming circles. Music can heal, sedate and even incite a listener (just attend any music concert with fervent fans). Bob Monroe understood this 

premise and sound has been an integral part of Monroe Institute, particularly its involvement in the Remote Viewing community, from its beginnings. We know that, when created with the intention of eliciting ASC’s, sound can help to achieve a deeper meditative state in much less time than it typically takes to become a seasoned practitioner. 

The sound technology that we develop at MI aids our research participants to achieve desired states quickly - reducing the need to use research resources in prepping our participants for what we are looking to study. Secondly, advancing scientific knowledge is a driving force in our research here. 

JF:  RV has been used by global governments for military and espionage purposes, how do you address the ethical issues of privacy and the use of information?   

RL: This question is tricky because in the realm of remote viewing I think I’m still in the beginners category.  Of course I have heard about unethical taskers.  This hasn’t been a concern for me because I’ve been selective with the groups I have associated with and have a general idea of the types of targets that I’m working.  It has been limited to locations, outbounders, and now missing persons or crimes.  

It wasn’t until I started doing operational targets for practice, that I began to have concerns about the ethics within RV.  Not just for the tasker but also the viewer. The previously mentioned case is an example. If I had been compensated for that work, or even counted on to provide timely critical information, did I live up to my responsibility?  The answer is clearly no. I avoided aspects because of how I would be perceived by the other viewers, as well as, navigating the areas of information that were unpleasant to me.  

For me personally, I treat the operational targets as I would a criminal investigation. Sharing of the information should be limited and only shared with those involved within the investigation. There may also be information that is best not presented to the public or family members.   I feel that the victims, even if deceased, are entitled to privacy. I don’t talk about my sessions with anyone other than the group of remote views who are present at the time of the feedback. I feel that by sharing the results of these sessions to others outside of the investigation could be a form of exploitation. Another issue is that even during a good session, there is information that could be erroneous.  Some of the information developed cannot be proved, without the victim or the main subject of the target. Just because there is accurate and valuable information in the session, it does not mean that other pieces of information are correct.  

JF: What are the therapeutic applications of remote viewing?

RL: I can only answer this question as it pertains to me.  It is certainly rewarding when you learn through feedback that you are on target and provided information of value.  Remote viewing has confirmed to me that there is information, somewhere in this universe that we as humans are able to tap into. Information that is thought to be hidden, but is accessible. That fact changes the way that I look and think about the world we live in.  I don’t have an explanation as to how I have been able to acquire the information that I have produced with simply a target number and an intention, but I am able to. So then it opens the door to so many other possibilities.  I often think about how RV changes our concept of death, which could be therapeutic for many people.  RV is truly one of the examples that we really are more than our physical bodies.

JF: Quantifying consciousness through the scientific method has been limited, particularly with varying opinions on its definition, but we are seeing an increasing number of breakthroughs. 

What technology and methods are you using to measure consciousness? 

NM-W: The technologies that we use for our studies depend on what we are examining. We have the capabilities to measure brainwaves, during tasking, with electroencephalogram (EEG) using a simplified 4-channel hookup or a 32-channel array when it is called for. Additionally, there are physiological measures, e.g., BVP, and the not-so-typical, electric field measure. We also employ various field measures to check the stability of our lab environment. The physiological data collected from these instruments are used to compare groups (for example during RV target acquisition) while also adding to the overall study of consciousness. I believe all results in this area are significant to the contribution of knowledge and aids in our understanding of where consciousness may or may not be, in theory, ‘located’. 

More recent, we have taken the approach for qualitatively studying actions and mechanisms using one-on-one interviews, participant feedback, and questionnaires I have designed to probe these experiences. Probing personal experiences has been helpful in our 

understanding of how these phenomena are felt/sensed, embodied, and conceived. With these, we are finding commonalities within various populations such as Reiki practitioners. These discoveries have led us to ask more in depth, layered questions and further explore these possibilities using additional physiological measures along with our new, diverse perspective. 

JF: What results have you been getting and what sort of parameters are you using? 

NNM-W: We use a mixed methods approach in order to understand the objective data in relation to subjective experiences. For example, we may have a participant that will report an energy surge from ‘receiving’ energy or veridical information from an outside source or entity at a specific point in a session. We then are able to verify these experiences using objective data to detect correlations, i.e., pulses of electromagnetic energy. These findings inevitably lead to more questions, but also aid in identifying additional physiological measures that can be incorporated into future studies. 

The study conducted during our Discovery programs allows us to consistently collect data on multiple individuals and we are close to having 100 viable, data sets; some of which have been acquired from the same participant who has attended multiple times in this particular program. This protocol directly relates to remote viewing, and as far as we understand, it is the first large-scale data collection of its kind. From the data, we are noticing that the DMN (default mode network) appears less active during remote viewing tasks – similar to what is being found in studies examining neural correlates of meditation. 

Our parameters for this study include the quantitative analysis of the EEG data sets. First, we trim the data to remove artifacts that result from eye blinks, muscle tension or loose electrodes and this is a labor-intensive process. If you can imagine - going through over a hundred hours of recorded data, often at < 5-second frames, it can take a considerable amount of 

time for a 40-minute meditation session to be processed. Based on an individual’s score for a particular remote viewing target, the data is grouped and amalgamated. We then perform statistical analyses, which seem basic enough unless you understand that the acquisition of the precise time that a target has been identified is not something that can be pinpointed on EEG data. It has been my understanding that remote viewing can come in bits and pieces like a color or texture and then builds from some point – but is rarely completed instantaneously. 

JF: What is the future of consciousness studies? 

NM-W: The study of consciousness is extending into areas that both share the practices of ethical rigorous research methods, materialistic and physicalism approaches with the reductionist method of exploration. I believe that the future of consciousness studies can move beyond mechanistic approaches through discoveries that will advance our current parameters of understanding. An interdisciplinary collaboration is always beneficial in leading this work to new discoveries. I know that fresh perspectives will generate new ideas, new ways of measuring, as well as advancing technologies in this area. Reductionist approaches aside, I see this work being taken beyond what can be considered fringe areas. 

The field of physics has the potential for seminal implications in consciousness research. Continued research into quantum phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition, may help elucidate the relationship between consciousness and the fundamental principles of the universe. Superposition suggests that particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously and some theories propose that consciousness may also exhibit similar properties, with the mind potentially 

existing in multiple states simultaneously. The concept of coherence, where particles exhibit coordinated behavior, has been analogously applied to consciousness. This suggest that conscious experiences may involve synchronized neural activities between individuals and is the basis for a new protocol we are currently building. 

The intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and consciousness has interesting possibilities for significant contributions. Developing AI systems that can exhibit properties of consciousness or simulate subjective experiences may provide insights into the nature of consciousness. The exploration of the possibility of creating artificial consciousness, either through computational models or brain-computer interfaces, are likely closer than we believe them to be. 

Image: Limbo by Phantom Limbic → @phantom.limbic

Remote Viewing courtesy of Monroe Institute Archives