CIA Declassified Survival Guide
- CEREBOX
- Jul 27, 2020
- 5 min read
Recently, social media posts have gone viral claiming the CIA has recently declassified documents that prove our reality is a simulation and that, through manifestation, we can create a new material reality. We took a deep dive into the original journal released by the CIA in 2003, including the historical context and possible motivations that spurred this investigation. To be clear, the article itself does not attempt any experiment, therefore does not state nor verify a causal relationship for any of its claims. None of this is novel information, but is a small part of a larger attempt spanning centuries of intellectual pursuit. At its rawest form, the published journal seeks to understand the human connection to the physical reality and metaphysical truth, by compiling previous theories, schools of thought, and techniques into an expansive write up.
Though it was released in 2003 after the passing of the Freedom of Information Act, this investigation was concluded in 1983. From the beginnings of the Cold War the CIA was strongly pressured to create powerful weapons against the threat of Russia. After reports emerged claiming that the Soviet Union was exploring paranormal powers as a tool of war, in combination with the 1960s counter cultural explosion and fascination with eastern mediation practices, the United States sanctioned the Gateway Process project. The Gateway Process project wasn’t the only exploration into this theory, they were also interested in the ESP powers of dogs, psychic “remote viewing”, as well as what would be later known as Project Stargate, the inspiration behind the film “The Men Who Stare at Goats”.
The Gateway Process was essentially the use of several “tools” that would allow individuals to transcend their physical reality into the “Absolute”. The Absolute is defined as an omnipotent, omnificent, omnipresent reality which exists on a dimension outside of our physical reality but can influence it. Simply, the Absolute is all things that exist or can exist in this reality and beyond. After reaching the Absolute individuals would then be able to inhibit the reality they desire.
The process was achieved by manipulating the brain into a state of “Hemi-Synch”. Hemispheric-synchronization refers to the phenomenon in which EEG (brain wave) patterns in both the right and left hemispheres are simultaneously equal in amplitude and frequency. This Hemi-sync is considered to be an altered mind state in which the individual may attain a heightened consciousness, where raw stimulation is no longer filtered through preconceived structures and beliefs. Hemi-synch was thought to be attained by practices such as visualizations, astral projection, the use of binaural beats, sensory deprivation, and other spiritual practices.
The journal also describes quantum theorist, Dr. Geildman’s, subatomic particles theory that claims particles that have once collided will show some sort of connection, ‘a siamese twin effect’, which allows them to instantaneously interact even across large distances - but that this connection exists outside of the dimensions of time and space and, therefore, does not violate Einstein’s Law of Relativity. This theory on subatomic interactions is used to legitimize the claim that our consciousness can interact with an Absolute power existing outside of this reality, if given the right tool
Most of this research was conducted at the Monroe Institute which was founded and led by Robert Monroe in 1974. This institute claimed to be the world’s leading education center of human consciousness and has been implicated in the CIA’s research several times. Robert Monroe’s teachings rose in popularity due in part to the growing interest in eastern meditation practices and belief systems - which gained large followings in America with the 1960’s counter culture wave which also placed emphasis on spirituality and the adoption of eastern practices and medicines as well as Buddhist and Hindu understandings of what consciousness was, though many Americans adopted these ideas into their more secular lifestyles.
The Monroe Institute’s credibility was called into question by the National Research Council (NRC), who found that their claims were not backed by rigorous scientific research, citing their lack of an experimental or control group in their studies.
Currently, the Monroe Institute continues to operate outside of the Monroe family home as well as internationally, offering both in-person ($2,195) and virtual programs ($1,295) called the gateway voyage, in which participants can ‘learn to navigate the non-physical realm’.
The journal was written during the the beginning decades of quantum physics, and though the idea of multiple dimensions has been a topic of science fiction, there has been serious and rigorous studies into the topic. String theory was also developed in the 1960s but only became used as a theory for elementary particles around the 1970s. Our understanding of how particles, and consequently how our own existence, behaves in time and space and beyond continues to develop and change. Additionally, the simulation theory, which was wrongly thought to be proved in this article, was only popularized in the scientific field in 2003 by Nick Bostrom, though the roots of the theory can be traced to ancient beliefs.
Our take away
As a return to spirituality occurs in pop culture it's no surprise this article went viral in recent months. Trends toward more holistic practices have shifted our attention towards validating the claims of such techniques as meditation, positive thinking/visualization, etc. For most of those techniques, there is a wealth of evidence towards them benefitting mental and physical health outcomes (which we may explore in future articles), but simply reading a blurb or a headline is not how one should do it. Rather, this cavalier approach towards research may actually undermine the argument towards holistic health practices. In terms of the Gateway Process itself, its validity is questionable. While there most certainly are other dimensions the process of accessing them remains a pipedream. Additionally, hemi-synch theory hinges on the idea of complete localization of the brain. Localization is the idea that specific brain areas are specialized for certain functions, in terms of hemi-synch, the assumption is a whole brain hemisphere is specialized for emotional raw perception (right-side), while the other holds functions that process that information (left side). Though there are very specific functions that are found in certain brain areas, by-and-large the brain acts in cohesion of multiple parts in order to carry out functions. Additionally, there is no evidence that supports the idea that symmetry in brain waves between hemispheres would lead to an altered state of consciousness.
Sources:
Barry L. Beyerstein’s Brainscams: Neuromythologies of the New Age in the International Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 19, No. 3, Unvalidated, Fringe, and Fraudulent Treatment of Mental Disorders (Fall 1990), pp. 27-36
Further Readings:
Remote viewing: parapsychological potential for intelligence collection: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002600250001-6.pdf
US use of psychic spies:
Michio Kaku: The Universe in a Nutshell (video):
Simulation theory (video):
Mahayana buddhist sutras on a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing one another:
Functional localization in the brain (video):
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