Last July, Gary and I attended an OBE Spectrum residential retreat at The Monroe Institute campus in Faber, Virginia.

Since I couldn’t find much information online in advance (there is a lot more about their most popular program, the Gateway Voyage) I am sharing our experience here. It’s always good to know what to expect.

We were interested in the program because Gary had what looked like out of body experiences many years ago, and he had never found an adequate explanation for them. When we discovered The Monroe Institute, we decided to go, as the place is known for its scientific, non-woo-woo approach to such matters.

The trip

The trip from Hobbs to Charlottesville took a good ten hours. We arrived at 7: 30 p.m., when dinner and the introductory event had already taken place. Next time we will make sure to arrive a day early, as they recommend!

The Institute provides shuttle service to the airport, train station and several hotels in town. A driver was waiting for us at the Charlottesville Airport—a welcoming little airport with rocking chairs. (We enjoyed them while waiting for our return flight.)

On the way to the Institute, we passed by a restaurant and bakery called Quality Pie to pick up other attendees who were waiting there. They were two very nice young women, one from LA and the other from Colombia, both Spanish speakers. We got to talk en español! Unfortunately, they were not in our program, but in a more advanced one. By the way, they said that the pies were “quality” indeed.

At the Institute

The drive to Faber took around 50 minutes. Dinner was waiting for us (salmon, rice and a salad). But those who know my eating habits can imagine I had to gobble up something else later. Around ten o’clock, I snuck into the kitchen and ate more salmon and a yummy blueberry muffin. The kitchen is open all day and night long, a fact that I appreciated!

I had told my longtime Cuban friend Liz about the Institute, and she joined the workshop as well. We all stayed at the beautiful Nancy Penn Center.

Rooms are double occupancy so Gary and I shared one. Liz’s roommate was an educator with an interesting story –well, everybody there had some fascinating background story that motivated them to attend in the first place.

We slept and did many exercises in our individual CHEC (Controlled Holistic Environmental Chamber) located inside the rooms.

They don’t feel claustrophobic, as I thought at first sight, but very cozy. There is “pink noise” coming from the speakers, located inside the CHEC unit, all night long, but the sound can be turned off. It’s pleasant enough, though.

Daily routine

The first morning, and every morning after it, we were awakened at around a quarter to seven by Bob Monroe’s voice—it was a short, uplifting guided meditation. There was yoga at 7, optional, and breakfast started at 8.

Breakfasts, and all other meals, were delicious.

After breakfast, we met with our three amazing trainers: Deryn Winchester, Arkaitz Eskarmendi and Joe Gallenberger, in the discussion room.

During the initial meeting we were introduced to the concept of being “more than one’s physical body” and then sent to our rooms to do the first guided exercise inside the CHEC units.

Afterwards, we convened in the discussion room, talked about the experienced and debriefed. There were two or three meditations in the morning. They were followed by lunch from noon to one.

A bell called us to meals and meetings.

After lunch we had free time until three o’clock. Most people walked around the property, visited the famous quartz crystal or went to a nearby lake.

The quartz is magnificent!

Liz and I went out once looking for the lake, but took a wrong turn and ended up in the woods.

Good thing we didn’t know about the bears then —they are regular visitors to the area, we realized later.

We did find the lake, though, the next day. It was worth the long walk!

We would also visit the well-stocked store.

After three p.m. there were two more meditations and discussions until 7 p.m., when dinner was served. Sometimes there was another meeting and/ or meditation after dinner as well.

Flexibility is a key element for someone like me, who’d rather color outside the lines. I didn’t get up every morning at 7 o’clock (again, no surprise for those who know me!) I would sleep in my cozy CHEC unit until 10 a.m., then have breakfast on my own on the wrap-around porch and meet (or not) with the group for the remaining morning exercises.

Sometimes I would just walk to the crystal and spend time there. The views are magical.

I also walked Laurie’s labyrinth.

Or I stayed in the CHEC unit reading. I discovered Healing Myself by Gari Carter. A great book that I highly recommend.

One night, after all the exercises were over, several of us met in the tower. There were big round lights moving in the woods around the house. “Aliens!” was my first, hopeful thought, but they turned out to be lighting bugs. Huge ones! We also saw deer, and Liz spotted a bear.

It was also fun to spend time in the common areas talking to other participants. (Out of respect for people’s privacy I am not posting pics of anyone else, but the camaraderie of our group was an invaluable part of the experience.)

And there were snacks, tea and coffee available in the common areas. Nobody goes hungry at The Monroe Institute for sure.

It’s difficult to describe the exercises (more so when I didn’t complete all of them) but they were, as a rule, guided meditations intended to help achieve OBEs and lucid dreams, put people in contact with their inner selves and contribute to general expansion of consciousness.

In the end…

I didn’t have any OBEs and neither did Gary, but we experienced noticeable changes upon coming back. I feel calmer and more centered, and we are sleeping better. Besides, I got to reconnect with my friend Liz–we hadn’t seen each other in almost 20 years. So I would say that the experience was totally worth it!

We bought the tapes for the Gateway Experience and plan to take the residential program next year.

(None of the links here are affiliated links. I just included them because I liked the places and products).