Perhaps the fact that I am a retired research engineer draws me to Bruce Moen's style. Perhaps the fact that I'm 85 draws me to questions about the afterlife. Perhaps also the fact that I am a skeptic and atheist means that I have a lot of questions. The lower case skeptic and atheist mean that I don't intend to convert or argue, just ask questions. While I have moved towards atheism, I have always been a spiritual Searcher. Currently I am practicing Core Shamanism. On a recent shamanic journey, a power animal (in effect, a Guide) told me very strongly to learn all I can from Bruce Moen. I regret that I will not have a chance to hear Bruce in person and learn from him. I wish him well.

Last fall I took the Monroe 5 day Gateway Voyage. Nothing much happened, though I did get another power animal. Bruce teaches a method that apparently is not dependent on Monroe technology such as Hemi-Sync. However, he has not only taken the Gateway program but has taken the Lifeline program several times. How can I get much from Bruce's method without the Monroe technology?

While Bruce claims to have no special powers, that he's just an ordinary person, I note that even before he heard of Monroe, he had a history of what I'll call visions. When he was 6, he had the vision of diving out a window to escape from an enraged husband. As a young adult he had the vision of the Disk. Also, Hemi-Sync apparently has a powerful effect on him. Me? I've had nothing at all, and I don't visualize. That is where my questions lie. Hemi-Sync doesn't do much for me. In fact shamanic drumming works somewhat better. Hmm.

So, my question is this: How can I best utilize Bruce's methods to gain knowledge about the afterlife?

In spite of my doubts, I do intend to read Bruce's books and take the home study course.

Hi HerbHornist,

Welcome to Bruce's site!  Thanks for providing some of your background with your questions as it gives me a good perspective for how to try provide some answers. 

People come to the same works of authors, teachers, and techniques from various backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences.  I think it's necessary for anyone from any background to search and explore with an open mind and try to let any preconceived expectations take a backseat.  However, we never can really be sure when some of our currently held beliefs might cause a block in our ability and perception. 

I can give you an easy analogy of what I mean by that.  I've been teaching myself guitar for nearly a year now.  (I force myself to try difficult mental tasks to help my dyslexia.)  For many years I just believed there was no way I could learn an instrument simply because I thought memorizing the chords and learning music theory would be hard on its own, but then there was the fact that I know I have short fingers, osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel, and De Quervain's tenosynovitis, all of which aren't very conducive to playing the guitar!  But I also knew I had such a strong desire to try and to learn.  For years I ignored even trying until last year the desire was just so strong that I knew I definitely had to try, and keep trying.  And while I'm not a fantastic guitar player, I am completely surprised that I have gotten this far.  There is so much joy alone just for having learned and memorized all those chords and being able to form them, learned how to strum various patterns, and noticing how learning to play songs changes the way I hear music.  It's been fun and fascinating.  My wrists and fingers get very sore but mentally I just get so much enjoyment out of it practicing.   

Anyway, my point was that once I finally listened to that quiet little desire that was nagging me for years (despite all my beliefs and expectations) it really opened up so much for me.  I completely ignored all the things I saw as obstacles and just kept pushing myself.  I hit road blocks but I keep pushing until I got past them.

Yes, Bruce claims to have no special abilities despite having had impressive visions.  I know from my own experience and "abilities" why he says this.  Despite all the amazing experiences I've had, I still don't see them as something that I "do".  It's not something I can turn on and turn off per se.  All of the "abilities" that fall under the umbrella of psychic ability, OBEs, or any kind of nonphysical exploration are best not thought of as abilities but more as states of being.  I'd say that the ability comes in using what you know.

So the key is learning that you can shift your consciousness to a state of being that is conducive to achieving such explorations and discovering answers to your curiosity and questions.  Not only learning that it's possible but also learning how you can do it, with practice, patience, and persistence.  If you have that desire and you listen and pursue it, then you'll find a path that leads you to what you're looking for.

My advice is to keep using hemi-sync at least for the benefits it provides, which is altering your brainwaves, slowing them.  With regular use of this it is bound to have some effect on you.  As we age we spend less and less time in certain brainwaves.  Regular meditation is also good for this reason.  In this way you can train your brain, even if you aren't seeing any other results from the hemi-sync. 

As for what Bruce teaches, I highly recommend all this books and especially the Afterlife Knowledge Guidebook and recordings.  The tools, techniques, and explanations of perception that he teaches are things we are ALL capable of and already use whether we realize it or not.  Even if you don't feel you're a particularly visual person, I completely believe that you will learn and gain so much from his Guidebook because he teaches and shows you how to notice and open up all of your nonphysical senses of perception, not just visually.

What I've learned from Bruce is that a lot of things I was already doing naturally were actually the use of my nonphysical senses of perception. I just didn't know that that's what it was. 

To answer your question of how you can best use Bruce's methods to gain knowledge about the afterlife, I'd say to read his books and do the exercises in the Guidebook (with Bruce's audio recordings) and take it one step at a time.  The way he designed it is to teach you some very basic stuff but it's very, very necessary stuff.  Once you understand how they work and why, the other tools and techniques continue to build on what you've learned.  Then, the point of it all is for you to see that your senses of perception are opening, that you are using them, and you learn how to trust and use your perception in a way that you probably weren't doing before.  Then at some point you will have some kind of experience that gives you a feeling, knowledge, and belief that what you're experiencing is real.

Having curiosity, questions, and a desire are also helpful "tools" to propel you, and you'll probably learn and experience things you were not even expecting.

Vicky

Hello Herb:

It could be that you see spirit helpers as animals or beings with wings, because they appear to you in a way that you understand.

It sounds as if some spirit beings have made contact with you, such as when you were told to learn from Bruce.  Such contact is a form of proof.

Bruce wrote that it took him a while to find out whether the information he received was imagined, or based on reality. This is because the skeptical part of ourselves can be difficult to overcome.

It took me a while to overcome the skeptical part of my mind, even though I received information I didn't know about beforehand that I was able to verify later. I was very thorough when I tried to determine whether I had actual spirit world experiences or experiences my mind made up. Now after thousands of experiences with the spirit world, I am certain it exists.

Herb:

After a while, just as you can recognize that you are speaking with a person, you can recognize that you are communicating with a spirit.

When you were a baby, you didn't know if you were communicating with people such as your parents, or if your subconscious mind was causing you to have hallucinations. Eventually, as you had more experiences, learned, and understood what was taking place, you understood that you were communicating with people.

The same thing can happen when you receive information from spirits. Eventually you can tell the difference between actually receiving information from them, and what your subconscious mind comes up with. Receiving information you can verify later is helpful, but not necessary. When you were really young, did you have to receive unknown information from your parents that you could verify later, in order to understand that you were actually communicating with them and other people, rather than experiencing nothing more than your subconscious mind?

How about spirits? How do they know that they are actually communicating with other spirits, rather than experiencing nothing more than their subconscious mind? There must be a way for them to connect the dots of their experiences so they can come to a firm conclusion of what is taking place.

Vicky, thank you for saying so.