Remote viewing: a Cold War experiment you can test yourself
Remote viewing is the attempt to describe a hidden or distant target (a place, object or event) using only the mind, under a protocol where the viewer does not know the target. The US government funded it from 1972 to 1995 under names that ended with Star Gate.
Below: the history, how a session works, free places to practise, what science says (both sides), the best books and teachers, and our free beginner class in Brussels.
Free class in BrusselsTry it free
My picks: Farsight and Future Forecasters
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At a glance
Remote viewing was studied at SRI and funded by US agencies from 1972 to 1995. A 1995 review found small laboratory effects that scientists still disagree about, and no operational intelligence value. We present it as an experiment you can test for yourself; it is not accepted by mainstream science, and no result here should guide health, legal or financial decisions.
History: from SRI to Star Gate
The term “remote viewing” was suggested by the artist Ingo Swann in December 1971 (Wikipedia). US intelligence feared a “psi gap”: it believed the Soviet Union spent 60 million rubles a year on “psychotronic” research (Wikipedia).
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| Year | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 1971 | Ingo Swann suggests the term “remote viewing” (American Society for Psychical Research, New York) | Origin of the name |
| 1972 | Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff begin testing at SRI, Menlo Park, including Uri Geller | Start of the program, CIA-funded at first |
| Oct 1974 | Targ & Puthoff publish in Nature (251:602) | First RV paper in a top journal |
| 1977 | Army starts Gondola Wish; Mind-Reach is published | Military use begins |
| 1978 | Grill Flame at Fort Meade; Joseph McMoneagle becomes “Remote Viewer No. 1” | First trained military viewers |
| Aug 1978 | Marks & Kammann report failed replications and sensory cues (Nature) | Main early sceptical critique |
| 1980 | Tart, Puthoff & Targ reply: re-judged with cues removed, 7 of 9 correct (Nature) | The cue debate continues |
| 1983 | Center Lane; Swann and Puthoff’s Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV) taught to soldiers | CRV is born |
| 1985 | Army funding ends; the DIA continues it as Sun Streak | |
| 1991 | Research moves from SRI to SAIC under Ed May | |
| 1995 | Moved to the CIA; the AIR review (Utts and Hyman); program ends and is declassified | The public story begins |
| 1995 | Courtney Brown founds the Farsight Institute | Civilian “Scientific Remote Viewing” |
| Nov 1996 | Brown on Coast to Coast AM: an “object” near comet Hale-Bopp (Art Bell Archive) | Most-cited RV controversy |
| 1999* | IRVA (International Remote Viewing Association) founded | Main community body |
| Feb 2007 | Princeton’s PEAR lab closes after 28 years (NPR) | |
| 2017 | Annie Jacobsen, Phenomena | Brings the story to a mass audience |
| 2024–2026 | Podcast revival: Shawn Ryan Show interviews McMoneagle, Ed May, Skip Atwater | Millions of views |
| Oct 2026 | IRVA conference in Dayton, Ohio (1–4 Oct) |
Sources: Wikipedia: Stargate Project, Wikipedia: Remote viewing, CIA reading room. * = founding year not re-checked on irva.org.
How a session works
The one rule that makes it remote viewing: the viewer must not know the target. Someone else picks it at random and gives you only a number (a “coordinate”). In a double-blind session nobody in the room knows it either. You only see the target after you have written everything down.
- Read one history and one critique: Paul Smith’s Reading the Enemy’s Mind or Phenomena, plus Marks & Kammann 1978.
- Learn the rules first: blind target, random selection by someone else, write everything down, feedback only after the session.
- Use a simple sheet (left). Guesses (“looks like a bridge”) go in a separate AOL box.
- Keep a log: date, target ID, times, sheets and the feedback image. Score every session.
- Test yourself honestly over 20+ sessions before you believe or dismiss anything.
- Only then consider paid courses. There is no licence or recognised diploma.
Protocols explained
| Protocol | Who | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Blind / double-blind | All methods | The viewer does not know the target; double-blind: nobody present knows it. Without this, a session is not RV. |
| Outbounder | Targ & Puthoff (SRI) | An experimenter travels to a random site; the viewer describes it in a 30-minute window; judges blind-match transcripts to sites. |
| CRV (Controlled RV) | Swann & Puthoff; taught by Paul Smith, Lyn Buchanan | A coordinate, a quick ideogram, then stages 1–6 (gestalt, senses, sketches, details), with guesses written separately as AOL. |
| ERV (Extended RV) | The military unit | A relaxed, near-sleep state with longer sessions. |
| SRV (Scientific RV) | Courtney Brown, Farsight | CRV-derived and more structured; a service mark of Farsight, Inc. |
| TRV (Technical RV) | Ed Dames | CRV-derived; sold as video clinics. |
| ARV (Associative RV) | SRI; popularised by Marty Rosenblatt (APP) | Each possible outcome is paired with an unrelated photo; the viewer describes the photo they will see later. Used for sports and market predictions. |
| Ranking / sum of ranks | Lab scoring | A judge ranks the real target against decoys; chance gives an average rank of 3 out of 5. |
Try it free: blind target pools
All of these are free. They pick the target for you, so you stay blind.
Also free: RV-Practice (random target IDs with feedback*) and the r/remoteviewing community (about 93,000 members according to a third-party tracker).
What science says: both sides
The 1995 review for the CIA asked two experts to look at the same data, and they disagreed. Statistician Jessica Utts concluded that “psychic functioning has been well established” (Utts 1995). Psychologist Ray Hyman agreed the lab effects were “too large and consistent to be dismissed as statistical flukes”, but said they came mostly from one lab with possible biases and did not show anything paranormal (Hyman 1995). The review as a whole found no case where remote viewing gave actionable intelligence (AIR report).
| Study or review | Side | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Targ & Puthoff 1974, Nature | For | Reported remote perception under sensory shielding |
| Marks & Kammann 1978, Nature | Sceptical | Their own repeats “do not verify” SRI’s results; transcripts contained cues (e.g. “second place of the day”) that could guide judges |
| Tart, Puthoff & Targ 1980 | For | Re-judged with cues removed: 7 of 9 correct matches |
| Conflict-of-interest critique | Sceptical | Ed May was both principal investigator and involved in judging; Utts had co-published with him |
| Milton & Wiseman 1999, Psychological Bulletin | Sceptical | 30 ganzfeld studies (1987–1997): effect size 0.013, not significant |
| Storm, Tressoldi & Di Risio 2010 | For | 29 ganzfeld studies (1997–2008): effect size 0.142, significant; a later correction narrowed one claim |
| Mossbridge, Tressoldi & Utts 2012 | For | 26 “presentiment” studies: a small significant effect; asks for independent replication |
| PEAR closes, 2007 | Context | Princeton’s anomalies lab shut after 28 years |
| SKEPP Sisyphus prize | Sceptical | €25,000 for any demonstrable paranormal ability, still unclaimed |
The most-watched videos
Views on 20 October 2026. The biggest audiences go to storytellers and podcasts, not to teachers.
Books, teachers and courses
Read one book from each side. Prices change by shop, so they are not listed; covers link to the free Open Library record.
For the sceptical side, start with Marks & Kammann (1978) and Hyman’s 1995 evaluation.
Teachers and associations
| Training or access | Listed price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Free target pools, APP webinar | Free | RVIS, APP |
| Farsight Prime | $12.99/month or $129.99/year | farsightprime.com |
| APP full membership | $65 a year* | appliedprecog.com |
| Focus34 online workshop (Belgium), 31 Jan 2027 | €145* | focus34.com |
| IRVA conference 2026, in person | $497 | irva.org |
| Remote Viewing Club, initiation weekend (NL) | €482.79 | remoteviewingclub.nl |
| Ed Dames 5-clinic bundle | $800 (sale) | learnrv.com |
| P>S>I CRV, per level | $1,197 | crviewer.com |
| Centre EPÉU (France), 5 days | €1,400* | cepeu.fr |
| PSI-Unit (online RVIS curriculum), per module | $2,500* | psi-unit.com |
| RVIS CRV, per level | $3,000* | rviewer.com |
| Remote Viewing Club “100 Klappers” projects | €2,420–€4,840 | remoteviewingclub.nl |
Prices as listed on 20 Oct 2026, in the currency shown. * = seen only in a search-result summary, not on the live page.
Belgium and nearby
Web researcher found no remote viewing group or regular class in Brussels. What exists is online, one-off or across the border.
Also: a 2-day “Zien zonder ogen” workshop in Mortsel (31 Oct–1 Nov 2026) includes an RV exercise* (ankewebersmit.com).
What people search for
Google Trends, pulled 20 October 2026. In Belgium “remote viewing” is almost below Google’s threshold: above zero in only 3 of 262 weeks over five years, with Brussels the top region. Worldwide interest is steady, and the Netherlands ranks third by country. “Vision à distance” has no Belgian data.
Upcoming: free remote viewing class in Brussels
In the 1970s, US physicists and later the army tested whether people could describe hidden places. The CIA closed the program in 1995 and the debate is still open. Come try the original method yourself with sealed targets nobody in the room knows, then score the results fairly. No experience needed, no beliefs required.
An experiment, not a demonstration. We don’t promise you will see anything; we test it fairly together. Free, 2 hours, adults only, in English (Dutch/French help available). Bring curiosity; we bring paper and envelopes.
Join the free class – Sat 7 Nov
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0:00–0:15 | Welcome: the history in 5 minutes, both sides |
| 0:15–0:30 | The method: the session sheet |
| 0:30–0:35 | 3 minutes of quiet breathing |
| 0:35–0:50 | Session 1 on a sealed coordinate |
| 0:50–1:05 | Rank 5 photos, then reveal the target |
| 1:05–1:15 | Break |
| 1:15–1:45 | Session 2 and scoring |
| 1:45–2:00 | Group results vs chance (3.0) and honest discussion |
Double-blind: the organiser who prepared the targets stays away, and envelopes are opened only after ranking. No targets of real people, tragedies or private places; no fees; anyone can stop at any time.
FAQ
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Discuss Remote Viewing in the forum
Share your progress, ask questions and practise together with other students on the Remote Viewing board.
Join the Remote Viewing forumCreate a free accountSources
- Wikipedia: Stargate Project
- Wikipedia: Remote viewing
- Wikipedia: Russell Targ
- Wikipedia: Joseph McMoneagle
- Wikipedia: Hella Hammid
- Targ & Puthoff 1974, Nature
- Marks & Kammann 1978, Nature
- Tart, Puthoff & Targ 1980, Nature
- Marks 1981, PubMed
- Utts 1995
- Hyman 1995
- AIR report 1995 (NSA archive)
- CIA reading room
- Milton & Wiseman 1999
- Storm et al. 2010
- Storm et al. correction
- Mossbridge et al. 2012
- NPR: PEAR closes
- SKEPP Sisyphus prize rules
- Farsight Institute
- Farsight Prime
- Courtney Brown CV (Emory)
- Art Bell Archive: Hale-Bopp, 1996
- ESO: the Hale-Bopp “companion”
- Time: the man who spread the myth
- P>S>I (Lyn Buchanan)
- RVIS courses
- RVIS Target Vault
- PSI-Unit
- IRVA
- IRVA conference
- EIN Presswire: IRVA 2026
- Applied Precognition Project
- learnrv.com (Ed Dames)
- Art Bell Archive: Killshot, 2004
- thekillshot.com
- remoteviewed.com
- Social RV
- RV-Practice
- Focus34
- Remote Viewing Club
- The Bridge, Kortrijk
- Centre EPÉU
- ankewebersmit.com
- RedPulse (Reddit tracker)
Last checked: 20 October 2026, from THE Golden Library report “Remote Viewing”. Figures marked * come from search-result summaries only; seller figures are marked as claims. Image credits: historical images from Wikimedia Commons (public domain: Russell Targ photo, CIA document, NASA Hale-Bopp photo, Carol M. Highsmith CIA aerial, Zener cards); diagrams are our own; charts from the report; video thumbnails belong to their YouTube channels; book covers are previews from Open Library; website previews are screenshots of the linked pages.
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