Remote viewing isn’t just a fringe curiosity-it has a fascinating history at the heart of Cold War intelligence. For over two decades, the U.S. military and intelligence agencies invested millions of dollars investigating whether psychic phenomena could provide a strategic advantage. Here’s how remote viewing became a tool of government research, and what those efforts revealed.
The Birth of Psychic Espionage
In the early 1970s, reports surfaced that the Soviet Union was investing heavily in “psychotronic” and parapsychological research. Concerned about falling behind, the CIA and other U.S. agencies launched their own investigations. This led to the creation of a series of classified programs, including SCANATE, Grill Flame, Center Lane, Sun Streak, and ultimately the Stargate Project.
Code Name Agency/Period Description & Focus
| Code Name | Agency/Period | Description & Focus |
| SCANATE | CIA (early 1970s) | The first formal remote viewing research, funded by the CIA and conducted at Stanford Research Institute (SRI). The name means “scan by coordinate,” referring to the use of geographic coordinates as targets. |
| GONDOLA WISH | Army (mid-1970s) | An early Army program exploring various psychic phenomena, including remote viewing, as potential intelligence tools. |
| GRILL FLAME | Army INSCOM (late 1970s–early 1980s) | Consolidated remote viewing research and operational work under Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Involved both laboratory research and real-world intelligence tasks. |
| CENTER LANE | DIA (1983–1984) | Focused on training military personnel in Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV), with Ingo Swann as a key trainer. Marked a shift toward more structured protocols and operational use. |
| SUN STREAK | DIA/CIA (mid-1980s–early 1990s) | Continued operational remote viewing with an emphasis on intelligence applications, including high-profile cases like the Iran hostage crisis. |
| PROJECT CF | Agency unclear | Less documented, but mentioned as one of the parallel or precursor efforts. |
| STARGATE | DIA (1991–1995) | The final consolidation of all previous programs under one name. Stargate focused on both research and operational intelligence gathering using remote viewing. The project was terminated and declassified in 1995 after independent review. |
The initial research was conducted at the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in California, led by physicists Harold Puthoff and Russell Targ. Their goal: to determine if individuals could accurately describe distant or unseen locations using only their minds. The CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and Army Intelligence all became involved as sponsors. Experiments included “coordinate remote viewing,” where viewers were given only the latitude and longitude of a target and asked to describe it-sometimes with surprising accuracy.
By the late 1970s, remote viewing research shifted from the lab to operational intelligence. The Stargate Project, based at Fort Meade, Maryland, became the umbrella for these efforts. A small team of military personnel and civilian contractors attempted to use remote viewing to gather intelligence on everything from Soviet military installations to the location of hostages in Lebanon.
Some notable examples include:
- The accurate description of a secret Soviet submarine construction site, later confirmed by satellite imagery.
- The location of a U.S. hostage in Lebanon, which was later corroborated by released hostages.
Declassification and Evaluation
In 1995, the CIA declassified many documents about these programs, revealing the extent of U.S. government involvement. The Stargate Project was terminated after an independent review concluded that, although some laboratory results were statistically significant, the information produced was too vague, inconsistent, and unreliable for actionable intelligence.
The U.S. government’s remote viewing research is a testament to the lengths nations will go to seek an edge-even venturing into the realm of the paranormal. While the programs ultimately failed to deliver reliable psychic intelligence, they left behind a trove of declassified documents and a lasting cultural fascination with the idea of “psychic spies.”
While the military’s remote viewing programs ultimately didn’t produce consistently reliable intelligence, their legacy highlights something fascinating about the human mind: our innate intuition. Scientific research increasingly supports the idea that intuition-the ability to make decisions or grasp knowledge without conscious reasoning-is a real and valuable skill. Studies show that intuition can be strengthened with deliberate practice, experience, and mindfulness. For example, research by Gary Klein and colleagues demonstrates that experts in high-stakes fields often make rapid, effective decisions by drawing on deeply honed intuitive skills developed through repeated exposure and feedback. Additional studies reveal that intuition can lead to faster and more accurate decisions, and that these abilities can improve over time with practice.
Mindfulness practices, such as meditation, have also been shown to enhance self-insight and intuitive abilities by increasing awareness of subtle internal cues and reducing mental noise. As a result, developing your intuition through focused practice and mindfulness can help you make better decisions and unlock new ways of perceiving the world.
Whether you’re navigating everyday life or tackling big challenges, research suggests that honing your intuition is not only possible, but may be one of your most powerful tools! Let me know if you like this topic and want to hear more!