Project Stargate was the codename of a secret unit of the U.S. Army established in 1978 by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), SRI International and the CIA in Fort Meade, Maryland, to investigate the potential for psychic phenomena and their application as a weapon of war. This plan, and its precursors, adopted several names over time, including "Center Lane", "Gondola Wish" and "Scanate", and was renamed the Stargate Project in 1991.
During its existence, among others, experimentation focused on remote visualization, i.e., the ability to appreciate events, sites or information from a great distance, through mind power. One of the most memorable experiences was that of the American psychic Ingo Swann, who, tired of the monotony involved in applying his extraordinary abilities to our world, decided to leave our planet and project his consciousness to the rings of Jupiter, where he observed auroras, ice crystals and other phenomena in the spring of 1973. This data was later corroborated by the Voyager 1 probe when it orbited this planet in 1979.
His acclaimed psychic abilities were widely studied by physicists Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ, who tried to stimulate his mind with challenges that allowed him to challenge his limits. However, the test that caused the greatest impact, was his psychic journey to Mars during the first half of the eighties. In his journey, Swann moved to what was the red planet 2 million years ago and there he observed abandoned roads, canals, aqueducts, pyramids, obelisks and even strange tall beings that seemed to be shadows.
The project was overseen until 1987 by Lieutenant Frederick Holmes and Major General Albert Stubblebine, who was appointed president of the Monroe Institute in later years. Despite impressive findings during the tests, the Stargate Project was completed and declassified in 1995, after a CIA report concluded that it was never useful in any intelligence operation.
According to the US agency, the information provided by the programme was vague, included irrelevant data and generated suspicions about the management of its managers, when they detected that some reports had been changed to meet certain objectives.
The immeasurable power of the mind has been one of the greatest enigmas in history. Its enormous potential can allow us to grow as a species, before some governments decide to use us for their dark purposes.