Is there a Gateway tapes app?
The official course is inside Expand. Here are your options.
The Monroe Institute’s own app is called Expand, and its online Gateway course is sold inside it. The original Gateway Experience albums are sold as official downloads at hemi-sync.com. Shimmr is something else: new guided Journeys, inspired by the tapes and made for your phone, with a voice and sound you can adjust.
What a phone-first session looks like
Written for its length
Each journey is written for its own time, with a full descent and a guided return. None is a long session cut short.
Your voice level, or none
Start on Clear while you learn the steps, then try Balanced or Soft. Off leaves only the sound.
No signal needed
Journeys are built into the app, so one plays in flight mode, on a train or in a cabin with no reception.
Screen off
Lock your phone and put it face down. The session keeps playing and nothing lights up the room.
A timer that fades
To fall asleep afterwards, play a Shift like Awake → Asleep with the sleep timer. The sound fades out instead of stopping dead.
Saved to Apple Health
Your sessions are logged as mindful minutes in Apple Health, alongside the rest of your day.
Where to start
Before you press play
Stereo headphones, low volume, lying down or reclined. Never while driving. If you have epilepsy, ask a doctor first.
First: Arrival
14 minutes, and free. Learn the method of weight, breath and sound, and hear what the tones in each ear do.
Then: Stillness
15 minutes. Once Arrival feels familiar, practise resting your body for longer while your attention stays with you.
After that, your own pace
Repeat a journey until it feels easy, then move on. The series builds step by step, but you can play it in any order.
Ways to listen on your phone
| Option | What you get | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Expand, the Monroe Institute’s app | The Institute’s own guided sessions. Its online Gateway course, Gateway Voyage Online, is a separate purchase inside the app. | Official. Not included in the Expand subscription, per the Institute’s support site. |
| Official downloads at hemi-sync.com | The original Gateway Experience albums, called Waves, with the original voice and Hemi-Sync sound. | Official. The site says to play the albums in order, starting with Wave I. |
| Shimmr | New guided Journeys inspired by the tapes, not the tapes. A voice and sound you can adjust. | Independent, with no link to the Monroe Institute. Free to download, and Arrival is free. |
Expand details from the Monroe Institute’s support site, album details from hemi-sync.com, as of November 2026.
The Foundation journeys
The first series in Shimmr. Each journey builds on the one before.
- 1 Arrival Free The method, step by step.
- 2 Stillness A longer rest, attention steady.
- 3 Expanse From one point to the space around you.
- 4 Anchor The method in a single breath.
- 5 Far Shore Fewer words, more open time.
Hear two samples
Thirty seconds each, made live by the app. Awake → Asleep needs headphones. Theta Meditation, an isochronic pulse, also works on speakers.
To be clear
Shimmr doesn’t play the Gateway tapes and isn’t linked to the Monroe Institute. It has none of their recordings, Focus levels or Hemi-Sync. For the original course, use the official sources: the Monroe Institute’s Expand app, or the albums at hemi-sync.com. Shimmr’s Journeys are new sessions with a new voice, inspired by the tapes.
Questions
Is there an official Gateway tapes app?
The Monroe Institute’s official app is Expand. As of November 2026, its support site says the online Gateway course, Gateway Voyage Online, is a separate purchase inside the app, not part of the subscription.
How can I listen to the Gateway Experience on my phone?
Use the official options: the Gateway course inside the Monroe Institute’s Expand app, or the Gateway Experience albums sold as downloads at hemi-sync.com. Wear stereo headphones, keep the volume low and start with Wave I.
Is Shimmr a remastered version of the Gateway tapes?
No. Shimmr contains no Gateway recordings, original or remastered. Its Journeys are new guided sessions with a new voice, and the tones are generated live on your phone.
Is Shimmr free?
Shimmr is free to download, and Arrival, its first journey, is free for everyone. Stillness and the journeys after it come with Shimmr Premium.
Do binaural beats really work?
The evidence is modest and mixed. A 2018 meta-analysis of 22 studies found a medium effect on memory, attention, anxiety and pain, but no study shows that any app takes you to a Focus level.
Gateway Experience, Hemi-Sync and Expand are trademarks of their owners. Shimmr is not a medical device. Never listen while driving.
