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THE ORGONE ORIGIN:
the story of Wilhelm Reich

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Reich and some broad, circa 1900’s

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I. Intro

What we at Aetheric have to offer is biological energy, attracted to and made tangible by a material I call “Aether.” It’s based off the research of Wilhelm Reich, and his discovery of what he coined “orgone.” An associate of Freud’s, they believed that there was a tangible form of energy behind sexuality. They split ways eventually, with Freud coming to the conclusion that there was no energy, and that “libido,” as he named it, was simply an aspect of the physical brain. Reich, however, continued. He found that this energy was not simply restricted to human sexuality, but also applied to health, the environment, weather and beyond. Much like what various cultures refer to as “chi,” “prana,” “mana,” and various other pseudonyms. In essence, the vital force behind life.

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II. Piracy for Personal Ease

I’ll admit, I have a million things to do at once concerning this venture. To do these subjects justice, I would need to give them attention and care.

That, or do a whole lot of copying and pasting.

Here’s the thing. Basics like history, such as people or findings that happened decades ago, I’m just not that interested in pouring my time into. It’s already out there. All neat and typed. I want to share that which is utterly new and unheard of; all my personal work and discoveries. The material presented until then is simply to get you up to speed and ready for what’s to come.

However! I’m a good man. I’ll make it quick and painless to get all caught up. I’ll cut out pieces I find interesting from various sources, link them, and say a few words on each snippet to get that brain of yours churning. To view the page I got my quoted text from, click the link buddied with each snippet.

We have a deal? Cool.

To start, Wikipedia? My old friend. What do you have for me on this man Reich?

III. The Beginning

Wilhelm Reich was born in Dobzau, Galicia (at the time, this was part of Austria-Hungary).

Reading through this Wikipedia page, I see the editors did their best to paint him as a sexual fanatic. Brothels, sexual mom fantasies, watching farm animals do it, etc. All this before the age of 15. Personally I think it’s a hoot, having read his biography. Without adequate pacing or explanation, most anyone would appear to be quite the little pervert if you listed all their naughty tidbits in a single paragraph. Everything has to be sensationalized, doesn’t it… In any case, you’ll see why this is how most people view him soon enough.

So, continuing, the little freak grew up, got psoriasis on his face, and found himself with an interest in Freud. In 1922, Reich began working in Freud’s psychoanalytic outpatient clinic, known as the Vienna Ambulatorium. Reich became the assistant director of the Vienna clinic under Hitschmann in 1924 and worked there until his relocation to Berlin in 1930.

IV. Reich Makes Headway

With access to patients, Reich was able to get some real world experience. This was right after World War I, so please understand, there was an eager crowd riddled with issues. With an endless stream of people to treat, he began to formulate his own theories on psychology.

“Sharaf writes that working with labourers, farmers and students allowed Reich to transition treating neurotic symptoms to observing chaotic lifestyles and anti-social personalities.^[33] Reich argued that neurotic symptoms such as obsessive-compulsive disorder were an unconscious attempt to gain control of a hostile environment, including poverty or childhood abuse. They were examples of what he called “character armour” (Charakterpanzer), repetitive patterns of behaviour, speech and body posture that served as defence mechanisms.^”

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Sharaf, by the way, refers to Myron Sharaf, the fellow who wrote his biography. Former student of his.

Further down the same column on that page:

“Reich joined the faculty of the Psychoanalytic Institute in Vienna in 1924, and became its director of training.^[37] According to Danto, he was well-regarded during this period for the weekly technical seminars he chaired at the Ambulatorium, where he gave papers on his emerging theory of character structure, arguing that psychoanalysis should be based on the examination of unconscious character traits, later known as ego defences.^[38] The seminars were attended, from 1927, by Fritz Perls, who went on to develop Gestalt therapy with his wife, Laura Perls.^[39] Several commentators remarked on how captivating his seminars were, and what an eloquent speaker he was.”

Then he wrote a book. This got him in real cozy with Freud. Way to climb that ladder, Reich.

“Reich’s first book, Der triebhafte Charakter: Eine psychoanalytische Studie zur Pathologie des Ich (“The Impulsive Character: A Psychoanalytic Study of the Pathology of the Self”), was published in 1925.^[41] It was a study of the anti-social personalities he had encountered in the Ambulatorium, and argued the need for a systematic theory of character.^[42] The book won him professional recognition, including from Freud, who in 1927 arranged for his appointment to the executive committee of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.^{[43]”

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V. Reich Gets Raunchy

Ever the eager one to get to the bottom of both sexuality and character formation, there began the first foray into a neatly wrapped combo of the two that he termed “orgastic potency.”

“Beginning in 1924, Reich published a series of papers on the idea of “orgastic potency,” the ability to release the emotions from the muscles and lose the self in an uninhibited orgasm, an idea that Freud came to term Reich’s “Steckenpferd” (hobby horse).^[47] Reich argued that psychic health and the ability to love depended on orgastic potency, the full discharge of the libido: “Sexual release in the sex act must correspond to the excitement which leads up to it.”^[48] He wrote: “It is not just to fuck … not the embrace in itself, not the intercourse. It is the real emotional experience of the loss of your ego, of your whole spiritual self.”^[49] He argued that orgastic potency was the goal of character analysis.^[50]

Whereas Reich’s work on character was well received by the psychoanalytic community, Sharaf writes, his work concerning orgastic potency was unpopular from the start and later ridiculed. He was termed the “prophet of the better orgasm” and the “founder of a genital utopia.”^{[51]”

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How utterly boring, a therapist who sees sex with depth as a cure for neuroses, yawn…

I’m kidding. This approach may be a lot of things, and it certainly isn’t boring. He was derided for this view at the time, but I feel he’d have an enthusiastic fan base if he were around today. I can certainly attest to the cleansing, uplifting effects of genuine lovemaking. Who wouldn’t?

…ah,right, I see, a majority of people would see this as an intrusive approach. It would be easy to abuse. Not easy to trust people these days, right. Someone saying they can smooth out your issues with an orgasm sounds, well, creepy.

I’m not saying it doesn’t. It just makes me wonder, even if we don’t agree with it, are sexuality and mental health as related as he believed? If it was, I would be willing to try it.

When it comes to my health, I wouldn’t want to avoid a surer path to healing because of my insecurities. If embracing my sexuality could help me in life, I see no reason not to.

If it’s enjoyable, healthy and emotionally freeing, I say it’s worth exploring. I like health. And I like orgasms. Personally, I’m hyped.

What will happen next? Where will this road take us? Find out next paragraph at Aetheric.org!

“From 1930 onwards, Reich began to treat patients without the limits of psychoanalysis’s restrictions. He would sit opposite them, rather than behind them as they lay on a couch (the traditional psychoanalyst’s position), and began talking to them and answering their questions, instead of offering the stock, “Why do you ask?” analyst’s response. He had noticed that after a successful course of psychoanalysis his patients would hold their bodies differently, so he began to try to communicate with the body using touch. He asked his male patients to undress down to their shorts, and sometimes entirely, and his female patients down to their underclothes, and began to massage them to loosen their body armour. He would also ask them to simulate physically the effects of certain emotions in the hope of triggering them.^{[74]”

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Did any of you squirm in your seats upon reading that? Are your brows furrowed?

GOOD.

I can personally attest. Touch is important. Far more important than we might think in our touchless, hypersensitive, politically-correct-to-the-point-of-extremism society we currently inhabit. Everyone’s afraid to touch each other, or be touched. Somehow we accepted the idea that almost any touch is somehow violating, or has sexual undertones, and rather than try and sort it out like adults we throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I’ll vent for a second. Take a seat, get comfortable.

First off, touch therapy is already widespread and accepted. Ever had a massage? Consider it “flaccid” touch therapy. Wait, that came out wrong, but you understand where I’m coming from. It’s therapeutic, though it doesn’t directly address any sort of psychological issue.

Same goes for this long list of touch-based therapies known all over the world, many for thousands of years. All still being used and further researched today. They all certainly demonstrate beneficial effects, though few combine this approach with psychological therapy.

In essence, this was Reich’s innovation. Controversial, yes. What do we make of it?

See it as being ahead of its time. Or see it as a gross violation of how a therapist “should” be: detached and permitted only to deal with the mental. Psychology involves only the brain, and the body is simply a shell for it. There’s zero crossover. Thus the body should not be involved at all.

Both fine options, surely.

It’s up to you.

VI. Now We Introduce Energy

Things start to get interesting.

“In October 1934, Reich and Lindenberg relocated to Oslo, Norway, where Harald K. Schjelderup, professor of psychology at the University of Oslo, had invited Reich to lecture on character analysis and vegetotherapy. They stayed for five years.^[81]

During his time in Norway, Reich attempted to express his orgasm theory in terms of biology, exploring whether Freud’s metaphor of the libido was in fact electricity or a chemical substance, an argument Freud had proposed in the 1890s but had abandoned.^[82] Reich argued that conceiving of the orgasm as nothing but mechanical tension and relaxation could not explain why some experience pleasure and others do not. He wanted to know what additional element had to be present for pleasure to be felt.^[83]

Reich was influenced by the work of the Austrian internist Friedrich Kraus, who argued in his paper Allgemeine und Spezielle Pathologie der Person (1926) that the biosystem was a relay-like switch mechanism of electrical charge and discharge. Reich wrote in an essay, “Der Orgasmus als Elektro-physiologische Entladung” (“The Orgasm as an Electrophysiological Discharge”, 1934), that the orgasm is just such a bioelectrical discharge and proposed his “orgasm formula”: mechanical tension (filling of the organs with fluid; tumescence) → bioelectrical charge → bioelectrical discharge → mechanical relaxation (detumescence).^{[84]”

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This is the big shift in direction for Mr. Reich. It’s at this point that he feels that it is not simply the orgasm that has an effect on one’s psychology. As is stated, some people can orgasm without feeling pleasure or the accompanying relaxation. He encountered this frequently in his trials with patients, and it puzzled him. So, he trudged on.

There is some research he does with what he termed “bions,” but this article is already fairly lengthy. Look into it yourself if you wish. I may add it in later as an optional tome. All I can say is that this is where the origins of his “orgone theory” began.

Having said that, let’s get to orgone theory! Covering all the bases be damned.

VII. The Orgone Origin

Reich was not having an easy time doing research in Europe, so hopped over to the U.S. This is where things begin to pick up.

“It was soon after he arrived in New York in 1939 that Reich first said he had discovered a biological or cosmic energy, an extension of Freud’s idea of the libido. He termed it “orgone energy” or “orgone radiation,” and the study of it ‘orgonomy.'”
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Why the word orgone? Incorporating the words “orgasm” and “organism,” he coined his own unique term to describe this observed energy. Personally I don’t care for the word, but hey, what can you do? To test this theory out, Reich fashioned boxes which he termed “orgone accumulators.”

“In 1940, he began to build insulated Faraday cages, “orgone accumulators,” that he said would concentrate the orgone. The earliest boxes were for laboratory animals. The first human-sized, five-foot-tall box was built in December 1940, and set up in the basement of his house. Turner writes that it was made of plywood lined with rock wool and sheet iron, and had a chair inside and a small window. The boxes had multiple layers of these materials, which caused the orgone concentration inside the box to be three to five times stronger than in the air, Reich said.^[108]“

Unique to Mr. Reich, he devised a way to attract and direct biological energy without years of meditation and practice in a spiritual regimen (as you might see in Qigong or Tai Chi). Reich’s theory was that this “orgone energy” was attracted to metal. When this energy was pulled in and made contact, it would then reflect off. He found that organic material didn’t attract or repel this energy but would instead accumulate it if exposed.

Having said all that, how exactly does an orgone accumulator work? In his view, this orgone energy was attracted by the sheets of metal. However, since the metal sheets were surrounded by organic material, it was unable to escape as it usually would. Over time the collected amount would grow and be pushed inward until the entire chamber was saturated with it. Numerous writers and artists were proponents of Reich’s technology, from J.D. Salinger to Devo. It’s a shame, the shape this Wikipedia page is in, but hey…

…it’s Wikipedia.

The truth you end up with is determined by whichever party is the most stubborn. In this case, it’s skeptics, whitewashers and those with a grudge against what could be a very disruptive technology. Big surprise.

Moving on.

VIII. Effects of the Accumulators

Oh man, this is one long section. Scary, I know. It’s mostly lists you can skip through, so don’t abandon ship just yet. You’re so close.

As mentioned in section VII, there were a good number of writers and artists who were drawn to orgone. First up, William S. Burroughs.

“William S. Burroughs was a major proponent of orgone research, who often included it as part of the surreal imagery in his novels. Orgone interested Burroughs particularly because he believed that it could be used to ease or alleviate “junk sickness”—a popular term for heroin withdrawal. This fitted well in the context of his novels, which were usually narrative recreations of his own experiences with narcotics and the Beat life.”
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He built his own accumulator, and further down the page he had this to say:

“Constant use of junk of the years has given me the habit of directing attention inward. When I went into the accumulator and sat down I noticed a special silence that you sometimes feel in deep woods, sometimes on a city street, a hum that is more rhythmic vibration than a sound. My skin prickled and I experienced an aphrodisiac effect similar to good strong weed. No doubt about it, orgones are as definite a force as electricity. After using the accumulator for several days my energy came back to normal. I began to eat and could not sleep more than eight hours. I was out of the post cure drag.”

Other notable people who make mention of orgone accumulators include Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger, Kate Bush, and some old famous people I’ve never heard of, like the British band Hawkwind. They wrote this trippy item titled “Orgone Accumulator”:

“I’ve got an Orgone Accumulator

It makes me feel greater
I’ll see you sometime later
When I’m through with my Accumulator

It’s no social integrator
It’s a one man isolator
It’s a back brain stimulator
It’s a cerebral vibrator

…But an Orgone Accumulator
Is a superman creator”

That was fun.

Alright, so some writers and singers were fans. This by itself does little to authenticate something as otherworldly as orgone energy. Not at all conclusive of whether or not these magic closets actually did anything.

Wouldn’t it be depressing if after all this struggle, there was nothing observed to happen at all? If it was all entirely bunk?

It would be. Luckily it is not the case. Take a look.

Disease/Condition ——– Physician/Author — Year
Cancer Biopathy ———- Wilhelm Reich 1943-48
Cancer, Burns ————- Walter Hoppe 1945
Mediastinal Malignancy — Simeon Tropp 1949
Multiple conditions ——- Walter Hoppe 1950
Multiple conditions ——- Victor Sobey 1950
Rheumatic Fever ———- William Anderson 1950
Breast Cancer ————–Simeon Tropp 1950
Ichthyosis —————– Alan Cott 1951
Manic Depression ——– Philip Gold 1951
Hypertensive Biopathy — Emanuel Levine 1951
Leukemia —————— Wilhelm Reich 1951
Cancer ——————— Simeon Tropp 1951
Diabetes ——————- N. Weverick 1951
Coronary Occlusion —— Emanuel Levine 1952
Multiple conditions ——- Kenneth Bremer 1953
Skin Cancer ————— Walter Hoppe 1955
Pulmonary Tuberculosis — Victor Sobey 1955
Uterine Cancer ————- Eva Reich, W. Reich 1955
Uterine Cancer ————- Chester Raphael 1956
Rheumatoid Arthritis —— Victor Sobey 1956
Malignant Melanoma —— Walter Hoppe 1968
Cancer Biopathy ———– Richard Blasband 1975
Cancer Biopathy ———– Robert Dew 1981
Multiple conditions ——- Dorothea Fuckert 1989
Skin Infections ———— Myron Brener 1991
Cancer Biopathy ———- Heiko Lassek 1991
Multiple conditions ——- Jorgos Kavouras 2005″

…

“Independent confirming studies of Reich’s work by serious natural scientists and physicians go back over more than 70 years. Most all of these later studies were undertaken by individuals with MD or PhD degrees from mainstream universities, and using the best-available equipment for their time, working in private or university laboratories and employing controlled systematic procedures.”
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This is a list taken from James DeMeo, a modern day proponent of orgone research. These are the doctors/authors who authored these papers. The conclusions drawn from them indicate that the mentioned symptoms and maladies were aided with orgone treatment. Naturally, most of these articles and journals are not freely published on the web (some are quite old), but you can see them cited in a bibliography on this page. Just search the names, you’ll find them.

Since pictures are more fun, this Youtube clip has footage of some of these journal entries, as well as graphs and data of various experiments. He spends the last two minutes selling his own books on this topic, but it’s still an interesting watch.

If you’re not interested in snooping around other websites or watching Youtube, I’ll just hack this entire section of his page and paste it here. These are experiments done with mice, each with a short summary on what was observed. I liked the bit he wrote at the end of this list too, so I’m including it.

“There also are many controlled experimental studies undertaken with laboratory mice, evaluating the effects of the orgone accumulator or orgone medical dor-buster (a related apparatus) upon their health and longevity. This includes mice either genetically predisposed to develop spontaneous tumors or leukemia, or who were given tumor transplants. As noted, these studies showed considerable improvement in the health of these immunologically-stressed or weakened mice when given a daily treatment with the orgone accumulator, as compared to otherwise identically-treated control groups. This was reflected in their overall descriptions and vitality factors as detailed in the various papers, but mostly is objectified in their dramatically increased lifespans. Orgone accumulator treatment increased the mouse lifespans from 1.6 to 3 times as long as the controls!

1. Wilhelm Reich: “Orgone Therapy Experiments”, in The Cancer Biopathy, Orgone Institute Press, Rangeley, ME 1948 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973, p.290-309). …The orgone accumulator approximately tripled the life-spans of the treated mice.

2. Blasband, Richard A.: “The Orgone Energy Accumulator in the Treatment of Cancer Mice”, Journal of Orgonomy, 7(1):81-85, 1973. …The orgone accumulator treated group lived 1.6 times as long.

3. Blasband, Richard A.: “Effects of the Orac on Cancer in Mice: Three Experiments”, Journal of Orgonomy, 18(2):202-211, 1984. …The orgone accumulator treated mice, developing spontaneous tumors and treated early, lived nearly twice as long.

4. Trotta, E.E. & Marer, E.: “The Orgonotic Treatment of Transplanted Tumors and Associated Immune Functions”, Journal of Orgonomy, 24(1):39-44, 1990. …The orgone accumulator more than doubled the lifespans of the treated mice.

5. Blasband, Richard A.: “The Medical DOR-Buster in the Treatment of Cancer Mice”, Journal of Orgonomy, 8(2):173-180, 1974. …Medical dor-buster treatment alone led to a significant 50%+ increase in longevity.

6. Grad, Bernard: “The Accumulator Effect on Leukemia Mice”, Journal of Orgonomy, 26(2):199-218, 1992. …The orgone accumulator treatment reduced their leukemia incidence by around 20%

7. Baker, Courtney F., et al: “Wound Healing in Mice, Part I”, Annals, Inst. Orgonomic Science, 1(1):12-23, 1984. “… Part II”, Annals, Inst. Orgonomic Science, 2(1):7-24, 1985. …Observed increased healing by orgone accumulator treatment from a nominal 1% to 12% increase in Therapeutic Index, and were statistically significant.

The reader might correctly complain there are only a few studies to show after so many years following Reich’s death. However, one must appreciate how all of these physicians and scientists took great personal and professional risks in doing this kind of research. The chronic open warfare against orgonomy by the FDA and medical groups, which has existed since the 1940s, has taken its toll. Nevertheless, everything here confirms Wilhelm Reich’s original positions, and powerfully suggests the orgone accumulator ought to be available for use in every home, clinic and hospital, worldwide.“

Not to talk against myself or anything, but if any of you hail from a scientific background, you’ll notice an issue with this list. Two, actually.

There is no variety of sources. Almost all come from the same journal.
It’s from a journal called Journal of Orgonomy. Yeah, sounds real legit.

It’s worth pointing out. Why is it we don’t see research coming from all directions? How is it that I don’t know about this, if all this really happened?

I consider myself educated. Put yourself in my shoes. At some point I was figuring this all out for myself, and saw that it didn’t add up. In the end, was this all some bizarre sham with scads of faulty experiments that were in its favor? Maybe all the science was wrong. Maybe the experiments were designed poorly; every single one. For most, it was the sensible choice. No way this all actually happened.

Or, it could be a second option.

Before I get to that, let’s find out what happened to Reich.

IX. Bad End

I’ll be honest. Reich never had it very easy. I didn’t make it a priority to paste over all his embarrassments, defeats and losses. His relationships were troubled, the establishments he wanted to affect shut him out, and he had psoriasis.

Wait, I did mention psoriasis. Right on his face, too. I mean, for a man so fond of sexuality… it couldn’t have been no picnic.

If you’re curious about these Reichian struggles, you should read the rest of the Wikipedia page. It delights in showcasing any and all flaws that are to be found, so you’ll get your fill for sure. I’m trying to keep this trim and informative, therefore there’s much I did not include on this page.

However, the downfall and death of Reich is very much worth mentioning here. It’s a story that everyone can relate to, especially in these times.

In any case, let’s get right to it. Reich had been in the U.S. for a number of years now and was making an impression.

“…his psychoanalytic work had been discussed in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the American Journal of Psychiatry, The Nation had given his writing positive reviews, and he was listed in the book American Men of Science.^{[128]”

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Since he was getting favorable data from patients, people were curious to try this peculiar box and see what it could do for them. This technology was quite cheap compared to typical medical procedures, and since it never stopped working nor needed maintenance, orgone seemed poised to change the medical industry forever.

Just imagine if treatment for a number of common issues was energy based and essentially free. How different would things be today?

Naturally, this made some people nervous. For instance, those who were doing quite well dealing with medicine as a business. There are a few books that go into just how this went down, such as Wilhelm Reich Verses the USA by Gerome Greenfield, PhD. To see how an industry was able to rally and demand the government take legislative action in their favor is…

Well, it’s…

It’s exactly like today. By now we’re fairly familiar with it. Corporations are people, huge bailouts, etc. This wasn’t a development that suddenly took place in recent years. Not at all.

Though it is rare to see it done so blatantly and out in the open.

I’ll write more in depth on that issue some other time. For now, we see the FDA spring into action.

“In July 1947, Dr. J. J. Durrett, director of the Medical Advisory Division of the Federal Trade Commission, wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking them to investigate Reich’s claims about the health benefits of orgone. The FDA assigned an investigator to the case, who learned that Reich had built 250 accumulators. The FDA concluded that they were dealing with a “fraud of the first magnitude.” Sharaf writes that the FDA suspected a sexual racket of some kind; questions were asked about the women associated with orgonomy and “what was done with them.”^[133] From that point on, Reich’s work came increasingly to the attention of the authorities.^{[134]”

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Hey FDA, while you’re at it, why not investigate the rampant sexual crimes down in Hollywood? You know, all the child actors who speak out about how it’s commonplace and rather frightful? They’ve even named names. Why not just go a take a peek?

Ah, wait, that’s right, there’s nothing in it for you. There’s no industry heavyweights pushing for it. I guess we can let that one slide.

Continuing…

“In February 1954, the United States Attorney for the District of Maine filed a 27-page complaint seeking a permanent injunction under Sections 301 and 302 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prevent interstate shipment of orgone accumulators and to ban promotional literature.^[143] Reich refused to appear in court, arguing that no court was in a position to evaluate his work. In a letter to Judge John D. Clifford, Jr. in February, he wrote:^[144]

‘My factual position in the case as well as in the world of science of today does not permit me to enter the case against the Food and Drug Administration, since such action would, in my mind, imply admission of the authority of this special branch of the government to pass judgment on primordial, pre-atomic cosmic orgone energy. I, therefore, rest the case in full confidence in your hands.’

The injunction was granted by default on 19 March 1954. The judge ordered that all accumulators, parts and instructions be destroyed, and that several of Reich’s books that mentioned orgone be withheld.^{[145]”

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Now it’s banned. That’s a bit of a leap, don’t you think? Lots of text to paste, so I won’t dwell on it much.

Things weren’t quite moving fast enough to satisfy those involved, so in the usual government style, they involved themselves.

“While Reich was in Arizona in May 1956, one of his associates sent an accumulator part through the mail to another state, in violation of the injunction, after an FDA inspector posing as a customer requested it.^[151] Reich and another associate, Dr. Michael Silvert, were charged with contempt of court; Silvert had been looking after the inventory in Reich’s absence. Reich at first refused to attend court, and was arrested and detained for two days until an endorser posted bail of $30,000.^[152]

The jury found him guilty on 7 May 1956, and he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. Silvert was sentenced to a year and a day, the Wilhelm Reich Foundation was fined $10,000, and the accumulators and associated literature were to be destroyed.^{[152]”

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In one of the most brazen acts of censorship on this planet, his entire works were to be burned and the word “orgone” was essentially banned from literature. In fact, call me crazy, but this might be the only time in history that the FDA ever went as far as to burn literature. Can you guys find any other examples? I couldn’t. They almost did it again with Stevia, if the internet is to be believed. I’ll look into that more later.

Moving on…

Reich had personally done nothing wrong, but due to the actions of an “associate,” he was tossed in jail. I hate when that happens, personally. Wouldn’t that ruin your day?

They sure were eager to make sure this stuff never expanded beyond the state of Maine. What’s with the undercover FDA agent? So concerned were they over this, at worst, harmless technology that they had to go undercover to be fully sure this menace was contained.

At a later date I’ll read through the books that go over this event. It all just sounds so… off.

In any case, it happened. Off he went. He didn’t enjoy his time there, and was eager to make his exit.

“His last letter to his son was on 22 October 1957, when he said he was looking forward to being released on 10 November, having served one third of his sentence. A parole hearing had been scheduled for a few days before that date. He wrote that he and Peter had a date for a meal at the Howard Johnson restaurant near Peter’s school.^{[15]”

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Then this happened.

“Reich failed to appear for roll call on 3 November 1957 and was found at 7 a.m. in his bed, fully clothed but for his shoes. The prison doctor said he had died during the night of “myocardial insufficiency with sudden heart failure.”^{[15]”

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That’s a shame. Just days before his parole hearing, too.

X. Conclusion

Let’s think back to how we ended section VIII. There were two options for what actually happened here.

The first I’ve already shared. This could all be a sham. All bad experiments, all mass hysteria. Whoops.

The second option is a little more complex.

If Reich was correct, and those who duplicated his results are correct, then why don’t we see anything else on it? How is it that this wasn’t picked up by other, more popular journals? Why isn’t it used on a larger scale today?

Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a researcher.

I see that the originator of this technology was imprisoned and then died for it
All his work and equipment relating to orgone was hacked to pieces and burnt
I would like for that not to happen here; I would very much like to keep my doodads intact
Because of this spectacle, the scientific world is now scared to touch the topic of orgone
If I try and research it, I may have difficulty being accepted by others in my field due to violating this taboo
Even if I didn’t care, and wished to research it anyways, no journal would publish this. Otherwise it too would also come under fire
My only choice, if I wish to continue, is to publish in the only place it will be accepted

This might be why you only saw entries from the Journal of Orgonomy in those mice-related experiments.

Big journals like Science and Nature do not like to publish anything that rocks the boat too much. You think the only criteria for journal submission is that the science is sound and peer reviewed? My friend, you have much to learn about the scientific industry. In an upcoming blog, I’ll show you just how research and getting work published takes place. It’s a bit of a rat race.

Orgone is still a touchy subject to this day. It would be nearly impossible to get a serious study funded. If people come across this facet of history and decide to test the science themselves, their only option is to do it on their own. Like me.

I’m glad I did.

The rest is up to you. If you’re an actual human being, there’s at least one part of this man’s story you enjoyed. Be it his “sexual revolution,” his constant position as the underdog, his defiance of an ignorant and brutish government, and his dabbling in what some would call magic… there’s nothing bland or boring about what we’ve gone over today.

If something resonates with you, I’m telling you not to ignore it. Reich is not the only person in the world to be silenced. Nor is he the only one to delve into biological energy. He was one of the few who took this idea the furthest, and almost made some big waves. The West almost escaped pure materialism as its sole mantra.

Follow your excitement. Do your own research. The Wikipedia page I quoted from was designed to make Reich look like a sad, untrustworthy lunatic. Take a look yourself sometime. It’s fairly obvious. If your attention span holds out, go do some more research.

Or don’t read another word and grab a free Aether sample from me. You don’t have to believe me or anyone else on the internet. You can decide for yourself whether orgone is sincere science or a sham.

If you get your sample, follow the instructions, and feel something…

If that’s the case, then Reich was right. People were helped. His work was wrongly hidden from the history books. If orgone truly exists, and you now personally know this to be true, then you can never take history for granted again.

You cannot trust everything that your government tells you to be the case. History books may be missing important events that you will never know you don’t know. That is, unless you go looking.

Reich was an innovator that provided the framework for how my technology works. For that, I have a lot of gratitude for him. I’ve gained a lot from getting myself involved, and I wish he were alive to see what others will do with what he started.

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THE ORGONE ORIGIN: the story of Wilhelm Reich

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THE ORGONE ORIGIN:
the story of Wilhelm Reich