When Albert Einstein Met Wilhelm Reich

“For let me repeat once more: above all, the way of thinking is always more important than the facts.”
–Wilhelm Reich

Exploring the broad and deep subject of worldviews and ways of knowing can help us to better understand the place of orgonomy in the human desire to know who we are, where we came from, and where we are going in this vast, unknown universe. Today’s prevailing worldviews are the context within which this new science was born and developed. A comprehension of their main aspects will be useful in helping to see the value of Reich’s perspective and discoveries.

Two Worldviews Collide

In January 1941, in the persons of Albert Einstein and Wilhelm Reich, two scientific worldviews confronted one another. The encounter of these two individuals illustrates with remarkable clarity the decisive role worldviews play when they are put into action in the social setting. Einstein was 62 years old at that time and was the most famous scientist in the world. Wilhelm Reich was 43 years old and, outside of psychoanalytic circles, was an unknown émigré physician-scientist who had been living in the in the United States for less than two years.

In 1933, with the ascent to power of Hitler and the Nazis, Einstein renounced his German citizenship and immigrated to America where he was appointed Professor of Theoretical Physics at Princeton. He became a United States citizen in 1940. In early 1939, physicists Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner and others, wrote a letter to the US Government about the possibility that the Hitler government may have an atomic bomb program. They were ignored. A few months later, after enlisting the support of Einstein, they wrote again. Einstein’s involvement made all the difference. President Franklin D. Roosevelt believed he could not risk having Germany develop an atomic bomb first. This letter is believed to be the key factor that motivated the United States to investigate the development of atomic weapons.

Roosevelt invited Einstein to meet with him and soon after that the United States initiated the Manhattan Project. It is now known that, at that time, the US Government was aware that there was no Nazi atomic bomb project. Officials consciously lied to the scientists working on the Manhattan Project. FDR and his confidantes knew that these scientists would never build such a terrible weapon unless they believed the Nazis were working to create atomic bombs.

Einstein, a pacifist, later regretted his crucial role in the creation of the Manhattan Project (though he did not participate in this effort) and ushering in the “Age of the Atomic Bomb.” He said in an interview in Newsweek magazine "had I known that the Germans would not succeed in developing an atomic bomb, I would have done nothing." The Manhattan Project is estimated to have cost about $2 billion in 1945 US dollars or $46 billion in 2025 US dollars.

In this same period, Wilhelm Reich was also pursuing ground-breaking energy investigations. However, he worked alone and unknown, without any financial support from any social institutions. Instead of being invited to meet with the President, Reich, one of the foremost anti-fascists in Europe and the author of the 1933 classic, The Mass Psychology of Fascism, was arrested by the FBI as a possible “enemy alien.” After three weeks of incarceration, he was released.

At one point, Reich only had $200 to his name and did not know how he would survive. He was at the very beginning of his investigations of a mass-free energy that existed before matter was created, while Einstein and his colleagues were investigating energy after the creation of matter in the attempt to create a bomb. Reich was using a new way of knowing—energetic functionalism—in his research. Einstein’s research was within the accepted structure of mechanistic physics. Reich’s approach was completely outside the framework of the science of his day.

Reich was, of course, unaware of the top-secret Manhattan Project, and Einstein’s connection to it, when he first wrote to Einstein on December 30, 1940 and met with him on January 13, 1941. The key point here is that Einstein’s mechanistic, relativistic science was within the prevailing worldview and was valued by those in power. It led to a massive, secret program whose results still threaten our lives today. In contrast, Reich’s embryonic science was outside of the worldview, not valued, and rejected.

The creation of the atomic bomb, combined with the rejection of a science of Life Energy, is a perfect example of a worldview in action, with all of its devastating consequences.

For thousands of years, there has been a stream of thought in human inquiry that was focused on the living, creative aspects of the universe. In our mechanistic-mystical era, in which the life-negative aspects of both science and religion jeopardize our very existence, this life-positive line of inquiry is not accorded the respect and attention it deserves. But it is in this stream of scientific thought that Reich’s ideas flow.

The difference in ways of knowing and worldviews is evident in the meeting of Albert Einstein and Wilhelm Reich. Reich’s reflections on the larger meaning of his discussions with Einstein are extremely valuable.

There have been scores of biographies of Einstein and a few have briefly noted the meeting between these two men. In these books, this encounter is looked at in terms of the personalities and reputations of the two individuals involved—the world-famous authority and the unknown outsider who is cast in a negative light. However, Reich came to understand his meeting with Einstein in a fundamentally different manner.

In a letter to Dr. Theodore Wolfe on February 18, 1944, published in American Odyssey Letters and Journals 1940-1947, Reich wrote “…after careful thought it seems to me that the whole affair goes back to something more profound than merely a personal conflict between Einstein and myself. Looking at the matter more closely, it appears that in effect, and entirely logically, two worlds of science have collided in this conflict. Einstein was cast in the role of representing inorganic physics, and it fell to me, often much to my regret, to represent a kind of energy which controls both the inorganic sector and the living. Neither Einstein’s personality or my own is involved here.”

On December 21, 1940, Reich wrote in his journal that he had considered writing to Einstein to ask for a meeting with him—but had decided not to do that. However, only nine days later, on December 30, he did write to Einstein asking to meet with him “to discuss a difficult and urgent scientific matter.” Reich gave his professional credentials to Einstein and then briefly explained that the visit had to do with the subject of “a specific biologically effective energy which in many ways behaves differently from anything that is known about electromagnetic energy.” In his letter, Reich emphasized that the energy “is visible and can be concentrated and measured.” Einstein quickly replied to Reich on January 6, 1941, agreeing to meet with him. And on January 13, Reich traveled to Princeton for his appointment with Einstein.

They spoke for five hours that day, from about 3:30 pm until 8:30 pm. Einstein immediately saw the scintillating orgone energy using a modified telescope Reich called an “orgonoscope.” But he wondered if the light phenomena were subjective sensations in his eyes. Einstein also observed the higher temperature at top of the orgone accumulator as compared with the room temperature (this is impossible according to mechanistic physics). However, Reich noted in his journal after the meeting that Einstein did not understand his thoughts on “free energy.”

Einstein wished to study the matter further and Reich had an experimental orgone device made for him. On February 1, 1941, Reich traveled again to Princeton and handed the device over to Einstein for study over the next three weeks. Reich had great hopes at this point for the possibility that he might work with Einstein on the investigation of orgone energy.

However, only one week later, on February 7, Einstein wrote to Reich saying that an assistant had explained the temperature difference as simply heat convection from the ceiling of the room to the tabletop on which the accumulator sat. Reich sent Einstein a long letter scientifically refuting the assistant’s objection and providing Einstein with more information about other physical manifestations of orgone energy. He stressed to Einstein that such a major discovery should not be dismissed on the basis of one misinterpretation of one experiment. He wrote, “The individual facts taken by themselves are impossible to understand—that is the reason for the difficulties I come up against.” Einstein did not respond scientifically to Reich ever again.

It is worth examining the meeting of these two scientists because major aspects of our world are evident in their encounter. As Reich noted in the quotation that opened this article”… the way of thinking is always more important than the facts.” Einstein’s assistant interpreted isolated, new facts in terms of his mechanistic scientific worldview and its way of knowing. Therefore, he came up with a misinterpretation of the results of the orgone energy experiment. Because Einstein shared the same worldview, his assistant’s conclusions made sense to him. They fit in with what he already believed.

Over the years, Reich tried to understand Einstein’s silence. On November 14, 1941, he wondered if Einstein had been turned against him by someone or if he just did not want to be involved. Two years later, he thought it likely that “pestilent rumors” about him had reached Einstein and caused this behavior. In an undated entry in late February or early March 1944, Reich wrote “Einstein’s behavior has remained a riddle to this day. Why did he not reply?”

Reich considered various reasons for Einstein’s failure to write to him. For example, he thought that Einstein may have not understood the orgone energy at all because it contradicted fundamental laws of physics. Or perhaps Einstein had understood orgone energy and saw that it could contribute to the collapse of Einstein’s life’s work. But Reich did not know for sure if either of these two thoughts were correct.

He concluded this entry by writing, “As the years went by, I increasingly tended toward the opinion that the meeting on 13 January 1941 was an encounter between two completely hostile worlds: mechanistic and functional astrophysics—the former a giant with infinite means of waging battle and wielding power, the latter a mere baby that had just been born. The newborn baby held in one fist the fact ‘cosmic energy’ and in the other fist the fact ‘sentient matter.’ This is enough to scare even the most courageous man.”

Einstein had seen the orgone energy with his own eyes but doubted his sense impressions. Although he observed the temperature difference in the thermometers above the orgone accumulator and in the room for over a week, he easily accepted his assistant’s views which “explained away” the phenomenon. In addition, Einstein ignored Reich’s detailed scientific refutation of the assistant’s misinterpretation. The subjective and objective manifestations of orgone energy were thought to be impossible in physics then. This is still true today.

I had an experience in 2004 with a well-known, highly regarded physicist from the Max Planck Institute demonstrating this. A mutual friend asked me to tell this physicist about the experiment that Reich had demonstrated to Einstein, a version of which she had seen at the Wilhelm Reich Museum. As soon as I mentioned the temperature difference, he grimaced, looked down, pounded the table at which we were sitting with his fist, and repeated over and over, “Impossible! Impossible!!” He never allowed me to describe the experiment. Here again, we see the power of a worldview in action in daily life.

In the decades since Reich met Einstein, our culture has done everything in its power to support the development of mechanistic science and its ways of knowing, notably the spread of the destructive, life-inimical nuclear science and its technology. It did so while simultaneously attacking and defaming the embryonic, life-positive energy investigations Reich was pursuing through his functional way of knowing.

Our life on Earth today is shaped at every level by the presence of the mechanistic worldview represented by Einstein and the absence of the functional worldview represented by Reich. We live in the same culture, with the same dominant worldview and ways of knowing, as did Einstein and Reich. It is crucial for each reader to be aware of the power of his or her own worldview since it will affect the very reading of this article. It also has been essential that I, as the author, be aware of my worldview while writing this.

We all have conscious beliefs, as well as unconscious and unexamined assumptions, as a result of being raised within today’s prevailing worldview. There is a strong tendency in all of us to interpret new knowledge in terms of our prior beliefs and assumptions. If readers unconsciously interpret new knowledge according to previous beliefs, they will not understand the information presented here.

Reich’s “way of knowing,” the tool of thinking he used in his exploration of Life Energy, is called “orgonomic functionalism” or “energetic functionalism.” It is as fundamentally different from both mechanistic scientific materialism and metaphysical idealism as orgone energy is from electromagnetism or metaphysical premises. It led him to a very different view of the universe and our place in it. In a powerful statement, written on December 22, 1952, Reich summarized his thoughts on the differences between his scientific view of the universe and Einstein’s:

“Einstein succeeded in fascinating the first half of the twentieth century just because he had emptied space. Emptying space, reducing the whole universe to a static nothing, was the only theory that could satisfy the desert-like character structure of man of this age. Empty, immobile space and a desert character structure fit well together. It was a last attempt on the part of armored man to withstand and withhold knowledge of a universe full of life energy, pulsating in many rhythms, always in a state of development and change; in one word, functional and not mechanistic, mystical or relativistic. It was the last barrier, in scientific terms, to the final breakdown of the human armoring.”

The struggle between those asserting a worldview of a meaningless universe filled with dead energy and matter, with life present only on our planet, and those describing a vibrant, dynamic cosmos with life everywhere, is ongoing today. The issues and conflicts that arose in the meeting of Reich and Einstein in 1941—a meeting of mechanistic and functional science—remain unresolved in 2025. But, importantly, the thrust of the development of science in the last 85 years has been in Reich’s direction. Our survival as a species hangs in the balance.

$100.00 – $250.00

Description

A 5-day in-person only course offered at Orgonon

July 21-25, 2025

Mon thru Friday 9 am to 1 pm.
Course fee $250.  Student rate: $100.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Co-Author: Luca Piergentili

Abstract

Body temperature, body resistance and skin voltage were measured before and after a 20-minute daily ORAC session, carried out in the period April 5th-December 10th, 2021, on a male patient aged 62.

Total number of daily sessions was 226. The difference of the temperature and electrical parameters was found by a t-Student test to be highly statistically significant. This means effects were unlikely to have occurred by chance. During an ORAC session the organism, in addition to energy dissipation through the well-known basal metabolic rate process, might be subjected to two further processes in which energy variation might occur. These are related to the variation of thermal energy, and of electrical energy. Healing processes observed in an ill organism during the use of ORACs might be closely related in some still unknown ways to the action of the variation of the above energies.

Introduction and background

The orgone energy accumulator (ORAC) is a device, conceived by Wilhelm Reich in the ‘40s of the last century, whose peculiarity is to concentrate a specific kind of energy from the atmosphere.¹ According to Reich this kind of energy, called orgone energy, can be found everywhere and fills the Universe and all things in Nature and is the primary component of matter. In high concentrations, such as those found inside an ORAC, it has many beneficial effects on living organisms and it might be useful in medical therapies of several diseases, including cancer. Orgone energy is said to be a pre-atomic energy as matter is formed by the superimposition of two or more orgone energy waves.² This phenomenon marks the line beyond which formation of secondary physical phenomena, recognised by traditional physics as electricity, magnetism, gravity, etc., occur. Reich remarked that the qualities of the orgone energy continuum he discovered, made of an infinite number of units and filling the Universe, might be compared with those of the well-known aether of the scientific revolution (called also luminiferous aether) and of that of the Ancient’s, and it can be identified with them.³

Indeed, the presence of the aether in Nature and its qualities had been thoroughly investigated and discussed in the past few centuries by a long list of scientists. They conceived it as a very dense medium either composed of discrete, separate parts or grains, or perhaps made of a jelly or continuous substance.⁴ Supporter of the first hypothesis were for example Reynolds (1842-1912),⁵ and Todeschini (1899-1988);⁶ while amongst the many of the other group we find Kelvin (1824-1907)⁷ and Lodge (1851-1940)⁸ that promoted a continuous and partless aether similar to an infinite liquid. Reich’s orgone energy continuum or ocean might belong to the first school of thought in that Reich made many examples from direct observations and experiments in which the orgone energy continuum was found to be made of tiny, dynamic, and sometimes visible dots or points or particles.⁹ In addition, the tiny orgone particles were endowed by Reich with life-giving and therapeutic or syntropic qualities. These latter properties were less considered by the scientific circles of the 18^th and 19^th centuries in that scientists were more committed to consider the aether as a medium fundamental to explain the ‘action-at-a-distance’ of bodies and various physical phenomena rather than the biological and medical properties. According to Reich, orgone energy was also responsible for metaphysical phenomena in that he thought that the oranur state (one of three characterising the orgone energy continuum) might help to promote higher states of consciousness.¹⁰

In the period of the scientific revolution we find many important scientists that devoted their existence to elucidating the secrets of the aether conundrum. Amongst them we find Ciolkovskij (1857-1935), Lorentz (1853-1928), Hertz (1857-1894), Maxwell (1831-1879), Faraday (1791-1867), Fresnel (1788-1827), Ampere (1775-1836), Young (1773-1829), Bernoulli (Johann, 1710-1790), Euler (1707-1783), Huygens (1629-1695), and also Descartes (1596-1650) who was the first in the 17^th century, to develop and to bring into science a modern concept of aether, constituted of subtle particles moving in vortexes.

Going further back in time, there is a period of relatively scarce evidence of interest in the aether where the only few enquiries were advanced by theologians and philosophers of the medieval Islamic East tradition.¹¹ After this we find the philosophical schools of the Ancients. Amongst the many we may consider the work of Lucretius (1^st century BCE) and Epicurus (about 3^rd century BCE) and above all of Leucippus and Democritus, the founders of the atomist school in the 5^th century BCE. They conceived an aether characterized by a continuous granular structure and called its basic constituents atomos or atomom (indivisible or indestructible), or ideai (shapes or forms).¹² These basic components were thought to be made of different shapes and sizes and to be eternal. Democritus considered the visible objects of the world of appearance to be brought about by clusters of these atomos that were dynamic and characterized by whirling movements. Before them an aether with similar characteristics was discussed by Anaximander (that he called apeiron)¹³ and Pythagoras in the 6^th century BCE, and then by Moschus of Sidon, in the 13^th-14^th century BCE.¹⁴ Possibly, the properties of this aether were already known to the ancient Egyptians, as proposed by Maglione,¹⁵ and even further back in time to the Chinese (Qi) and Indians (Prana) of the 5-10 millennia BCE who were the few to endow it with therapeutic qualities.

Reich’s orgone energy continuum might be considered the most complete conception of the aether today available endowed with both physical and biological qualities, and directly connected to the metaphysical realm. And, one of the most important results of Reich’s investigation might be the law of the orgonomic potentials from which one very important natural law can be deduced, i.e. the orgasm formula from which the pulsation of an organism follows.¹⁶ Indeed, the law of the orgonomic potentials is a powerful tool to explain the evenness, the equilibrium and the resilience of the orgone energy continuum in that each unit or particles of the continuum might be subjected to the attractive force of the surrounding units (constituting a higher orgonomic potential when compared to that of the single unit) thus making the continuum a homogeneous and stable structure unless a higher orgonomic potential is applied somewhere to the system from the outside.

The concrete and tangible orgone energy continuum might match quite well also with the philosophical view the late Planck expressed at a lecture in Florence, Italy, in 1944. A conception totally against the view of physics of the time he contributed to develop:¹⁷

“As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear-headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much:
There is no matter as such.
All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together.
We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind.
This mind is the matrix of all matter.”

By and large, it seems that the granular structure of the aether, a conception that has been constantly found along the history of mankind’s thought, might be the most credible and promising position in order to clarify the characteristics of this substance and to give it a final identity.

The mathematical modelling work of the aether developed by Reynolds and Todeschini based on laboratory physical experiments, and the experimental work of Reich in the biology and medical fields might be an invaluable and priceless body of knowledge available today to continue and develop the Great True Science based on the presence in the Universe of a ubiquitous and granularly-structured aether that, according to the Greek philosophers might be eternal, with no beginning nor end. It is a science that can be called without presumption Eternal Science or Scientia Aeterna in which there is no place for a void cosmos.

The medical and therapeutic properties the aether had been found to be endowed are clearly evident in the use of the ORAC. Its function and healing qualities had been investigated both by Reich and many scholars and researchers after his death. Reich and his associates observed strong biological effects from the ORAC, publishing results of controlled experiments suggesting a strong stimulus of the parasympathetic nervous system of human beings,¹⁸ and delayed tumour development in cancer mice and human beings.¹⁹

In the period following Reich’s death (1957), a number of physicians and scientists replicated many of his experiments. Noteworthy, are the double-blind controlled trials on human physiology undertaken by Muschenich and Gebauer,²⁰ and by Hebenstreit.²¹ These experiments showed an evident stimulus of the parasympathetic nervous system in organisms exposed to the high orgone field of an ORAC, with a statistically significant increase of skin and body core temperatures, and heart rate. Mazzocchi and Maglione²² carried out body temperature and Ryodoraku²³ measurements on 20 test subjects after exposure to the orgone field of an ORAC. They found a statistically significant increase of body temperature interpreted as a slight healing fever, while the Ryodoraku measurements revealed a parasympathetic nervous system activation, consistent with increased peripheral blood circulation to dissipate the slight heat increase. Other studies on cancer mice performed by Grad,²⁴ and by Blasband²⁵ showed a delayed development of tumour mass of the ORAC-exposed cancer mice groups. Aprile et al²⁶ observed a complete regression of a pancreatic adenocarcinoma mass in a human organism after exposure to systematic concentrated orgone fields performed in parallel to traditional chemotherapy. Senf²⁷ published results of research aimed at evaluating the effects of orgone devices on acupuncture points. Southgate²⁸ found statistically significant effects (p=0.03) of an ORAC on acupuncture sensation in a population of 72 patients, in a double-blind controlled investigation.

Currently, there is a growing interest in the ORAC for treatment of various diseases and several new books have been published on the clinical applications of the orgone energy accumulator.²⁹

Objectives of Present Study

In this present research the authors considered whether the ORAC would change the behaviour of body electrical resistance, voltage and temperature measurements of a human organism when it is systematically exposed to a concentrated orgone energy field.

Materials and Methods

The investigation was performed on a patient (male, age 62) with no major diseases. Measurements of electric resistance and voltage between the hands of the patient and of axillary body temperature were taken. Then the patient entered and was seated in the ORAC for a 20 minute-session. Soon after the ORAC session was concluded, the patient came out of the ORAC, and electric resistance, voltage and body temperature were measured again.

The ORAC used was a human-sized orgone accumulator made of five alternating layers of sheep wool and steel wool, with the outer layer made of masonboard, and the inner layer of a galvanized metal sheet.

The electric resistance was measured by an analog tester to which the test leads had been replaced by two handles lined each by a 1-mm copper sheet. Each handle was held by a patient’s hand and reading recorded when stabilized. To avoid any error in the measurements due to variation of humidity of the patient’s palm hands before and after ORAC session the measurements were done with the two copper handles held by the patient immersed each in a glass bowl filled with tap water. The aim was to standardise the adherence surface between readings to reduce as much as possible any error in the measurements.

The voltage measurement was carried out by using one of the copper handles, while the other had been replaced by a handle lined by a zinc sheet. Readings were recorded when stabilized. Temperature measurements were taken by a digital thermometer. To reduce any possible error in the readings three consecutive measurements were taken before and after each ORAC session. The reference temperature before and after each session was the average of the three readings.

In addition, temperature and humidity of the room in which the ORAC was located were also taken during each session. Humidity was regulated by a dehumidifier to be 50%; while temperature was proportional to the seasonal temperature since no heater or air conditioning system was on inside the room. The 20-minute ORAC sessions were performed from April 05 to December 10, 2021. In total 226 sessions were done.

Theoretical background

Based on the measures of temperatures, and of electric resistance and voltage between patient’s hands, it emerges that the exposure of the organism to the concentrated orgone energy field of the ORAC results in the dissipation of a certain amount of energy into other forms of energy. As largely known from literature, an organism at rest dissipates energy into heat through the basal metabolic rate process. However, this amount is general and not dependant on the use of the ORAC. When an organism undergoes an ORAC session, energy is dissipated as variation of body temperature (T_A-T_B) and in some unknown way due to the variation of the electric parameters, Resistance and Voltage – (R_A-R_B) and (V_A-V_B). This means that during the exposure inside the ORAC the energy dissipated by the organism during a session can be identified into the following:

1. basal metabolic rate
2. increase of body temperature
3. increase of body resistance and decrease of body voltage.

The energy converted into heat by the organism while being at rest is known as basal metabolic rate (Q_BMR),³⁰ and is determined by applying the following expression given by Quenouille et al:³¹

Where Q_BMR denotes the basal metabolic rate in [kcal/day]; w the weight of the subject in [kg]; h the height of the subject in [cm]; s the surface area of the subject in [cm²]; and T the temperature in [°C] and H the humidity in [%] of the environment in which the test subject is. In our study temperature and humidity are those of the room where the ORAC is located. The surface area of the body’s subject can be calculated by the following Dubois and Dubois’ equation:³²

Where s denotes the surface area of the subject in [cm2], w the weight in [kg], and h the height in [cm].

The energy dissipated by the organism into heat, as a consequence of the variation of temperature during a session inside the ORAC³³ might be supposed to be function of the change of temperature of the water content inside a human organism. Therefore, the amount of dissipated heat is directly proportional to the mass of water of the subject and the variation of temperature, as follows:

Where c_w denotes the specific heat of water, 4182 J/kg∙°C, m_w the mass of water of the organism in [kg], and (T_A-T_B) the temperature difference as measured before and after the ORAC session in [°C]. The mass of water in the organism has been estimated to be m_w = 0.6∙w, where w is the weight of the organism in [kg].³⁴ The above equation (3) can be rewritten as follows:

The third amount of energy involved is the electric energy produced in the organism during one ORAC session. It can be determined by the following equations:

Where P_B and P_A denote the electric power of the organism before and after the ORAC session, respectively, in [Watt]; V_B and V_A the potential difference (voltage) before and after the session in [mV]; and R_B and R_A the electrical resistance before and after the session in [kOhm].
The difference between P_A and P_B gives the amount of electric power (P) involved during the session inside the orgone accumulator:

Knowing the duration of the exposure (t) of the organism to the concentrated orgone energy field of the ORAC the variation of electric energy (W) during a session can be determined as follows:

Or

Where t denotes the duration of the orgone session (20 minutes).

Results and data analysis

Figures 1 through 3 show the behaviour of the body electric resistance (R_A-R_B), the body voltage (V_A-V_B), and the body temperature (T_A-T_B) differences, respectively, between after (A) and before (B) the ORAC session for the whole period of testing (226 days).

All the above differences showed a prevailing behaviour. Body electrical resistance (R_A-R_B) recorded a mainly positive difference between readings recorded after (A) and before (B) sessions (figure 1), with an average increase of 0.874 kOhm.

Analysis

Statistical analysis, carried out according to the t-Student test, showed that these differences were highly statistically significant (p=8.6077∙10^-19) for a significant level of p<0.05

Figure 4 shows the frequency of the values of the resistance difference. The most frequent value was 0.30 kOhm with a frequency of 3.54%.

Analysis

Voltage differences (V_A – V_B) showed a negative trend for the monitored period (figure 2), with an average decrease of -15.5 mVolt. Statistical analysis, carried out according to the t-Student test, showed that this difference was highly statistically significant (p=3.1552∙10^-56) for a significance level of p<0.05.

Figure 5 shows the frequency of the values of the voltage difference. The most frequent value was -15.0 mV °C with a frequency of 11.50%.

Body temperature difference (T_A–T_B) showed a positive trend (figure 3) with an average increase of 0.146 °C.

Analysis

Statistical analysis, carried out according to the t-Student test, showed that this temperature difference was highly statistically significant (p=2.381∙10^-37) for a significance level of p<0.05.

Figure 6 shows the frequency of the values of the temperature difference. The most frequent value was 0.20 °C with a frequency of 10.18%.

Figure 7 reports the behaviour of the Basal Metabolic Rate (Q_BMR) for each session. Obviously, the value is all the time negative since the process always involves a dissipation of heat. As reported above, this is function of the characteristics of the test subject (weight and height), and of the environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) where the subject is located. An average value encompassing all the tested period of -0.1108∙10⁶ Joule was found.³⁵

Following figure 8 reports the heat dissipated or acquired by the organism (Q_w) as increase or decrease of body temperature after the ORAC session. As can be observed from the figure, the trend is practically always negative apart from a few cases in which it was positive. An average value encompassing all the tested period of -0.0311∙10⁶ Joule was found.

Following figure 9 shows the trend of the variation of electric energy into the organism during each ORAC session. It can be remarked that the trend of (W_A-W_B), determined by eq. (9), is practically all the time negative. The average value was -0.3077∙10^-3 Joule.

Analysis

Statistical analysis, carried out according to the t-Student test, showed that this difference in electrical energy was highly statistically significant (p=3.6595∙10^-35) for a significance level of p<0.05.

Statistics Summary Analysis

Table 1 below reports the average values of the experimental parameters and their statistical significance.

Table 2 shows the variation of the measured and calculated data against weather conditions during ORAC sessions. From Table 2 an increase of the average value of (T_A-T_B), (R_A-R_B), and a decrease of (V_A-V_B) can be remarked when the ORAC session is done in clear or clear-like weather (151 days). Conversely, in case of bad weather (rain) or of a highly cloud-covered atmosphere (75 days) the corresponding average values are lower.

From the data reported in Table 2 it is evident the variation of resistance, voltage, and temperature followed weather conditions. In days with a homogeneous distribution of orgone energy into the atmosphere (clear, scattered clouds, and windy weather) resistance, and temperature were higher (+19.3% and +15.0%, respectively), while voltage was lower (-13.6%) than in days with a high concentration of orgone energy at the ground (foggy and rainy weather), or in mostly cloudy and overcast days.

The above results are telling us that the variation of the measured parameters, and hence of the related energies, are a function of the amount of orgone energy available inside the ORAC. This is fully in agreement with the law of the orgonomic potentials that states in days where the distribution of orgone energy into the atmosphere is low and homogeneously-distributed the amount of concentrated orgone energy inside an ORAC is higher than in days with a high concentration of orgone energy at the ground.

Discussion

The life-positive qualities of the orgone energy continuum, whose equivalence with the aether was very briefly described in the introductory chapter,³⁶ seems to be a well founded and solid reality. In the Orgonomy literature we may find many experiments and research conducted in the last 80 years that produced a large deal of experimental data and publications that might confirm the above assertion. Aether’s therapeutic characteristics have been known since ancient times, even though precise and accurate information were not passed on to us. Presently, orgone energy’s (or aether’s) life-enhancing as well as physical aspects can be properly defined through the Galilean scientific methods and processes, and peculiarities measured and repeated in controlled experiments. This makes their properties an objective reality whose application encompasses all fields of human knowledge and makes the present science of void and matter a misinterpretation and a distortion, if not an esoteric understanding of the aether’s properties.

The present study aimed at investigating the response of the organism to concentrations of orgone energy in dynamic conditions³⁷ higher than those usually found in the natural environment. The results we obtained highlighted many processes that might be at work during the exposure to these high concentrations, and some of them are still unknown.

Our measures of body electric resistance and voltage, and body temperature before and after exposure evidenced that a certain amount of energy is dissipated by the organism during a 20-minute ORAC session. At least three distinct processes that might involve the metabolism of specific forms of energy have been identified. One process is the well-known basal metabolic rate (Q_BMR); another process implies the conversion of energy (Q_W) into heat as evidenced by the increase of body temperature; and the third one involves the variation of electric energy (W) to satisfy still unknown functions.

As for the first process, it is known from the literature that whatever standard relationship available today is used to calculate the BMR, it requires that the subject is 1) not engaged in physical activity; 2) completely rested; 3) fasted for at least 10 hours; 4) free from emotional stress; 5) free from disease or infection; and 6) in a test site not located at high altitudes.³⁸ The above are all conditions met by the test subject during the sessions inside the ORAC. A further condition requires that the temperature of the environment should be thermo-neutral, that it should not fall below 18 °C. In our testing, the heater of the room in which the sessions were done was off, temperature of the room was proportional to the outside environment, and during spring and fall it dropped 108 (out of 226) times below 18 °C. Lowest recorded temperature was 5.2 °C. In order to take into account this latter point we considered for the calculation of the BMR the Quenouille et al equation because in its mathematical structure it contained a term taking into account the variation of the temperature of the location in which the test subject was located during the measures.

As far as the second process, or the increase of body temperature is concerned, the phenomenon had been already observed by other authors. Muschenich and Gebauer³⁹ found, on a limited cohort of patients (10 people), a statistically significant increase of body temperature (p=0.01). Ritter and Ritter⁴⁰ conducted an experiment on 12 patients by measuring body temperature by a thermometer under the tongue. They observed a body temperature increase (with a maximum of 0.53 °C) in the first 10 minutes of the ORAC session. Correa and Correa⁴¹ reported on an increase of body temperature of patients inside an ORAC even in the first 15 minutes of exposure. Oral temperature of a male patient (53 yrs old) showed, after 15 minutes of ORAC session, an average increase of the temperature of 0.38°C with a peak of 0.6 °C during a 10-day observation period. Mazzocchi and Maglione⁴² found a statistically significant increase (p=0.006) of body temperature of 0.242 °C in a group of 20 persons treated inside the ORAC for 45 minutes. Correa and Ritter’s temperature measurements were partially taken with the patients inside the ORAC possibly affecting the overall results; while Mazzocchi and Maglione’s measurements were always taken with the patient outside the ORAC so as to avoid any interference due to ORAC temperature fluctuations.

In the present study, the authors obtained for one patient daily exposed to the ORAC’s field a highly statistically significant increase of the temperature of 0.146 °C (p=2.3810∙10^-37), with a peak of 0.57 °C recorded in a day where the weather was clear. Variation of temperature was observed to follow the law of the orgonomic potentials.

Though the present research was based only on one patient, the average increase of temperature observed agrees very well with that obtained by Reich,⁴³ and later authors with the addition that the long-term research we carried out encompassed all seasonal but winter conditions.

According to the conclusions of the above-mentioned authors a small increase in body temperature or functional fever may support the theory of a parasympathetic stimulation. However, many agree it’s still unclear today what may be the role of this small increase. Buhl and Fischer reported that a mild fever may be a result of the accumulation of vital energy on the organism which stimulates the immune system.⁴⁴ This heat might interact with latent infections, parasites, etc., of the organism by healing them, and when those latent diseases have healed up the temperature should not increase anymore even though the subject is still having regular ORAC sessions.

In the present study the authors assumed that this functional fever would have to be identified with the increase of the temperature of bodily fluids and more specifically of the water content of the organism. Besides, it can be argued an exposure of the organism to the concentrated orgone field of the accumulator for 20 minutes might be a sufficient time for the bodily water volume to be permeated by the orgone particles thus triggering a spontaneous reaction that is evidenced as an increase of temperature. It is known that when the organism is at rest the immune system increases its temperature as a repairing process by activating structured healing and regenerating mechanisms. It can be hypothesised the orgone particles that flood and permeate the human organism might provide the necessary information to cause a healing process at the expense of a consumption of calories and subsequent dissipation of heat.

As for the third process, the changes in electrical energy, to the authors’ best knowledge nothing had ever been reported in the literature about this observation. The authors have no plausible explanations to clarify the statistically significant variation of the electric energy in the organism during ORAC sessions. The matter needs further and accurate investigations. Research on this direction is ongoing through the analysis of electric potential measurements of the patient when compared to the surrounding electric potential of the environment before and after ORAC sessions. Results will be the subject of a future publication.

Overall Conclusion

From the results of the above 9-month study it can be concluded the exposure of a human organism to the concentrated orgone energy field typical of the interior of a human-sized orgone accumulator for 20 minutes determines certain effects. Chief amongst these is a variation of the electric properties of the biological tissues of the organism, such as resistance and potential difference, and of bodily temperature. Such variations are interconnected and indexes of activation of biological phenomena still unknown, but with beneficial effects to human beings.

The variation of the measured (resistance, potential difference, and temperature), and calculated (heat and electric energy) physical parameters follows and confirms the correctness of the law of the orgonomic potential.

Limitations of the study

This research was conducted on one patient with no major diseases. More studies need to be done in order to compare the above results with patients of different ages, sex, and who have major diseases. However, although the study was limited in terms of patient numbers it was comprehensive in terms of the length of time studying the variables, the repeated measurement points and the control of the variables themselves. Also, it may increase reliability to use the same person as their own control over time.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Leon Southgate for his suggestions in writing the paper.

__________________________________

¹ The standard configuration of an ORAC involves a structure made of alternating layers of organic and inorganic materials, with the inner wall lined with a thin sheet of galvanised steel. This configuration stimulates an orgone energy flow from the outside to the inside of the device, thus creating in the interior a higher orgone energy concentration than on the outside.

² According to Reich’s experiments and observations it might be assumed that an orgone energy wave is produced by the movement of an orgone energy unit.

³ Reich W, Ether, God and Devil, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1973, pages 139-161.

⁴ Whittaker E, A History of the Theories of Aether & Electricity, Dover Publications, 2017.

⁵ For the work of Reynolds on the aether see Reynolds O, The Sub-mechanics of the Universe, Cambridge University Press, UK, 1903; Reynolds O, On an Inversion of Ideas as to the Structure of the Universe (The Rede Lecture, June 10, 1902), Cambridge University Press, 1903; and Mackenzie J, The Structure of the Universe Being a Presentation of Professor Osborne Reynolds’ Theory of Gravitation, Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Vol 4, No 3, pages 385-403, 1910.

⁶ For the work of Todeschini on the aether see Todeschini M, La Teoria delle Apparenze (Spazio-Dinamica e Psico-bio-fisica), Movimento Psicobiofisico Internazionale S. Marco, Bergamo, Italy, 1949; Todeschini M, Einstein o Todeschini?, Movimento Psicobiofisico Internazionale S. Marco, Bergamo, Italy, 1956; Todeschini M, Decisive Experiments in Moderne Physics, Bergamo, Italy, 1966; Todeschini M, Psicobiofisica, Centro Internazionale di Psicobiofisica, Bergamo, 1977; and Borgognone E, La Realtà Fisica dei Fenomeni Elettrici, Magnetici, Luminosi, Accademia Teatina Delle Scienze, Rome, Italy, 1967.

⁷ Thomson W (Lord Kelvin), On Ether and Gravitational Matter Through Infinite Space, Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Vol 2, No 8, August 1901.

⁸ Lodge O, The Ether and its Functions. Part I, Nature, Vol 27, pages 304-306, January 25, 1883; Lodge O, The Ether and its Functions. Part II, Nature, Vol 27, pages 328-330, February 01, 1883; and Lodge O, Modern Views of the Ether, Nature, Vol 75, pages 519-522, March 28, 1907.

⁹ See for example Reich W, The Cancer Biopathy. Volume II of the Discovery of the Orgone, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1973, at pages 105-106 where Reich refers to light dots (Kreiselwelle) that are visible when one stays for a sufficient amount of time inside an ORAC. At pages 112-113 of the same text Reich called moving energy particles those of the orgone continuum that are drawn inside the accumulator and whose movement is restricted and then stopped by the inner metal walls of the accumulator. According to Reich, in this circumstance particles’ kinetic energy is converted into heat and displayed as a rise of accumulator’s temperature. It is important to stress here that being kinetic energy directly proportional to the mass of the particle, and to the square of its velocity, the orgone particles must possess a mass, even though infinitesimally small, otherwise claiming dynamic or kinetic energy can be converted into heat is unsustainable. Reich’s view is that orgone particles and the orgone continuum in general is massless but this is untenable if one wants to resort to classic physics interpretation. In Reich W, Ether, God and Devil (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1973) at page 146 Reich clearly speaks of orgone energy units that form in the orgone ocean by concentration, and others that end their existence by energy dissipation. At page 152 of the same book Reich refers to deep blue-violet luminating dots as one of the form of the orgone energy continuum. And in Reich W, Contact with Space, Oranur Second report, 1951-1956. OROP Desert Ea 1954-1955 (Core Pilot Press, New York, 1957) at pages 37-42 Reich describes the qualities of orgone dots or energy units of different size and intensity that from time to time emerge from the substratum of the primordial cosmic energy continuum.

¹⁰ See the discussion on the effects of the Oranur experiment and the connection between physics and metaphysics in Reich W, The Oranur Experiment. First Report (1947-1951), The Wilhelm Reich Foundation, Rangeley, Maine, Usa, 1951, at pages 326-334; see also Ollendorf I, Wilhelm Reich. A Personal Biography, Avon Books, New York, October 1969, pages 195-196; and Wyvell L, Orgone and You, Offshoots of Orgonomy, N° 12, page 8.

¹¹ The atomists of the medieval Islamic East tradition maintain that the atom (kalam) is a physically and conceptually minimal unit of magnitude and, when a finite number of these atoms are combined or aggregated together so as to form a body, they continue to exist within the body fully in actuality as discrete articulated units (masfil). The kalam is physically indivisible and has a minimal or non-zero amount of spatial (three dimensions) magnitude that exists in and moves through space, and thus it is distinct from the space it occupies (in Maglione R, The Aether. Volume 1. A History, Unpublished manuscript, 2021). Prominent atomists were al-Juwayni (1028-1085), al-Ghazali (1058–1111), al-Sharastani (c. 1075-1153), and al-Razi (1149-1210). For more information see Wolfson HA, The Philosophy of the Kalam, Harvard University Press, 1976; Baffioni C, Atomismo e Antiatomismo nel Pensiero Islamico, Series Minor, Istituto Universitario Orientale, Naples, Seminario di Studi Asiatici, 16, Rome 1982; Dhanani A, The Physical Theory of Kalam, Atoms, Space, and Void in Basrian Mu’tazili Cosmology, EJ Brill, Leiden, 1994; van Ess J, 60 Years After: Shlomo Pines’s Beitrage and Half a Century of Research on Atomism in Islamic Theology, Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 8.2, 2002; and Sabra AI, Kalam Atomism as an Alternative Philosophy to Hellenizing Falsafa, in Arabic Theology, Arabic Philosophy, From the Many to the One: Essays in Celebration of Richard M Frank, Edited by Montgomery EJ, Peeters, Leuven, 2006.

¹² Taylor CCW, The Atomists: Leucippus and Democritus. Fragments. A Text and Translation with a Commentary, University of Toronto Press, 1999; Berryman S, Leucippus, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016; and Berryman S, Democritus, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016. The work of the atomists was erroneously considered the basis of modern science. In fact, the term atomos of Leucippus and Democritus, first introduced by Gassendi in the first half of the 17^th century, was adopted by Dalton to develop the fundamentals of chemistry. The atom was considered to be the smallest part making up matter. However, this was not the case, and subsequent experiments revealed the atom to be made of many smaller particles. Clearly, the atom of traditional physics has nothing in common with that conceived by Leucippus and Democritus. Unfortunately, the atomists are still considered the forerunners of one of the best-known building blocks, the atom, of which matter today is thought to consist. Making a comparison like the above can be argued to be a naive exercise (in Maglione R, The Aether. Volume 1. A History, Unpublished manuscript, 2021).

¹³ Maglione R, L’Apeiron di Anassimandro. Un Antesignano dell’Energia Orgonica? In Glielmi N, Maglione R, Wilhelm Reich, Gedi Gruppo Editoriale, Milan, Italy, 2009. See also Rovelli C, The First Scientist. Anaximander and His Legacy, Westholme Publishing, 2011.

¹⁴ Moschus (or Mochus) of Sidon or the lawgiver is identified by many scholars with Moses the Hebrew, the well-known figure of the Pentateuch (in Maglione R, The Aether. Volume 1. A History, Unpublished manuscript, 2021; see also Sailor DB, Moses and Atomism, Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol 25, No 1, Jan-Mar 1964; and McGuire JE, Rattansi PM, Newton and the “Pipes of Pan”, Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol 21, No 2, December 1966). A view that Moses was well acquainted in the laws of Orgonomy was recently elaborated and advanced by Maglione developing the work of Isaacs (Isaacs RD, Talking With God. The Radioactive Ark of the Testimony. Communication Through It. Protection From It, Sacred Closet Books, Chicago, 2010) and Reich. According to Isaacs, many words in the Old Testament, and above all in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, used to describe the events and the phenomena related to the Ark of the Covenant had been erroneously translated or were not fully understood in their meaning. What surfaced from Isaacs’ study was a situation totally different from that traditionally depicted, namely an Ark that in certain circumstances was emitting dangerous radiations, a sort of radioactivity, and all the rituals and the sacrifices were developed as safety measures to be followed during the Exodus when approaching the Ark, its interior, or to protect Israelites and the animals of the camp from the radioactivity emitted by the Ark and the Tabernacle. One of the most important methods to protect from the nefarious radioactive cloud was the systematic use of incense’s smoke. The incense was a mixture made of equal parts of storax, galbanum, frankincense, salt and myrrh. Being that the Ark is a device emitting radiation, but at the same time being also an orgone-like accumulator, Maglione applied the laws of Orgonomy. Particularly those laws related to the Oranur state of the orgone continuum were used to study the behaviour of the Ark of the Covenant. He found a striking similarity between what is recounted in the Old Testament and what is described by Reich and his collaborators regarding the Oranur experiment. He identified in the words ruach and kawbode, terms that might potentially represent the orgone energy continuum found by Reich in dynamic flow, and in its Oranur state, respectively. Besides, Maglione found that nefesh, the substance that is present in the blood, could be identified with the orgone units known as bions. Therefore, Maglione considered it logical to think that Moses’ successors such as Joshua, and later Hezekiah and Solomon were accustomed to, and knew very well the laws regulating the use of orgone energy (aether). Maglione believed that for the time being this was a knowledge passed on for centuries to a restricted circle of Jewish initiates. In addition, being that Moses belonged also to the Egyptian elite, where he was brought up and educated, he thinks that this same knowledge was part of the daily practice of a small band of Egyptian initiates (see Maglione R, The legendary Shamir, Gedi Gruppo Editoriale, Milan, 2017). In this context, the similarity is extraordinary, between the Moses of the atomist thought and the Moses of the Pentateuch. The two aspects were contemporary to the same historical period and dealt with the same fundamental theories and issues.

¹⁵ Maglione R, The Legendary Shamir, Gedi Gruppo Editoriale, Milan, 2017.

¹⁶ Reich W, The Function of the Orgasm. Volume 1 of the Discovery of the Orgone, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1973, pages 272-286.

¹⁷ Planck M, Das Wesen der Materie (The Nature of Matter), Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Abt. Va, Rep. 11 Planck, Nr. 1797, 1944.

¹⁸ Reich W, The Cancer Biopathy. Volume II of the Discovery of the Orgone, Orgone Institute Press, Rangeley, Usa, 1973.

¹⁹ Reich W, The Carcinomatous Shrinking Biopathy, International Journal of Sex-Economy & Orgone Research, I(2):131-155, July 1942; Reich W, Experimental Orgone Therapy of the Cancer Biopathy, International Journal of Sex-Economy & Orgone Research, II(1):1-92, March 1943; Reich W, Anorgonia in the Carcinomatous Shrinking Biopathy, International Journal of Sex-Economy & Orgone Research, IV(1):1-33, April 1945; Tropp SJ, The Treatment of a Mediastinal Malignancy with the Orgone Accumulator, Orgone Energy Bulletin, I(3):100-109, 1949; Tropp SJ, Orgone Therapy of an Early Breast Cancer, Orgone Energy Bulletin, II(3):131-138, 1950; Hoppe W, Orgone Versus Radium Therapy in Skin Cancer, Report of a Case, Orgonomic Medicine, I(2):133-138, 1955; Reich E, Reich W, Early Diagnosis of Cancer of the Uterus, Cosmic Orgone Engineering, VII(1-2):47-53, 1955, Raphael CM, Confirmation of Orgonomic (Reich) Tests for the Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer, Orgonomic Medicine, II(1):36-41, 1956.

²⁰ Muschenich S, Gebauer R, The Psycho-Physiological Effects of the Reich Orgone Energy Accumulator, Pulse of the Planet, Natural Energy Works, Ashland, Usa, Vol 1, No 2, 1989; and Muschenich S, Einige Zitate und Bemerkungen zur Frage ‘Sind die Begriffe Vagotonie versus Sympathocotonie auf die Wirkungen des Orgons übertragbar?’, Emotion, No 8, pages 68-71, 1987.

²¹ Hebenstreit G, Der Orgonakkumulator Nach Wilhelm Reich. Eine Experimentelle Untersuchung zur Spannungs-Ladungs-Formel, Diplomarbeit zur Erlangung des Magistergrades der Philosophie an der Grung- und Integrativ-wissenschaftlichen Fakultat der Universitat Wien, 1995.

²² Mazzocchi A, Maglione R, A Preliminary Study of the Reich Orgone Accumulator Effects on Human Physiology, Subtle Energy & Energy Medicine, Vol 21, No 2, 2010.

²³ The Ryodoraku diagnostic technique is based on Nakatami’s research carried out in 1950. He discovered low-resistance electrical points on the human skin (hyper-electric conductive points), located along the longitudinal lines of the body and corresponding to the main energetic meridians of Chinese Medicine and classic Acupuncture. The Ryodoraku technique might be considered well-suited to evaluate ORAC effects on human physiology because it allows an instrumental objective registration (electrical resistance of human skin) of possible changes before and after an ORAC session. These measurements may help to understand physiological changes before and after ORAC exposure, from the viewpoints of both Reich’s orgonomy and that of Chinese Medicine.

²⁴ Grad B, The Accumulator Effect on Leukemia Mice, Journal of Orgonomy, 26(2):199-218, 1992.

²⁵ Blasband RA, The Orgone Energy Accumulator in the Treatment of Cancer Mice, Journal of Orgonomy, 7(1):81-85, 1973; and Blasband RA, Effects of the Orac on Cancer in Mice: Three Experiments, Journal of Orgonomy, 18(2):202-211, 1984.

²⁶ Aprile T, Carlino F, Del Prete S, Angelone I, Cammisa A, Cusani F, Dello Iacovo N, Orgone Blanket as a Complementary Support in the Treatment of an Atrophic-Cancer Biopathy, Journal of Psychiatric Orgone Therapy, October 02, 2018.

²⁷ Senf B, Wilhelm Reich: Discoverer of Acupuncture Energy? American Journal of Acupuncture, Vol 7 (2):109-118, 1979; Senf B, Wilhelm Reich: Discoverer of Acupuncture Energy? Pulse of the Planet, Vol 1 (2): 25-30, 1989; and Senf B, Die Wiederentdeckung des Lebendigen. Erforschung der Lebensenergie Durch Reich, Schauberger, Lakhovsky u.a., Omega Verlag, Aachen, Germany, 2003.

²⁸ Southgate L, Chinese Medicine and Wilhelm Reich, European Journal of Oriental Medicine, UK, (4) 4:31-41, 2003.

²⁹ Kavouras J, Heilen mit Orgonenergie.Turm Verlag, Bietigheim, 2005; and Buhl H, Fischer J, Energie! Heilung und Selbstheilung mit Lebensenergie, Ulrich Leutner Verlag, Berlin, 2007; Maglione R, Mazzocchi A, Biofisica e Medicina Orgonica, Nuova Ipsa, Palermo, Italy, 2013, and Shapiro N, My Cancer and the Orgone Box, The Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust, Rangeley, Maine, Usa, 2019.

³⁰ The basal metabolic rate (BMR) gives the daily rate of energy metabolism an individual needs to sustain in order to preserve the integrity of vital functions. In a normal free-living person, the amount of energy provided by its diet must cover the demands of basal metabolism plus additional amounts needed for the physical activity associated with essential bodily needs, and also those imposed by the physical work involved in occupation, in engaging in social exchanges and in leisure activities (Henry CJK, Basal Metabolic Rate Studies in Humans: Measurements and Development of New Equations, Public Health Nutrition; 8(7A), 1133-1152, 2002).

³¹ Henry CJK, Basal Metabolic Rate Studies in Humans: Measurement and Development of New Equations, Public Health Nutrition 8(7A), 1133-1152, 2005.

³² DuBois D, DuBois EF, The Measurements of the Surface Area of Man, Archives of Internal Medicine, 1915, 15:868-75.

³³ The phenomenon of variation of body temperature during an ORAC session had been observed by many authors and is well documented in the Orgonomic literature (see Maglione R, Methods and Procedures in Biophysical Orgonometry, GEDI Gruppo Editoriale, Milan, 2012, pages 13-82).

³⁴ Spaggiari P, Tribbia C, Le Meraviglie dell’Acqua. Il Mistero Biofisico che ci Dona la Vita, Tecniche Nuove, Milan, 2007, page 40.

³⁵ As average value is intended the ratio of the summation of the daily values to the total number of days (226).

³⁶ A book on the history of the aether is planned to be published by the author in the very near future.

³⁷ For dynamic conditions the authors refer to the condition of orgone energy that is not affected by secondary energies that can create an Oranur or a DOR state.

³⁸ Henry CJK, Basal Metabolic Rate Studies in Humans: Measurement and Development of New Equations, Public Health Nutrition 8(7A), 1133-1152, 2005.

³⁹ Muschenich S, Gebauer R, The Psycho-Physiological Effects of the Reich Orgone Energy Accumulator, Pulse of the Planet, Natural Energy Works, Ashland, Usa, Vol 1, no 2, 1989; see also Muschenich S, Einige Zitate und Bemerkungen zur Frage ‘Sind die Begriffe Vagotonie versus Sympathocotonie auf die Wirkungen des Orgons übertragbar?’, Emotion, No.8, pp. 68-71, 1987; and Müschenich S, Der Gesundheitsbegriff im Werk des Arztes Wilhelm Reich (The Concept of Health in the Works of Dr. Wilhelm Reich), Doktorarbeit am Fachbereich Humanmedizin der Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Verlag Gorich & Weiershauser, Marburg, 1995.

⁴⁰ Ritter P, Ritter J, Orgonomic Functionalism, Vol II, 1955; see also Sconamiglio R, et al, Piani e Istruzioni Per l’Accumulatore di Energia Orgonica, Quaderni Andromeda, 92:1-15, 2005.

⁴¹ Correa PN, Correa A, Transiently Induced Hyperthermia in Humans Exposed to a Controlled Orac Environment, AS2-33: Exp Aetherom.; Series 2, Vol 4 (33):1-27, 2007.

⁴² Mazzocchi A, Maglione R, A Preliminary Study of the Reich Orgone Accumulator Effects on Human Physiology, Subtle Energy & Energy Medicine, Vol 21, No 2, 2010.

⁴³ Reich W, The Cancer Biopathy. Volume II of the Discovery of the Orgone, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1973, page 317.

⁴⁴ Buhl H, Fischer J, Energie! Heilung und Selbstheilung mit Lebensenergie, Ulrich Leutner Verlag, Berlin, 2007.

Luca Piergentili graduated in computer engineering in 2004 with specialization in databases, data analysis and design of digital communication systems. He is a designer and manufacturer of control units for industrial equipment and atmospheric phenomena.

Piergentili is a founding member and coordinator of the border science department of the Fermo 43° Parallelo association. His interest encompasses research and study of new technologies and new forms of energy. In his free time he does the hiking guide of the Sibillini park.

Summary
The paper reports and discusses a test for early cancer diagnosis. The test was developed by Reich and is based on his research on cancer biopathy, and on a new way to understand cancer mechanisms and processes. It can diagnose cancer greatly in advance of what the traditional tests can do and in addition in a period where no clues to the disease are supposed to exist by traditional oncology. It is focused on microscopic examination of biological samples such as blood, urine or sputum. Results of microscope laboratory examinations performed in-house on different biological samples, taken from patients with different health conditions, are shown and discussed in the paper. All the above materials belong to the laboratory’s archive of the writer.

The results fully confirm Reich’s assumptions and findings and evidence an early onset of the cancer disease even in people that are considered healthy and with no indication of the disease by classical oncology. In addition, it was observed that the development process of the precursors of the cancer cells (Ca I, Ca II, Ca III cells and T-bacilli) is common in humans and animals and it is irrespective of sex, age, and type of oncological pathology, being a universal process.

Introduction and background
Reich was the first to study in-vivo the behavior of living cells and tissues from a bioenergetic perspective by extensively investigating samples taken from healthy and cancer patients. He found that the bio-energetically weaker cells of the organism undergo, before the occurrence of the actual cancer disease as we characterize it today, slow but progressive changes that lead them finally to develop into the future cancer cell (1).

Reich found that the first phase in the formation of the cancer cell is characterized by indicators or precursors, such as bionous disintegration of the healthy cell and the associated development of the T-bacilli.
First studies date back to the late 1930s when he was in Oslo:

"3. Infusions of dried moss or grass collected in autumn show, if observed continually with a magnification of from 400x to 4000x, the following sequence of events: vesicular disintegration, after soaking and swelling separation of the vesicles in the form of cocci, concentration and organization (via formation of a membranous margin) into unicellular protists of vesicular structure ….

4. Exactly as protists develop out of swelled disintegrated moss, the cancer cells organize themselves in vesicular disintegrated animal and human tissues. The most important steps of this development are according to observations until now: Swelling of the tissue, vesicular structuring, formation of spindle-shaped organisms, strongly light-refracting and biologically stainable heaps of vesicles, and finally further development into mobile ameboid, creeping "mature" cancer cells." (2)

"These organisms [T-bacilli] result from degeneration of certain types of bion cultures, and from experimental degeneration of certain proteins. They are called T, i.e. "Tod" (Death) bacilli because of their origin and their deadly effect on mice. They are short flitting rods of about 0.25-0.6 μm. …. They have a sharp acid and ammonia-like smell. In large doses they kill mice within 24 hours. In small doses they produce in the course of from 8 to 15 months infiltrating and destructive growths in the form of tumors, or only cellular growths without a circumscribed primary tumor in kidneys, lungs, liver, glands, etc. They can be cultivated in pure culture from the cardiac blood of mice which died or were killed, and if again inoculated, they produce the same pathological changes as before." (3)

The identification, observation and study of the bionous disintegration and the formation of T-bacilli led Reich to understand the mechanism of the formation of the cancer cell and to provide a tool to make a very early diagnosis of cancer in a patient. This is in sharp contrast with classical oncology methodologies that require, in order to make a reliable cancer diagnosis, the cancer cell or the tumor to be already present in the patient.
Reich found the cancer cell formed and developed according to the following five different steps:

1. Vesicular disintegration of cells (Ca I)
2. Aggregation and reorganization of vesicles (Ca II)
3. Evolution and development of caudate cells (Ca III)
4. The mature cancer cell (Ca IV)
5. The final phase of the cancer tumor: putrid disintegration (Ca V)

He called the cell characterizing each of the above steps Ca I, Ca II, Ca III, Ca IV, and Ca V respectively.

Each step is characterized by a specific cell shape and configuration. The full cancer process can be represented by two main distinct phases. Phase 1 is consisting of the steps Ca I, Ca II, and Ca III that Reich considered precursors of the future cancer cell and tumor mass as we know it today by classical oncology. While, phase 2 is characterized by the steps Ca IV and Ca V, where the cancer cell and the tumor mass are at this point well developed. It is noteworthy that the presence of Ca I, Ca II and Ca III cells allow us an early diagnosis in a period when, according to classical oncology, the disease does not exist yet.

Reich found this process common to all solid tumors and evidence that all types of tumor are characterized by the same mechanisms that at last lead to the formation of the characteristic cancer cell. In particular Ca I, Ca II, Ca III cells are the precursors of all solid tumor cancer cells and the different cancers are not different pathologies but the same pathology characterized by the same manifestations. In addition, Reich found that this process is typical of a human organism, without distinction of sex and age, and also of animals.

It is clear from the above classification that the working area of classic oncology is represented only by phase 2 of the full cancer process (Ca IV and Ca V steps), where the cancer cell and the tumor mass is present and developed at different degree. While, in phase 1 there is no recognition of potential indicators or precursors of a future insurgence of the cancer cell and disease.

According to these findings, Reich could develop a powerful tool for an extremely early diagnosis of cancer and determine, much in advance of the insurgence of the future cancer cell, all the concurrent conditions that could then give rise to the formation of the classical cancer cell. He observed that the blood played a key role in the early diagnosis process as, by circulating throughout the body, it might provide precious and first-hand information about the general energy condition of the organism.

The main characteristics and peculiarities of the steps grouped in phase 1 and 2 of the cancer cell formation, and development are briefly summarized in Figure 1.

Cancer consists of two phases. The 1st phase, completely unknown to classical oncology, consists of the transformation of healthy cells into the precursors of the cancer cells. While in the 2nd phase it is characterized by death and putrid decomposition of the mature cancer cells. The early diagnosis test identifies the transformations that occur in the 1st phase characterized by the presence of particular cellular formations that Reich called cells: Ca I – Ca II – Ca III.

The identification of these precursors, which appear much before the tumor mass or the mature cancer cells, allows the making of a very early diagnosis of cancer that anticipates by many years the common tests used today by classical oncology.

Figure 1 – Summary of the Cancer Process

PHASE 1
Ca I cell. In this first step of the cancer process the low energetic level of the organism may affect the energetic qualities and characteristics of blood and tissues. Peculiar and meaningful alterations of the basic health conditions of blood red cells and tissues can be evaluated at the optical microscope. As far as the tissues are concerned, the tendency to a rapid vesicular reaction and the presence of T-bacilli are one of the most important indicators of the impending development of the cancer cell. As far as the blood red cells are concerned they show the two following features:

• When they are energetically charged, they are visible at the microscope as bright, bluish spheres embedded like pearls in the stroma. Figure 2 shows an example of energetically charged red blood cells of a human blood examined at the microscope (picture from writer’s lab archive).

Figure 2

• When their energy is very low, the red blood cells shrink and form thorns like chestnuts in their husk. Figure 3 shows an example of energetically weak red blood cells of a human blood examined at the microscope (picture from writer’s lab archive). This condition takes place much earlier than the formation of the first classical cancer cell, and is the very first indication of the potential formation of the future cancer cell.

Figure 3

Ca II cell. This step is characterized by an acute inflammatory condition. The vesicular reaction of the cells continues and evolves while the T-bacilli do not change and maintain the same characteristics throughout the cancerous process. The T-bacilli continue to trigger the vesicular reaction of the cells. The Ca II step is characterized by the fact the vesicles are starting to aggregate inside the cell along the cell membrane. The aggregations lose their vesicular feature to form a new structure that develops at the expenses of the original cell. Figure 4 shows an example of regrouping of bions inside a cell from a human urinary sediment (picture from writer’s lab archive). The arrow in the figure shows the vesicles that are starting to aggregate and merging.

Figure 4

Ca III cell. This step is characterized by a variety of features. The cells can appear spindle-shaped or club-tailed, with caudate, oval or round shape. Figure 5 shows an example of Ca III cell from a human urinary sediment (picture from writer’s lab archive). They also show a large variety of sizes, and an extraordinary variety of natural colors, in contrast with samples of artificially-colored tissues. They reproduce quickly as can be observed at the microscope.

Figure 5

All the cells above described generally have a low motility and are not too dangerous. However, the Ca III diagnosis contemplates a cluster of club-shaped cells that then are going to create the first tumor mass. This is the turning point of the early diagnosis. These cells are the last stage of early diagnosis.

With the presence of the Ca III cells, the formation of the tumor mass starts which only now becomes visible and recognizable and therefore can be diagnosed by classical oncology.

Reich found that the Ca III step was the most critical in the whole process, in that:

1. patients that have Ca III cells but do not still have materialist evidence of cancer will develop the disease in the following period (months or years)
2. all cancer patients show in their biological samples Ca III cells
3. Ca III cells do not belong to any of human tissue.

The cancer process continues with two other steps, Ca IV and Ca V. Actually, we can speak of very early cancer diagnosis test only for Ca I – Ca II – Ca III cells which are characteristic of phase I and present much earlier than the mature cancer cells. With the formation of the tumor mass, however, the disease enters phase II and at this stage the cancer can be easily identified and diagnosed even with the normal tests currently used by classical oncology.
What follows (phase II with the Ca IV and Ca V steps) therefore does not fall within the frame that deals with the very early diagnosis but helps to briefly complete the picture and the description of the cancer process as a whole.

PHASE 2
Ca IV cell. The formation of cancer cells and the tumor mass marks the beginning of phase II. In this phase the cells can have a round and elongated shape or become mobile due to the formation of pseudopodia which can sometime be filamentous.

In some cases, the vesicular aggregations develop a membrane that surrounds and envelops them thus developing a protozoa. The mobile protozoa is typical of the Ca IV step. Traditional oncology has repeatedly noted this protozoa but considers it just a parasite. If the body does not die sooner, these formations would become amoebae. At this stage, the malignancy of cancer depends on the degree of maturity of the cancer cells and on the speed at which the tissue is destroyed and decomposed.

Ca V cell. The Ca V step is characterized by necrosis namely a deadly and putrid decomposition of the cells of the tissues. It is the terminal phase of the cancer disease. When very mobile, tailed cells are found the cancer is very advanced. Microscopic image of the tissue in the Ca V step shows the presence of many debris, fragments of cells, vesicles, bacteria and, to higher magnifications, the T-bacilli. The Ca V step is determined and characterized almost exclusively by dying cancer cells that reached the end of their short lifecycle. While the body is still alive the decomposition of the tissues is comparable to the after-death necrosis. It results in a bacteremia and a generalized toxemia of the body. When the cancer does not affect vital functions, the death occurs by generalized putrefaction. This explains why, at last, the disease usually worsens rapidly into death. At this stage, any therapy is unsuccessful.

T-bacilli
T-bacilli is a name coined by Reich from the German tod that stands for death, to recall the exceptional degree of danger these micro-organisms take once present and circulating in the living organisms. Cancer research has repeatedly noticed them but has always regarded them as an infection resulting from cancer and never understood their significance. T-bacilli are not new germs. Their most important biological characteristic is to attack the energetically weaker cells and stimulate their vesicular reaction. Indeed, T-bacilli attack healthy but energetically weak cells, forcing them to disintegrate vascularly. In this way, they close the circle of the cancer process triggering the formation of new Ca I cells. The presence of T-bacilli can be detected at the microscope with the darkfield technique on whatever cell, fluid or tumoral mass is obtained. Fresh material for fixing and staining that contains a great amount of T-bacilli can be easily aspirated from the center of a tumoral mass where the tissue is more decomposed.

Samples of very advanced tumor tissue, fixed and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and observed under the microscope, show large areas in the center of the tumor filled with T-bacilli in the form of tiny red dots. T-bacilli are Gram-negative (red-stained), with size of 0.2-0.5 μm. In comparison, vesicles (bions) are Gram-positive and blue-stained, with sizes of few μm.

In terminally-ill patients or in culture they produce a stink typical of an organism in putrefaction. In darkfield they appear as tiny lighted dots and when alive and active they show very fast zig-zag movements. They circulate freely inside the blood flow and in such a way they can reach and hit any cell in whatever part of the body. T-bacilli cannot be obtained directly from the air. Figure 6 shows T-bacilli observed at 400x darkfield microscope (picture from writer’s lab archive).

Figure 6

Materials and Methods
Over the last 30 years a large variety of biological samples were taken by the author from different patients with no clue of the cancer disease or with the cancer already present and developed at different degree and examined at the microscope. All cancer patients followed a course of treatment as prescribed by public or private hospital oncologists. The most taken samples were urinary sediment, blood and sputum. The biological samples were subjected to an in-house microscopic examination being the most suitable technique for this test.

An optic microscope (magnification between 400x and 800x) with an incorporated camera or video camera was used. The biological sample under testing was located on a slide and tested in-vivo as soon as possible. Microscope examinations were performed by an Optika binocular optical microscope with 10x-20x-40x-100x objectives, and 15x eyepiece. A Panasonic NV-GS50 digital video camera, equipped with timer, was used in the recording of the microscope examinations.

Results and Discussion
In this section images from different biological samples examined in-house by the author at the optical microscope are reported for each stage of the cancer cell formation and development process.

Figures 7 shows a healthy reaction of the red blood cells of an energetically healthy and charged patient.

Figure 7

Pictures in Figure 8 shows a magnification of healthy red blood cells.

Figure 8

The step 1 of the cancer process (Ca I) is represented by red blood cells with thorns similar to chestnuts. The cells are characterized by a low degree of bioenergy.  The Figures 9 and 10 show red blood cells from a bio-energetically weak organism and blood.

In the 400x magnified image (Figure 10) the typical appearance of low bioenergy red blood cells characterized by thorns similar to chestnuts in their husk can be observed.

Figure 9

Figure 10

When this framework occurs, and is associated to a pronounced spiky appearance of the red blood cells, a very first diagnosis of Ca I cancer cell (step 1) can be done. For classical Oncology no cancer is present at this time because no cancer cell is detectable yet.

The following Figures 11 and 12 show Ca I cells. These are the first cells that, losing energy, start the vesicular disintegration and produce vesicles.

Figure 11

Figure 12

The following Figure 13 and 14 show the two extreme limits of the red blood cells behavior. In Figure 13 all the red blood cells are energetically-charged, while in Figure 14 they are highly energetically-weak. However, in the daily-practice a limit situation alone can be rarely detected. Most often, an intermediate picture between the two above extreme conditions, where charged and weak red blood cells coexist in different percentages, is found.

Figure 13

Figure 14

If the red blood cells can display a smooth or thorny appearance, the vesicles formed in the Ca I cells are subjected to substantial modifications. They merge and aggregate themselves as shown by the arrows in Figures 15 through 18 giving rise to the formation of Ca II cells obtained from microscopic examination of a whatever vascularly disintegrated cells or from tissues of a bioenergetically-weak organism.

Particularly, in Figure 18, a vesicular aggregation, and evolution with the destruction of the original cell, can be observed.

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

The step Ca III is characterized by the presence of club-shaped cells as shown in the pictures of Figure 19 taken from microscopic examination. These cells can be observed in any biological tissue. These latter were originally Ca II cells that underwent modifications, by extending themselves. At this stage it is not difficult to find splitting cells.

a	b
c	d
e	f

Figure 19

The club-shaped cells, typical of the step Ca III, are universally present in all patients and in all solid tumors. They cannot be confused with the other cells of the organism because they do not belong to any human tissue. They are the precursors of the tumoral mass. In case the tumoral mass is not present yet at the moment of the test it will appear in the following months.

While in Orgonomy, the developments and the steps towards an oncological pathology can be diagnosed many years in advance by detecting and monitoring the presence of the Ca I, Ca II, and Ca III cells, and of the thorny red blood cells, traditional oncology, in the same conditions, is not able to do a reliable cancer diagnosis in that does not see and recognize any cancer cell (and the presence of the tumoral mass).

The step 4 (Ca IV) is characterized by the presence of ameboid, mobile cells. Figure 20 shows an example of a Ca IV mobile cell taken from sputum of a terminally-ill male patient with a lung cancer.

Figure 20

These Ca IV cells are no longer belonging to those cells of the phase 1 that allow an earlier cancer diagnosis to be done. Indeed, when they appear, the cancer process is in the phase 2 and is already well advanced. At this point cancer can be also diagnosed by the standard methods of classical oncology.

The Ca V cells represent the last step of a terminally-ill patient. In a sample of a patient at this stage all the cells of the different steps above-described can be found. Being an ongoing process, we can find Ca I cells in vesicular disintegration, bionous re-organization into Ca II cells, club-shaped Ca III cells, T-bacilli, all available in a mush or mixture that does not give much hopes to the patient.

Figure 21 shows blood cells and tissues in Ca V taken from the blood of a female dog operated on for breast cancer.

Figure 21

According to the results above reported and obtained by examining at the microscope biological samples of healthy and cancer-ill patients, we were able to ascertain that blood and cells in a bioenergetically-weak organism are morphologically different and distinguishable from those of a bioenergetically-charged organism.

Red blood cells in the blood, too, show two different reactions according to the energy level of the organism.

Bioenergetically-charged red blood cells at the microscope examination exhibit more and more large and turgid bluish vesicles inside the stroma that appear like pearls nestled around a ring. While, bioenergetically-weak red blood cells are instead much smaller, more wrinkled and thorny. As far as cells are concerned, they undergo very clear morphological modifications that reflect the level of the proper bioenergetic charge.

The first signal is the vesicular reaction of the whole cell. In this first step the cytoplasm of the weaker cells fill up of small vesicles (bions) and sometimes even of T-bacilli. Such cells, belonging to the Ca I step, represent the first indication and warning of a scarce or low energetic charge. Over time, being as these vesicles are active, they aggregate and merge themselves thus forming new conglomerates and structures that are surrounded by a membrane. Cells found in this condition are belonging to the Ca II step.

These structures further develop forming oblong cells that Reich called club-shaped cells, belonging to the Ca III step of the full process. Ca III cells are alien to the organism, they do not belong to any human tissue and anticipate the formation of the tumoral mass.

Figure 22 shows pictures of possible cells that can be found when examining at the microscope biological samples of a cancer patient.

Figure 22

The following Figure 23 represents a comparison between pictures of cells that can be found in a healthy organism and in a cancer patient.

Figure 23

Conclusions
The results so far obtained in more than three decades of in-house microscope examinations on a significant number of patients or pets strikingly confirmed Reich’s findings and assumptions. All the modifications observed at the microscope related to the red blood cells and the cells in urinary sediments or sputum occurred exactly as Reich described and reported in his writings. Examinations confirmed that Ca I and Ca II cells appear much in advanced of the time the tumor is detectable.

These cells are the first sign of an ongoing cancer process and can be detected even decades earlier than the actual insurgence of the tumoral mass.

Ca III cells are the precursors of the tumoral mass that in some cases is already present at the time of the test while in other cases can be found some months later.

As above mentioned, the procedure that Reich developed for an early diagnosis of cancer is valid for all solid tumors.

This evidences the fact that all tumoral cells have the same origin and, as a consequence, all kinds of known cancers are indeed one and the same disease. It has also been determined that the process is universal and occurs similarly both in female and male human organisms, independent of age, and similarly, in animals.

Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank Roberto Maglione and Leon Southgate for their suggestions in writing the paper.

References

1. Reich W, The Cancer Biopathy. Volume II of the Discovery of the Orgone, Farrar Straus & Giroux, New York, 1973; see also Reich W, "Cancer Cells" in Experiment XX, Orgone Energy Bulletin, Vol 3, N° 1, January 1951, Orgone Institute Press, Rangeley, Usa
2. Reich W, Bion Experiments on the Cancer Problem (dated July 1939), Orgonomic Functionalism, Usa, Volume 7, Spring 2019, page 38
3. Reich W, Ibid, page 52

Author:

Armando Vecchietti Vecchietti has been studying Reich’s theories since the early 1970’s, and has been doing research on cancer cell development and the Reich blood test for more than 40 years. He is performing routinely Reich blood test for the early diagnosis of cancer in his private practice. Vecchietti presented the results of his investigations in many Conferences both in Italy and abroad, and wrote many papers on the above subjects. He holds a degree in biology taken at the University of Camerino, Italy, in 1977.

Psychiatric orgone therapy is a type of psychiatric treatment pioneered by Dr. Wilhelm Reich.

Dr. Wilhelm Reich

The basic principle of this treatment is the establishment of the orderly flow and metabolism of energy in the body. In this type of treatment, the clinician tries to establish the flow of energy in a way that is natural and physiologically ordained from the ocular segment toward the pelvis. Any hinders in the flow of this energetic stream, based on the orgonomic theories,causes psychiatric and physical illnesses. The hinders in the flow of this energy are a consequence of armoring in different segments of the body. The elimination of armoring in the body becomes the main task of the psychiatry orgone therapy. The technique of dissolving the armor is based on character analysis and vegetotherapy. The character analysis functions in the realm of psychology and vegetotherapy functions in the realm of the body. Combination of character analytic technique and vegetotherapy is called psychiatric orgone therapy.

(1)

The physiological process and function of the flow of this energy in the body is not understood in conventional medicine, psychiatry, or psychology. Clinicians who understand orgonomic theories and techniques, and understand the physiological function of the energy flow and its significance are also able to discover in their patients, the symptoms and revelations that surfaces in the process of treatment. One of my patients who had episodes of brief psychotic state, once told me the following; “Doctor, sometimes I start to feel as if waves originating from my pelvis are coming up towards my head, at that time I know that if the wave reaches to my head I will fall apart and become psychotic and end up in the hospital. As if my pelvis is my base and sometimes I feel disconnected from my base and I start to flow in space and I feel lost. When the waves start to come up from my pelvis toward my head, I try to make movements of my eyes in some strange ways so I can block it and avoid falling apart”.

From the point of view of conventional psychiatry, psychology or medicine, this statement does not make sense. A clinician unfamiliar with Reich’s theories and Orgonomy will dismiss these statements as “crazy” or “nonsense”. A physician familiar with psychiatric orgone therapy and the theories behind it easily understands this process and is fascinated with the patient’s ability to describe it. Sometimes patients with episodes of psychosis or borderline psychotic state are more in touch with the feelings and sensations in their body than a heavily armored neurotic person who cannot relate with those sensations or physical feelings in their body. Understanding the patient by the principles of the energetic flow and explaining it to her was comforting and reassuring for her. This patient was quite relieved when I explained that her sensations are real and true and I described the theory behind it. She realized that she’s not “crazy” or losing touch with reality. On the contrary, this was validating her sense of reality. I described to her that this wave of energy that she was experiencing in a natural state is supposed to travel in the opposite direction of what she was sensing, from head to pelvis but because of the blocking that she has in her structure, the flow of the waves of energy are blocked and are re-rerouted toward the opposite direction of its natural flow- from pelvis towards the head, consequently causing problems. She felt strengthened and her fear of disintegration diminished. This woman was molested as a child, and when she tried telling her mother about the molestation, she remembered that she was confronted with a harsh and punitive attitude and she was frightened. From there on she was confused sexually, she developed shame and anger but was antagonizing her own mother by acting out sexually. She was promiscuous and was having affairs with different people but never fully enjoyed it, partly because she was using sexual act as contempt toward her mother rather than a loving act with mutual pleasure. Although she was promiscuous however, she was never able to fully discharge her sexual pent-up energy and never had full satisfaction. The armoring in the pelvis was expected in this particular patient and could have been traced back to the traumatic events in her childhood.

Wilhelm Reich was a student of Freud and in the book of “Function of Orgasm” he states:

I had been apprehensive in going to him—I went away cheerful and happy. From that day on, I spent fourteen years of intensive work in and for psychoanalysis. In the end, I was severely disappointed in Freud. Fortunately, this disappointment did not lead to hatred and rejection. Quite contrary; today I can appreciate Freud’s achievement in a far better and deeper way than I could in those days of youthful enthusiasm. I am happy to have been his student for such a long time, without having criticized him prematurely, and with complete devotion to his cause. (2)

The development of psychiatric orgone therapy was based on Freud’s Libido Theory. A theory which was soon abandoned by Freud’s students.

Freud, Sigmund: with Hall, Jung, Brill, Jones, and Ferenczi

Reich, however, considered the libido, the theory of Energy, as the most important theory of psychoanalysis which is the basis of other theories. In the book “Reich Speaks of Freud”, Reich says:

Basically, Freud discovered the principle of energy functioning of psychic apparatus. The energy–functioning principle. This was what distinguished him from all other psychologists. Not so much the discovery of unconscious. The unconscious, the theory of unconscious, was, to my mind, a consequence of a principle he introduced into psychology. That was the principle, the natural scientific principle, of energy—the “libido theory.” You know today very little is left of it. I consider my bio-energetic work with the emotions to be a direct continuation of that energy principle in psychology. (3)

The social and political consequences of the libido theory are in contradiction with the bases of social and political institutions in our society, therefore scientific circles have ignored and suppressed the consideration of this theory and unfortunately deprived medicine, psychology and sociology from the rich results which can be attained from the elaboration of orgonomic science.

Reich, in the book of “Function of Orgasm”, says:

One after the other, they discarded or watered down the libido theory. Freud was well aware of the difficulties involved in championing the libido theory. But, in the interest of self-preservation and the consolidation of the movement, he could not permit himself to say what, in a more honest world, he would certainly have stood up for all alone. (4)

However, the psychological, medical and social consequences of these theories are undeniable.

References:

1. Reich W.: Function of Orgasm, translated by Vincent R. Carfango (page 266).
2. Ibid: (page 35).
3. Reich W.: Reich Speaks of Freud, 1954 (page 15).
4. Reich W.: Function of Orgasm, translated by Vincent R. Carfango (page 215).

Wilhelm Reich and Revolution

In the book of Function of Orgasm, in relation to changes that happened after World War I, Dr. Reich says the following:

After World War I, which had destroyed many compulsive authoritarian institutions, the European democracies wanted “to lead people to freedom”. But this freedom striving European world committed a major assessment error. It failed to see what thousands of years of suppression of the vital energies in man had bred beneath the surface. It failed to see the far reaching universal defect of character neurosis. The severe catastrophe of the psychic plague, i.e. the catastrophe of the irrational human character structure swept over large parts of the world, in the form of the victory of dictatorship. (1)

The major assessment error that Dr. Reich talks about in this paragraph keeps repeating over and over and therefore we see similar catastrophes again and again.

In the book Listen Little Man, Reich states:

From time to time you lift your head out of muck and shout hurrah! A frog croaking in a swamp is closer to life. (2)

In the book Children of the Feature, Dr. Reich says:

During the past century, our parents and grandparents have repeatedly tried to penetrate the wall of social evil with all kinds of social theories, political programs, reforms, resolutions and revolutions. They have failed miserably every time; not one attempt at an improvement of the human lot has succeeded. More than that or rather worse than that the misery became deeper and the entanglement worse with every new attempt. The present generation, i.e. those who are in their maturity today, the thirty to sixty year olds, have inherited the confusion and tried hard but in vein to get out of it. Some have been able to raise their heads above the chaos; others have been dragged into the whirlpool, never to emerge again. In other words, we have failed miserably as builders of a new orientation in life. We were too much burdened with our own past entanglements. We have carried chains on our legs while we tried desperately to jump into freedom. We fail and as a generation we shall never make it. (3)

Is there, then, no hope at all? There is hope, much hope, if only we muster, the courage and the decency to realize our miserable failure. Then, and only then, shall we be able to see where and how we can pitch in and help….We cannot tell our children what kind of world they will or should build. But we can equip them with the kind of character structure and biological vigor which will enable them to make their own decisions, to find their own ways to build their own future and that of their children, in a rational manner. (4)

Here let’s explore a bit about what Dr. Reich means by "chains" that has been carried on our legs which has prevented us as a human race to jump into freedom, and what does he mean when he says to provide our children the "character structure" which will enable them to progress. Dr. Reich does not talk about chains just as a figure of speech. He implies a deeper concept behind it. The chains that he talks about are the human character deformities that in Orgonomy we know it as character armor. In the previous articles in this journal we have explained how antisexual and authoritarian upbringing of children causes them to become armored. Dr. Herskowitz in his previous articles and speeches explained the character armor as the following:

Armoring converts free laughter into a chuckle or twitter; it may cause a woman to speak in a little girl’s voice. It does not merely change a function by degree but by a kind. It renders behavior more predictable, more stereotyped. Armoring puts life in constraint. Armoring is most often revealed in muscular tension but it is also revealed in eyes that are glazed, in excessive body fat, etc. [Armoring] is a dynamic event and it entails the consumption of energy. It constrains us physically, emotionally, and ideationally. It is a cocoon to which we gradually become accustomed. (5)

A society that is composed of the individuals with distorted character will be prone to fascistic ideologies, discrimination based on differences of any kind, deception and violence, etc. Dr. Reich in the book of The Mass psychology of Fascism states the following:

Extensive and pain steaking therapeutic work on human character has led me to the conclusion that as a rule we are dealing with 3 different layers of biopsychic structure in the evaluation of human reactions. As I demonstrated in my book Character- Analysis, these layers of the character structure are deposits of social development, which function autonomously. On the surface layer of his personality the average man is reserved, polite, compassionate, responsible, and conscientious. There would be no social tragedy of the human animal if this surface layer of the personality were in direct contact with the deep natural core. This unfortunately is not the case. The surface layer of the social cooperation is not in contact with the deep biological core of one’s self hood; it is borne by a second an intermediate character layer, which consists exclusively of cruel sadistic, lashivishes, ruptiousius and envious impulses. It represents the Freudian "unconscious" or what is repressed; to put it in a language of sex economy it represents the sum total so called "secondary drives". (6)

In the book The Function of Orgasm, Dr. Reich says:

Sexual suppression biological rigidity, moralism and asceticism are not confined to certain class or strata of the population. They are found everywhere". (7)

In Numerous writings Dr. Reich asserts the fact that real democracy will evolve by understanding of human structure and healthy upbringing of children free of harsh oppression of healthy psychosexual forces. To this end he indicates that to understand orgonomic principles of healthy upbringing of children and to bring human psychology to sociology and politics one has to revamp his thinking.

In the book Reich Speaks of Freud Dr. Reich states:

You have to revamp your whole way of thinking, So that you don’t think from the standpoint of the state and the culture and this or that, but from the standpoint of what people need, what they suffer from. Then you arrange your social institutions accordingly. Not the other way around. Now, that is foreign to the mind of a Marxist politician today. They only think in terms of "productive forces". They think in terms of the state. I think in terms of human beings and what they need. If I had anything to say politically, everything which exists would be arranged in accordance with what the child needs, the infant needs, the adolescent needs, you need, I need and everybody needs. Now, here, sociology becomes separated from politics for the first time. (8)

Therefore the fundamental change of human social structure based on orgonomic principles will not happen by continuation of contemporary upbringing and education of the children which makes them grow up armored, with chains on their legs and restrictions in their character. Any social change which is built upon defected and ruined human character will eventually crumble as history attests to this.

Dr. Reich in the book Reich Speaks of Freud states the following:

But I assure you that there is no solution to this world’s problems unless this point is cleared up, sociologically, politically, economically, psychologically, structurally, characterological, in every single respect. "I don’t believe that there will be any solution of any social problem as long as children and adolescents grow up with the stasis of biological energy". (9)

Philosophers, poets and writers have recognized the repetition of human atrocities with one predicament or other throughout the history. A contemporary Persian poet Ahmad Shamlou has a poetry titled "What a Slaughter House is this History of Humanity". In this poetry he depicts through Persian history of how one group is always killing others under different predicaments until today. This is also true in the history of all other countries. Therefore it is our opinion to help materialize every child’s earliest wishes "to save the world from war, destruction, evil and unhappiness". It is imperative, to study orgonomic theories in raising the children all over the world to help create a better world, where children can grow as they are ordained to.

References:

(1). Reich W.: Function of Orgasm, translated by Vincent R. Carfango (page 235).

(2). Reich W.: Listen Little Man, translated by Ralph Manheim with illustrations by William Steig (page 99).

(3). Reich W.: Children of Future, translated by Derek and Inge Jordan (page 5).

(4). Ibid (page 6).

(5). Herskowitz M.: Excerpts from lecture in Germany, December 1993. Journal of Psychiatric Orgone Therapy

(6). Reich W.: The Mass Psychology of Fascism, third edition (page xi).

(7). Reich W.: Function of Orgasm, translated by Vincent R. Carfango (page 11).

(8). Reich W.: Reich Speaks of Freud, 1954 (page 50).

(9). Ibid (page 26).

Article by David Silver

In August of 1962, Norman Shapiro was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Ten years later, he wrote a book—a truly unique first person account of his experiences with both classical medicine and orgone therapy in the treatment of his illness.

Thanks to the generous donation of the manuscript to the Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust by Ann Shapiro, daughter of Norman Shapiro, we hereby announce the publication of this fascinating, detailed, historical record of one man’s life and death struggle to navigate his way through the emotional and physical consequences of a cancer diagnosis in the year 1962 using all means available to him at the time.

Especially poignant, given that the story took place in the years just after Dr. Reich died in federal prison, where he found himself as a result of a legal morass initiated by the United States Food and Drug Administration’s accusation that his experiments with the orgone energy accumulator on patients constituted "peddling" of a fraudulent medical device.

Norman Shapiro was not a "Reichian" zealot. In fact, he was quite pessimistic about his fate and did not really believe that orgone therapy or the orgone energy accumulator would benefit him. Rather, he was urged by his wife to fight for his life by giving this form of treatment a chance after the harsh cobalt radiation treatment he received weakened him without producing any improvement in his condition.

Whether Shapiro’s recovery resulted, in fact, from his use of the orgone energy accumulator, or whether he was simply a "miracle case," as he was described by his cancer doctor, we can never know for certain. But it is not a matter of belief. Only conscientious and bona fide scientific research can provide answers relevant to this question.

Regardless of what one believes, this story is like a time capsule which serves the function of giving a human voice to critically important feelings and attitudes about cancer and its treatment which are as relevant today as they were a half-century ago.

Available for purchase via the Magcloud.

It was a combination of inspiration and disgust that motivated me to make this film.

The inspiration, of course, came from Wilhelm Reich himself whose books I began reading in 1972 when I was 18 years old.

The disgust came from the continual distortions and false narratives about Reich that persist to this day in books, articles, museum exhibits, art exhibits, academic lectures, television programs and films. Among the more recent examples, which finally moved me to action, were two poorly researched films from Vienna a few years ago that recklessly and irresponsibly played fast and loose with the facts.

Which begs the obvious questions that I’ve been asking for decades: Why have all films and TV segments about Reich been so careless with the facts? Why have all previous filmmakers and TV producers squandered their opportunities to create accurate and intellectually honest narratives about Reich, when the facts about his life and work are publicly available in thousands of pages of primary sources and other credible materials?

These are rhetorical questions, of course, for which I can offer no definitive answers in terms of personal motivations. But I feel perfectly justified in describing all of these filmmakers and TV producers as intellectually lazy and guided by reasons and agendas other than simply presenting the truth.

For those of us who are profoundly touched in anyway by Reich’s life and work, the inevitable question arises: "What can each of us do-given our individual skills and talents-to present factually accurate narratives about Reich to new and younger audiences?"

My background and skills are in film, writing and teaching. And so, in 2010 at the age of 56-having spent 38 years studying Reich, plus eight years as a director of the Wilhelm Reich Infant Trust (from which I would resign six years later in 2016) plus three years helping to manage Reich’s archives at Harvard’s Countway Library of Medicine (which I would also end in 2016)

-I decided that there needed to be at least one factually-accurate documentary film about Reich, a film that could be used as an intellectually-honest learning tool for all kinds of audiences today and in future generations.

And since no one else had ever made such a film, I decided that I would do it. This became a process and a journey that would take seven years, starting in November 2010 and ending in December 2017.

In November 2010, I began to research and write the basic storyline-what was essentially my road map and my "Bible"-for a factually-accurate documentary about the life and work of Wilhelm Reich. And I did this for several years with absolutely no idea of how or where or if I could ever get the money to make this film.

This, I think, is what sets this film apart from all other films about Reich: the extensive research and writing I did prior to raising a single penny, prior to going out with camera crews to shoot a single frame.

This included re-reading over 7,500 pages of Reich’s published books and research journals, studying hundreds of pages of the U.S. government’s files on Reich (State Department, FBI, Immigration & Naturalization Service, and Food & Drug Administration); and reading hundreds of pages of Reich’s archival materials at the Countway Library of Medicine. I also listened to dozens of Reich’s original voice recordings from the 1940s and 1950s, all of this to write out a comprehensive storyline and chronology, a roadmap that would guide me through the production and post-production of this project.

From 2010 to 2014, I stayed motivated by one single thought: If somehow I could get the money to make this film, then I needed to be completely prepared to take that money and start production. During this time I also spoke with many people in the documentary film world, seeking any kind of financial or institutional support for this project. I was turned down by all of them, which really came as no surprise.

The turning point came in early 2013, and quite by accident: During a routine visit to my local library to peruse the shelves of new books that had recently come in, I found a small yellow paperback entitled The Kickstarter Handbook: Real-Life Crowdfunding Success Stories. While I had vaguely heard of Kickstarter, I knew nothing about crowdfunding.

I took the book home and read it. And immediately I thought, "Maybe, just maybe, this is the answer."That summer I put together a group of six or seven people whom I trusted completely. I sent each of them a copy of The Kickstarter Handbook before we actually met. And we subsequently spent a week together analyzing numerous Kickstarter campaigns and discussing the possibility of planning our own campaign to raise the money for the film that I was researching and writing.

Over the next year, what I now called the Kickstarter Group spoke regularly every month in a telephone conference call. And we met again for a week in July 2014 to put our final plans in place. Three months later-in October and November 2014-we ran a successful 31-day Kickstarter campaign that raised $187,000 from over 30 countries for "Phase One – Production" of this film.

And because of my research and writing over the past four years, I was fully prepared to start the film almost immediately. Less than two months later, in January 2015, we filmed our first interview for this documentary with Dr. Morton Herskowitz, who was then 96 years old. Throughout 2015 my co-director Glenn Orkin and I filmed interviews and locations in six states in America-Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania-and in three countries in Europe: Austria, Germany and Norway. After which I ran two more crowdfunding campaigns in 2016 and 2017, which again brought in money from over 30 countries for the editing and final post-production of this documentary.

Also in 2016 and 2017, Glenn and I and our film crew did additional filming in Rangeley, Maine and we spent several days filming materials in Reich’s archives at the Countway Library of Medicine in Boston.

This documentary was officially completed in December 2017, and we screened it for the first time in New York City on January 13, 2018.

Since then, the film has had public screenings in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Israel, South Africa and the United States (in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania).  It’s now being digitally streamed on Vimeo-on-Demand  (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wr1897) while we try to find a permanent home for it on one of the major digital film platforms.

If you missed the film’s screenings in America, Europe and South Africa, which took place for 1½ years from January 2018 to July 2019, you can now watch the film on Vimeo-on-Demand (https://vimeo.com/ondemand/wr1897). Public screenings of this film, followed by online digital streaming, became our guiding strategy once the film was completed in December 2017. But one final detail of this strategy remains: finding a permanent home for this film on one of the major digital platforms (i.e., Amazon Prime, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, etc.) or in a reputable academic/educational digital library. In this way the film will be secure and accessible in its entirety, uncut and unaltered, with its content and integrity intact.

We’re now working to find that permanent home for the film. So please share this link with anyone who you think might be interested in watching this film. The more viewers we have in this video-on-demand (VOD) market, the better our chances for finding a permanent home for this film. Thank you.

Please Donate

 

If you benefited from this article, please help to preserve and promote Wilhelm Reich’s legacy by donating any amount. Your contribution is tax deductible and will be used to help orgonomy institutes including Wilhelm Reich’s museum and infant trust.

$ Donation Amount:

• $5.00
• 10.00
• $25.00
• 50.00
• $100.00
• Custom

Donate Now

Select Payment Method

• Stripe - Credit Card

Personal Info

First Name *

Last Name

Company Name

Email Address *

Credit Card Info

This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

Card Number *

CVC *

Cardholder Name *

Expiration *

Billing Details

Country * United StatesCanadaUnited KingdomAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarrussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongo, Democratic People's RepublicCongo, Republic ofCook IslandsCosta RicaCote d'IvoireCroatia/HrvatskaCubaCyprus IslandCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEquatorial GuineaEl SalvadorEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGreeceGhanaGibraltarGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly See (City Vatican State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacauMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian TerritoriesPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunion IslandRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovak RepublicSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth GeorgiaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan Mayen IslandsEswatiniSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaTogoTokelauTongaThailandTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUruguayUS Minor Outlying IslandsUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands (British)Virgin Islands (USA)Wallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaWestern SamoaYemenYugoslaviaZambiaZimbabwe

Address 1 *

Address 2

City *

State * AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingAmerican SamoaCanal ZoneCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana IslandsFederated States of MicronesiaGuamMarshall IslandsNorthern Mariana IslandsPalauPhilippine IslandsPuerto RicoTrust Territory of the Pacific IslandsVirgin IslandsArmed Forces - AmericasArmed Forces - Europe, Canada, Middle East, AfricaArmed Forces - Pacific

Zip / Postal Code *

Donation Total: $5.00

Summer Conference at the Wilhelm Reich Museum

July 8-12 2019, Orgonon, Rangeley, Maine

WILHELM REICH’S WORK DEMOCRACY

Between the years 1938 and 1945, Wilhelm Reich wrote six important texts on work democracy:

1939: The Natural Organization of Work
in Work Democracy
1941: Further Problems of Work Democracy
1942: "The Biological Miscalculation in the Human
Struggle for Freedom"
1943: "Give Responsibility to Vitally Necessary Work!" and "Work Democracy versus Politics: The Natural
Forces for the Mastery of the Emotional Pest."
1944: "Work Democracy in Action"

Attendees are encouraged to read these ahead of time. When you register prior to the conference, three will be sent to you. The others are included as the final three chapters of The Mass Psychology of Fascism. We will explore the development of Reich’s ideas but also how we can put them to use in our own lives, to get practical benefit and to help others.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (subject to change):

Monday 8 July
9:00 am -10:30 am – Welcome, introduction to the topic: James
Strick, PhD
10:45 am – 1:00 pm – Reich’s articles on work democracy, part 1:
Philip Bennett, PhD
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – Sit in closed Orgone Room for visual
observations (weather permitting–we will do it on the first
sunny, low humidity day)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Lakeside Theatre, Rangeley, screening of
Love, Work and Knowledge: the Life and Trials of Wilhelm Reich

Tuesday 9 July
9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Reich’s writings on work democracy, part 2:
Philip Bennett, PhD
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Lakeside Theatre, Rangeley, screening of Love, Work and Knowledge…

Wednesday 10 July
9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Reich writings on work democracy, part 3:
David Brahinsky, PhD
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – International panel discussion from a variety
of different perspectives about Reich’s ideas on work democracy
(various participants from the US, Mexico, Germany, Norway)

Thursday 11 July
9:00 am – 10:30 am – Patricia Estrada, MA, Using Reich’s Principles
in a Current Organization
10:45 am – 12 noon – Thomas Riepenhausen, MA, Work Democracy
in Practice Today
12 noon – 1:00 pm – Open discussion
2:30 pm – 4:30 pm – Hike to Cascade Gorge (bring a bathing suit if
you want to swim)
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – 2009 video interview with Mary Boyd Higgins,
Trustee of WRITF 1959-2019

Friday 12 July
9:00 am – 10:30 am – Audio tape from the Reich archives on
Reich’s use of work democratic ideas in his own organizations
10:45 am – 12 noon – Discussion of tape
12 noon – 1:00 pm – Panel discussion with all speakers

Spanish translation will be provided.

Saturday 13 July (optional)
For those who can stay through Saturday night, a concert of standards from the great American songbook will be performed by renowned jazz pianist Andy Kahn on Saturday evening July 13th.

GENERAL INFORMATION

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FEE (good though 20 May 2019) – $275.00
After 20 May, fee will be $325.00
Includes tuition, information packet, daily homemade breakfast and refreshments. A 25% discount is available for full-time college students who can document their status and for those traveling from outside the US and Canada. Registration may be made using check Mastercard, Visa, or American Express. Call 207-864-3443, send check to Orgonon, PO Box 687, Rangeley, Maine 04970 USA, or e-mail info@wilhelmreichtrust.org

MEETING PLACE
Conference Building at Orgonon (Wilhelm Reich Museum) located on Dodge Pond Road in Rangeley, Maine

TAX DEDUCTION
IRS regulations permit an income tax deduction for educational expenses to maintain or improve professional skills.

ACCOMMODATIONS
Hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, lakefront cottages and other rentals, and campgrounds are available in and around Rangeley. We encourage you to make reservations early as this is the busy season. Try vrbo.com or AirBNB, or for information on the region, contact the Rangeley Chamber of Commerce: 800-685-2537 or email: mtlakes@rangeley.org

TWO SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
To apply for the Mary Boyd Higgins and Chester M. Raphael Scholarships, please contact us at: info@wilhelmreichtrust.org. All applications must be received by May 15, 2019.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call us at 207-864-3443, or e-mail: info@wilhelmreichtrust.org

Passages from selected articles by Wilhelm Reich:

Work democracy implies the triumph of rational thinking, work, knowledge, and natural love over mysticism, serfdom, political chicanery, pornography, deception, disenfranchisement, and exploitation of the masses.

Whoever tells the people, "I can’t promise you anything, I can’t help you, you and you alone must bear the responsibility for your lives"–this is the one who doesn’t release them from their responsibility but rather enlightens them and charges them with it; this is the one who will have understood the true meaning of work democracy.

Work democracy is not an ideological system. Nor is it a "political" system, which could be imposed upon human society by the propaganda of a party, individual politicians, or any group sharing a common ideology. Natural work democracy is the sum total of all functions of life governed by the rational interpersonal relations that have come into being, grown and developed in a natural and organic way. What is new in work democracy is that for the first time in the history of sociology, a possible future regulation of human society is derived not from ideologies or conditions that must be created, but from natural processes that have been present and have been developing from the very beginning.

Work democracy consciously develops formal democracy, which is expressed in the mere election of political representatives and does not entail any further responsibility on the part of the electorate, into a genuine, factual, and practical democracy on an international scale. This democracy is borne by the functions of love, work and knowledge and is developed organically. It fights mysticism and the idea of the totalitarian state not through political attitudes but through practical functions of life, which obey their own laws. In short, natural work democracy is a newly discovered bio-sociologic, natural and basic function of society.