Reich and Medical Orgone Therapy

lilly · Site Admin

http://www.wilhelmreichmuseum.org/biography.html

"REICH?S FIRST YEARS IN AMERICA
(1939 ? 1947)

?There was no doubt of the existence of an energy possessing extraordinarily high biological activity. It remained only to discover what its nature was and how it could be measured.?

? from The Cancer Biopathy

Reich settled in the Forest Hills section of New York City; taught courses at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan (?Character Formation: Biological and Sociological Aspects? and ?Clinical Problems in Psychosomatic Medicine?); began publishing his books in English; trained American physicians in his therapeutic techniques; and pursued his investigations of orgone energy. This research included:

treating cancer mice with bion injections
developing a cancer serum from bion cultures
finding a way to isolate and collect orgone energy from bions in order to study its functions and make it more usable
And since orgone radiation from the bions seemed to permeate all substances, Reich was constantly confronting questions about the origins of this energy. Where did orgone energy come from?

The Orgone Energy Accumulator (1940)

To isolate and collect orgone from bion cultures, Reich relied on the results of several laboratory experiments. These experiments demonstrated that organic or non-metallic materials?such as cotton, wool or plastic?attract, absorb, and hold the energy. Metallic materials ?like steel and iron?attract the energy and quickly reflect it in both directions. On the basis of these findings, Reich constructed small boxes with alternating layers of organic and metallic materials, with the inner walls lined with metal. By looking through a specially designed lens inserted into a wall of each box, one could observe orgone radiation from the bions within the enclosure. These ?orgone energy accumulators? also revealed an unexpected phenomenon: the appearance of orgone radiation inside the enclosure even without the presence of bion cultures.

Reich now faced the daunting possibility of having discovered a biological energy that seemed to be everywhere, while still pondering the perplexing question of where orgone energy originated. In Maine, he would soon find the answers.

Reich and Rangeley, Maine (1940)

In the summer of 1940, during a camping trip to New England, Reich discovered the beautiful Rangeley Lakes region. While staying in a small cabin on Mooselookmeguntic Lake (the largest of the Rangeley Lakes), Reich?s observations of the night skies verified the existence of orgone energy in the atmosphere. This discovery of atmospheric orgone was a major thrust forward in Reich?s research. And with its low humidity and clean air, Reich realized that the Rangeley region provided an ideal environment for this work. (In contrast, since water and high humidity absorb and hold orgone energy, the summer weather in New York City made it difficult to carry out his experimentation.) Later that year, Reich purchased a cabin on Mooselookmeguntic Lake where he returned in the summers to continue his experiments.

The Accumulators and Medical Orgone Therapy

Meanwhile, back in New York, the accumulator quickly became an increasingly vital tool for Reich?s research. The accumulator?s organic layers attracted the atmospheric energy which was directed inward by the metal layers. Any energy reflected outward by the metal layers was immediately re-absorbed by the organic material, attracted back to the metal, and directed toward the inside of the box. The result was a higher concentration of orgone energy inside the box. The more layers, the stronger the concentration.

This accumulation of energy can be verified in a number of ways. For example, a constant temperature difference exists between the air above the box and the surrounding air, contradicting the Second Law of Thermodynamics. There also exists a slower electroscopic discharge rate in the higher orgone concentration inside the accumulator than is demonstrated by an electroscope outside the box.

The accumulator now allowed Reich to test the effects of orgone radiation on cancer mice without resorting to bion injections, by simply placing the mice inside the metal-lined enclosure. Because his results with cancer mice were so promising, Reich decided to test the effects of orgone radiation on humans. He constructed accumulators large enough for a person to sit in, and in 1941 began experimental treatments with cancer patients.

They were all terminal cases. Reich promised no cure nor charged any money, as shown by the affidavit that his patients and/or their family members were required to sign:

?I state herewith that I came to see Dr. Wilhelm Reich for possibly helping the case of my _____ who suffers from cancer. I came because I was told of the experiments that Dr. Reich has made with cancer mice and human beings. Dr. Reich did not promise me any cure, did not charge any money, and told me that only during the last few months has he tried the orgone radiation on human begins who suffer from cancer. Death or abscesses could occur as a consequence of the disease. I told Dr. Reich that the physicians have given up the case of my _____ as hopeless. Should death or abscesses occur during the time of the experiment, it will not be because of the treatment.? (The Cancer Biopathy)

Over a period of time, the patients showed marked improvement: relief of pain, healthier blood condition, weight gain, and the shrinkage and elimination of tumors. Despite these positive results, the patients died, reinforcing Reich?s conviction that cancer is a bio-energetic shrinking following emotional resignation, and that the tumors themselves are not the disease, but merely a local manifestation of a deeper systemic disorder. Once again, Reich?s focus became prevention."