From Abracadabra to Zombies
reader comments: Wilhelm Reich & orgone energy
13 Apr 2000
I stumbled onto your site accidentally, looking for web pages concerning
Orgone energy. I have done research into the truth of Orgone energy for 3
years now, and I must say it has a definite scientific basis. Although I
was a bit perturbed at the tone your entry on Orgonomy took, being that it
was overwhelmingly bitter and sarcastic, I assumed that it was well
founded. Honestly, when someone first tried to talk to me about Orgone, I
believed he was an idiot. Not so now. I can say, with 100% certainty,
that, while much of Reich's work was incomplete and shoddy, it had more to
do with lack of funding and equipment than any maliciousness or unsound
thinking on his part. The concept of Orgone is a viable one, as I have
seen it at work. One thing I would suggest you look into: A book called
"Right Where You Are Sitting Now" by Robert Anton Wilson. One
chapter is devoted to the vehemence with which "pseudoscience"
is attacked by established beliefs, often on no other grounds than it
doesn't fit in with accepted belief. I truly recommend reading that
chapter, as it was the only truly interesting thing in the book.
John Gregory
reply: 100% certainty? How can I quarrel with that or Robert Anton Wilson?
9 Jun 1999
Dear bogus skeptic:
You have expressed your skepticism on the "orgone shooter" based on the following statement "The Food and Drug Administration not only declared that there is no such thing as orgone energy... "
Oh, I'm sure you're not referring to the same FDA that said that Cannabis Sativa, an herb used for healing for 5000 years, had no healing properties...and recently had to swallow its words...
For a skeptic, you sure are a sucker for anything that has the government-approval label on it.
Best regards,
A real skeptic (loosely translated as "whatever works, not what I think it's
politically correct and MUST work...)
reply: I gave a few other reasons for being skeptical of the orgone shooter, but I suspect your affection for cannabis may have affected your ability to pay attention to them.
It may surprise you, but not all government officials are morons. I realize that some people assume that if the government says it is bad or useless, then it must be really good, especially if it relates to one's favorite recreational drug. However, this is not a very wise rule to live by, even for "real skeptics."
Aug 26 1998
Although James DeMeo's organization is the most vocal proponent of Reich's ideas, it's not
the only one.
The medical and psycho-therapeutic side of Wilhelm Reich's alleged discoveries are promulgated most strongly by a much more conservative group called "The American College of Orgonomy." They primarily train psychiatrists in the use of Reich's character-analysis and in his more, ahem, esoteric techniques (some of which bear a strong resemblance to Rolfing, although Reich developed his trick of "attacking the muscular armor" in the 1940s). In order to get the American College of Orgonomy's seal of approval, a therapist must first go through the therapy himself at least until he reaches the stage where he experiences "orgonotic streamings".
The American College of Orgonomy is nowhere nearly as evangelical as DeMeo's Orgone
Biophysical Lab, and in fact goes out of its way to distance itself from DeMeo.
Roger M. Wilcox
Wilhelm
Reich & orgone energy
