American College of Orgonomy - Therapy

There are some intriguing parallels between the mystically inclined and some individuals drawn to orgonomy. The mystic hopes to find some universal spiritual resource to give meaning to his life. The student of orgonomy also comes seeking answers and a way out of the trap. Both recognize an energy, the mystic crediting God or the spirit world, and the serious student of orgonomy objectifying the energy scientifically, crediting no one. Both assert that there is more at work that the "visible world." The mystic seeks answers in the supernatural. Those in treatment must guard against seeking miracles and putting their faith in orgone therapy, as though it were a religion, to provide all the answers and to bring unending happiness. This is magical thinking. The mystic forms cults and has his gurus. Such behavior in our midst, i.e., idealizing the medical orgonomist, must be resisted.

The mystical individual and individuals drawn to orgonomy show some further interesting comparisons in their thinking and perception. Both hold, though in a different sense, that purification is necessary for right perception: the mystic through right living, moral means, meditation, etc. and the student of orgonomy by dissolution of the armor in therapy. Both seek relief from anxiety, a sense of freedom, and a feeling of joy. Both yearn for cosmic contact. The mystic attempts to achieve the ecstatic experience by union with God or a universal spirit. The individual in therapy does so by striving to achieve a genital mode of functioning.

Both pursue the apprehension of reality and the attainment of perfection - the mystic by seeking to achieve fusion with the ultimate, and the other, holding genitality as a cornerstone, through the ability to superimpose bioenergetically in the genital embrace and discharge sexual excitement in the acme of the sexual act. The mystic attempts to achieve total awareness through contact with the universe beyond; the patient in treatment seeks to achieve fuller contact with himself, others, and his environment by ridding himself of armor and by re-establishing the free flow of his own biophysical energy. We feel that through the removal of armoring, in this lifetime, an individual can move toward more natural functioning and develop his or her inherent potential. The theory that we adhere to remains in and of this world. (The mystic strives to achieve evolvement supernaturally, if not in this lifetime, then after death, with subsequent re-incarnations.) We hold that the improvement of the human condition will only be brought about by the prevention of armoring in infants and children. We put no faith in reincarnation.

I have spoken about the parallels between the mystical individual and a type of individual drawn to orgonomy. Now let us look at some of the similarities between the mystic and the schizophrenic. As noted previously, Reich felt that the blocking of direct organ sensations led to the perception of supernatural powers and he said this was, "valid for spiritualists, schizophrenics, religious physicists, and for every form of paranoia." Mystics are not necessarily schizophrenic, but common distortions in perception, and therefore thinking, make them allied.

Reich felt that the mystic was "structurally close to the schizoid character" and that "he usually comprehended orgonomic facts, although only as in a mirror" (12). He says, in a somewhat different context, that "mystics reach a picture of reality in which real processes are distorted, as if in a mirror, and are not in harmony with what is objectively so." It's interesting that Reich uses the analogy of a mirror in more than one place in his writings, and that in "Shinto temples [there] stands a mirror symbolizing the fact that to see reality one must see both oneself and the illusory nature of the self, see the reality of the separate entity and see that - from another viewpoint - it is not reality but an illusion" (12). Coleridge described the split more succinctly and poetically when he wrote, "the mind half sees and half creates."

A review of psychiatric textbook descriptions of paranoid schizophrenic thinking reveals that the illness shares quite a bit of common ground with mystical thought. The psychotic and the mystic both believe that they are endowed with great powers, often God-given. Both are known to hold to the absolute belief that they can control natural events - events such as earthquakes. The schizophrenic holds to fixed beliefs, not grounded in reality. This is the very definition of delusional thinking. These beliefs frequently extend to the conviction that their actions are governed by some external force. Thinking is magical and tends to be superstitious. Mystical thinking runs along the same lines. The schizophrenic and the mystic both believe in clairvoyance and telepathy and both may sense the presence of a force or persons not actually present.

Delusions of reference are common in psychosis and the schizophrenic attaches particular and unusual significance to events or objects. He commonly reports that he gets "signs" when he looks at things. The mystic thinks in a very similar manner and draws connections between unrelated events and attaches to them profound significance. Events have for him deep meaning and provide understanding. Coincidence is rarely ascribed and seriality, synchronicity, and unseen supernatural forces are given the credit. The worker in orgonomy with a tendency toward mysticism must be on guard not to fall into this kind of omnipotent thinking. This is especially so if he is working directly with the energy. Extensive work with the medical DOR-buster or the cloudbuster can cause persons working with these devices to feel godlike. Mystifying the process, they believe it is they who are affecting the patient or influencing the atmosphere, and that the device is only a conduit for their energetic powers.

In severe manifestations of the psychotic breakdown, the individual can experience a fusion of the senses - and this sometimes also occurs in the mystic. Colors can be heard and sounds seen. LSD and other chemicals can induce such altered states and many individuals, if not whole cultures, prescribe that this chemical path be taken to achieve the mystical experience.

Is mysticism on the rise? I'm not certain. When I'm in California, I think it is - when I'm here on the East Coast, I think not. However, I do see there is a resurgence of religion. Perhaps this is a reaction against the modern-day technological advances that have not delivered on their promise to bring us contentment and a sense of fulfillment.

It is my contention that the great majority of mystical thinking is the product of a disordered energy flow within the individual. I hold, as did Reich, that there is a biopathic process at the root of mysticism. However, what can be said, in the context of orgone energy functions, to account for the small percentage of inexplicable mystical experiences and occurrences that have been reported? It would be arrogant to write off every unexplainable experience or event as the product of an individual's disordered structure. These experiences, for now, must remain without scientific explanation. However, discounting out-and-out fakery and hysteria. I contend that most unexplained occurrences are the product of natural energy functions and will be found to obey physical laws, laws as yet undiscovered. We do know this: There is an ether - space is not empty, but is filled with a continuous intervening medium - cosmic orgone energy. Also, we know that we are each a source of energy with field that extends beyond our skin surface. It, therefore, follows that energy fields between individuals could, at a distance, make contact through the atmosphere. Given this continuum of energy, it would not seem so improbable that individuals could come into concordance and resonate, so to speak, and make some form of contact through the continuous atmospheric ether. It is possible that an energy transfer occurs through this medium and that, perhaps, energy can even be directed to produce effects on matter.

But, having said this, it certainly behooves us to continue to have the greatest skepticism of those who lay claim to supernatural abilities and mystical powers.

Some individuals who become involved in orgonomy may be predisposed toward mystical thinking. A degree of core contact in the presence of armor are key contributing factors. This is found, not infrequently, in those who have failed to reach their goals through orgone therapy. They turn to mysticism with the hope of finding some universal spiritual resource that will bring meaning to their lives and a greater feeling of well-being.

The longing to be healed is universal, and it will continue so as long as man is armored. On all sides, there are treatments advanced that lay claim to heal, but medical orgone therapy and the preservation of Reich's discoveries remain our central focus. Until such time as we have reason to alter our course, this will remain the work of the American College of Orgonomy.

1. Blasband, R.A., Editor's Page, Journal of Orgonomy, 26(1) 1992.

2. Baker, E.F.: Man in the Trap. New York: Macmillan, 1967.

3. Konia, Charles: Personal communication to the author.

4. Underhill, E.: Mysticism. London, Collier Books, 1911.

5. James, W.: The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: American Library, 1958, Lecture XVI, pp. 292-3.

6. Elmwood, R.S.: Mysticism in Religion. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1980.

7. Underhill, E. op. Cit. Pp. 72.

8. Reich, W.: Ether, God and Devil. New York: Orgone Institute Press, 1949.

12. Reich, W.: Character Analysis. New York: Orgone Institute Press, 1949.

13. Le Shan, L.: The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist. New York: Viking Press, 1974.