Wilhelm Reich Today http://orgonomist.blogspot.com

Reich's Great Gift: Health in 2012

2012-01-23T10:57:00.005-05:00

Those of us involved in carrying on the work of Wilhelm Reich often discuss the significance of his contributions and question which of them will resonate most with those new to his work. Is it his discovery of the life energy and his attempt to place it on scientific footing? Is it his insight into the workings of humankind on the grand scale with his discovery and exposition of mass psychology? Or is it the unique therapy he developed with its ability to enable those who undertake it to lead...

Reich and Marcuse

2011-11-24T10:40:00.003-05:00

Wilhelm Reich and Herbert Marcuse were contemporaries and each sought to understand the workings of humankind as sociologists and political theorists. Both men were Jewish and were born a year apart in Eastern Europe: Reich in 1897 in a Galician village, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Marcuse in 1898 in Berlin. Both came from affluent families. Both served in the First World War--in 1916 Reich joined the Austrian Army and ultimately became a lieutenant at the Italian front. Also...

Lecture on Reich's Influence on Marcuse

2011-10-09T09:58:00.002-04:00

David Brahinsky, Ph.D. will be presenting his paper The Relevance of Wilhelm Reich's ‘The Mass Psychology of Fascism’ to the Struggle Against Fascism, a Project Shared by Herbert Marcuse at the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 29th. His lecture is part of the 2011 conference of The International Herbert Marcuse Society. David Brahinsky, Ph.D. Dr. Brahinsky is a professor of Philosophy and Comparative Religion at Bucks County Community College and has had an...

The King’s Speech: A Portrayal of Childhood Trauma as a Cause of Stuttering

2011-07-22T22:05:00.001-04:00

The King’s Speech, winner of four Academy Awards this year, including best film, impressed me for many reasons. It’s my kind of character-driven film, with a straightforward plot and no dizzying special effects or sex scenes thrown in to spice it up. The story line is simple: the plight of King George VI of Britain, a severe stutterer, and his struggle overcome his affliction. The King’s Speech is not the first film of this genre to win wide acclaim, or best picture. Rain Man (1988) did...

An Orgonomist's Response to Radiation Concerns

2011-03-20T21:45:00.000-04:00

The recent disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has shocked people the world over, and a number of patients and blog followers have been contacting me since the event with their questions and concerns. People want to know about Reich’s experiences with radiation and also have asked my advice about what measures might be taken to prevent and treat radiation sickness. I will address these topics here.First, let me say that I believe that for those of us not in the immediate...

The Cost of Censoring Wilhelm Reich

2011-01-24T16:30:00.003-05:00

Dr. Schwartzman’s Note: The internet continues to amaze me with its power to both disseminate information and bring people with like interests together. In this guest post, blog follower Ed Malek shares his thoughts on why the failure of society to recognize one of Wilhelm Reich’s most important discoveries has helped keep humanity in chains. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Malek face to face. He lives on the West Coast, and were it not for Wilhelm Reich Today we might well...

New Credibility for Reich’s UFO Claims

2010-12-15T12:14:00.005-05:00

As a psychiatrist who employs Wilhelm Reich’s method of treating emotional disorders, the primary focus of my work is treating patients. However, therapy is just one small part of Reich’s vast legacy, the center point of which is his discovery of what he termed "orgone" energy. All of his later work hinges upon this pivotal finding.Reich’s central assertion is that space is not an empty vacuum, but rather is filled with an energy that permeates the universe and flows in all living things. The...

A Complaint Free World

2010-09-30T08:07:00.004-04:00

I came across an interesting book, “A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted” (Doubleday 2007). It’s written by a fellow named Will Bowen and his idea of living complaint free has become an international challenge to “leave the toxic communication of complaining behind.” According to Bowen’s web site, he’s distributed over six million purple “Complaint Free World” bracelets ($10 for a pack of 10) to people across the globe who want to stop...

Corporal Punishment in Schools

2010-08-22T20:43:00.001-04:00

I received a note from a blog follower who read my recent post on exerting parental authority. She asked my views on the matter of corporal punishment in schools. This issue gained national attention this summer when congressional representative Carolyn McCarthy introduced in Congress the “Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act.” It seeks to ban corporal punishment in public and private schools that receive federal funding or services. My view is that corporal punishment in all schools...

Exercising Parental Authority

2010-08-05T14:40:00.011-04:00

Raising children so they become healthy and well-adjusted adults should be as instinctive, and as uncomplicated and natural, as it is for any other creature in the animal world. However, we humans we have largely lost our inborn, intuitive faculties in almost all areas, the result of armoring* and the influences of society. Childrearing is a case in point. What we can learn from Wilhelm Reich regarding how to best raise children is enormous, as he has told us how we can prevent the formation of...

“Reich” a Comic Book Series

2010-07-05T09:44:00.006-04:00

Blog follower Stephen Wahrhaftig is a comic book enthusiast. He recently contacted me about a current series he discovered entitled “Reich.” It is being created by Elijah J. Brubaker, a cartoonist living in Portland, Oregon. In the first volume of the series, Mr. Brubaker says he is attempting a long-form comic book biography of Reich, one he will tell from his own point of view. I have read the first six issues and find them to be fascinating. His “Notes on the Text,” in the back of...

Announcing Guest Posting

2010-06-25T18:23:00.000-04:00

This September will mark the one year anniversary of this blog, Wilhelm Reich Today. It has been more successful than I could have imagined and continues to build a worldwide following. It has also been a gratifying experience for me, and the feedback I’ve gotten from my readers demonstrates the positive feelings go both ways. As a consequence of this blog, many who knew little or nothing about Wilhelm Reich have visited and learned about the practical application of his work in the...

Nurture Sidelined in Pursuit of Genetic Answers

2010-06-14T22:28:00.000-04:00

Research any major health issue in some depth and you will likely find yourself immersed in the world of genetics. From diagnostic evaluation to the treatment of disease and development of therapies, genetics has permeated medical science. More than just health questions are being resolved with genetic investigation. For example, two new genome studies have demonstrated that Jewish people across the globe do belong to a distinct ethnicity with shared ancestry, putting to rest the assertion that...

Tune In or Turn Off?

2010-05-07T23:05:00.004-04:00

Increasingly, patients, family and friends have been expressing their dismay to me over what they are seeing and hearing on the news. It doesn’t matter what TV channel you watch, what Internet news source you scan, or what radio station you listen to. Every day brings more upsetting stories on all fronts--environmental, economic and political. The continuing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is on everyone’s mind and the recent attempted bombing in Times Square reminds us the menace of terrorism...

When Reich Was Cool and Jazz Was Hot

2010-03-17T12:43:00.010-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to correspond with blog follower Jessica Williams, a renowned musician and composer. Music critics have referred to her as one of the greatest pianists of our time, with a jazz style that is experimental and avant-garde. Ms. Williams has had a longstanding interest Wilhelm Reich’s work and, in 1979, made an LP record entitled Orgonomic Music. She has written beautifully about Reich and the emotional plague in her blog CURRENTS: The Collected Writings of...

Anti-Circumcision Group Needs Help

2010-02-26T23:51:00.016-05:00

Georganne Chapin, Executive Director of Intact America, has just put out a message about an urgent and time-sensitive opportunity in the war against circumcision. The Massachusetts State Senate will consider the Male Genital Mutilation Bill on March 2nd, this coming Tuesday. If enacted, it would outlaw the genital mutilation of both young girls AND boys in that state. The deadline is rapidly approaching and Intact America needs your help right now. They are asking those who oppose...

Government vs. Raw Milk

2010-02-22T11:18:00.011-05:00

An Associated Press report issued this morning calls attention to an important battle taking place here in the United States between dairy farmers that produce and sell unpasteurized milk, claiming it is safe, and government authorities who maintain pasteurization is the only way to assure destruction of pathogenic microorganisms that might be present. According to the report, which bears a Des Moines, Iowa tagline, debate about the health advantages and risks of raw milk is spilling...

Thoughts on the Innovative Mind

2010-02-03T19:57:00.008-05:00

Why is there is so much resistance to new ideas that challenge old ways of thinking? Why have great innovators met resistance, often fierce? Jonathan Swift said: “When a true genius appears in the world, you can know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him.” Yet there is far more behind resistance to new ideas than lack of intelligence. In fact, even brilliant individuals are often completely closed to innovative ideas that conflict with their established ways of...

Follow Me On Twitter

2010-01-17T13:47:00.005-05:00

As someone born before the advent of televisions, dishwashers, clothes dryers and ball point pens, I’ve watched with amazement the unceasing advancements in technology. Learning to navigate in this high-tech world, with it’s iphones, computers, and the like certainly doesn’t come naturally to me. However, I am slowly finding my way. It has become necessary if I am to achieve my goal of bringing Wilhelm Reich’s discoveries into the 21st Century. The power of this never-ending technology is...

I'm Changing My Name

2010-01-10T12:53:00.005-05:00

I've always referred to myself as a medical orgone therapist, and to the treatment approach I employ as medical orgone therapy. But I’ve decided to make a change. From now on I will now be calling myself a psychiatric orgone therapist and calling the work I do psychiatric orgone therapy. Why the change? Now that my blog is underway and being read worldwide, I am paying close attention to the way I use terms. For many coming here, this is their first exposure to orgonomy. Others are...

Attacking a Tiger: Emotional Plague Roars in Woods Scandal

2009-12-11T10:24:00.071-05:00

I have been waiting for a particularly good, widely publicized, example of the emotional plague to begin writing in earnest on the subject. The ongoing events involving professional golfer and fallen media darling Tiger Woods furnishes many components of the plague, making it ideal for introducing this important topic. The emotional plague may be Wilhelm Reich’s least emphasized and most misunderstood discovery. However, I hold it ranks (next to the discovery of orgone energy itself) as his...

Therapy as Wellness & Beyond

2009-11-30T00:29:00.012-05:00

As an orgone therapist, some patients come to my office seeking help for the kinds of complaints they would bring to a traditional psychiatrist. These include the gamut of emotional problems, such as anxiety, depression and bi-polar disorder. However, with time these initial complaints are resolved and patients often elect to continue with therapy to feel even better. They remain because they now have a sense of what it’s like to feel really good and, in a way, it becomes a bit like...

"Familitis"

2009-11-19T21:51:00.010-05:00

The holidays are here and the TV and stores are starting to bombard us with images of happy, pajama-clad families, sipping cocoa by crackling fireplaces. While this can be a happy time, many are apprehensive about, or even dread, this season.Several factors can lead to stress and upset. Too often, what we are really feeling is out of sync with what we think, and are told, we should be feeling. This disconnect can lead to disappointment, sadness or even depression.One situation I encounter...

Seeing Morton Herskowitz

2009-11-13T10:12:00.005-05:00

I first met Morton Herskowitz, D.O. in 1962. I was a first year medical student and he was my instructor at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy (now the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine). He taught the introductory course in psychiatry. The course wasn’t about orgonomy or Reich. I was taken with how clear and solid Dr. Herskowitz was. How everything he said, in so many areas, was right-on. I remember he spoke out against circumcision, something that was remarkable for a medical...

Reich's "Followers" and Political Stance

2009-11-06T11:29:00.008-05:00

A visitor to The Wilhelm Reich Center recently asked this question: Are all of Reich’s followers politically conservative? The word “followers” has an implication of slavish acquiescence and/or of belonging to a well-defined group. While there are groups devoted to Reich’s work, most people with an interest in him do not belong to any formal organization. That aside, the question posed is interesting and understandable, since some people have written extensively about their...