WMiT?: The Life and Ideas of Wilhelm Reich with Dan Lowe

What Magic Is This?: The Life and Ideas of Wilhelm Reich with Dan Lowe

One of the most controversial and downright confounding figures of 20th Century Science and Psychotherapy, was Wilhelm Reich. It was Reich’s conjecture that he had discovered a powerful force that pervades not only all life here on earth, but also the cosmos as well. Reich called it Orgone, and it was the primary, sexual force of life. His views and research however has been met with obloquy and derision at every turn. In this episode, I am joined by Dan Lowe to go through the life and ideas of this oft maligned, yet fascinating figure.

Dan has been studying the ideas of Wilhelm Reich for over 20 years since encountering him at University. He recently completed a Masters in Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling. He works as a counsellor and teacher in London and utilizes some of Reich’s ideas is his work. If you have any questions about Reich or would like some advice, definitely reach out to Dan on Twitter!

Show Notes

• Wilhelm Reich Museum
  
• Wilhelm Reich Museum YouTube Channel
  
• Fury On Earth: A Biography Of Wilhelm Reich by Myron Sharaf – One of if not the best biography of Reich out there
  
• A Critique of Myron Sharaf’s Fury on Earth
  
• Love, Work, and Knowledge: The Life and Trials of Wilhelm Reich – The Best Documentary on Wilhelm Reich
  
• Wilhelm Reich: Biologist by James Strick
  
• James Strick on Against Everyone with Conner Habib – (Re)Introduction to Wilhelm Reich
  
• The Misunderstood Genius of Wilhelm Reich with Jeffrey Mishlove
  
• Emotional Armoring: An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy by Morton Herskowitz
  
• Man’s Right to Know: Wilhelm Reich Story – Documentary
  
• Robert Brown and Wilhelm Reich: Brownian Motion and the Discovery of the Bions
  
• What is Orgone Energy – Charles Kelley
  
• Contact With Space – A few interesting articles
  
• Wilhelm Reich’s Contact with Space
  
• Peter Robbins on Wilhelm Reich
  
• The Reich Einstein Experiment
  
• Orgone Biophysical Research Laboratory – James Demeo
  
• So, You Want to Build a Cloudbuster?
  
• Wilhelm Reich and the Healing of Atmospheres : Modern Techniques for the Abatement of Desertification by Roberto Maglione
  
• How to Build an Orgone Accumulator
  
• Embodied Relating: The Ground of Psychotherapy by Nick Totton – Huge inspiration from Reich in this one, particularly in the Introduction
  
• The Quest for Wilhelm Reich by Colin Wilson
  
• New Wings for Daedalus: Wilhelm Reich, His Theory and Techniques by Israel Regardie
  
• Wilhelm Reich: The Evolution of His Work by David Boadella
  
• Looking for a Reichian Therapist?
  
• Emotional Armoring: An Introduction to Psychiatric Orgone Therapy by Morton Herskowitz
  
• The Journal of Psychiatric Orgone Therapy
  
• Wilhelm Reich and the Cold War by James Edward Martin
  
• Adventures in the Orgasmatron: How the Sexual Revolution Came to America by Christopher Turner – If there is one book that those who take Orgonomy seriously dislike, this is the book
  

Wilhelm Reich In Hell - Robert Anton Wilson.

https://www.pdfdrive.com/wilhelm-reich-i...74122.html

What Magic Is This?: The Life and Ideas of Wilhelm Reich with Dan Lowe

Hi Sci,

I came across this thread because I read somewhere that Reich was jailed and all his equipment and books were burned! It could be because orgone energy was linked to the energy of orgasms and this was 1954, but it does make you wonder if there was another reason.

Did you have anything in mind when you posted it?

BTW, your link has a rather odd structure, and would not respond for me under Firefox, but I was able to extract it:

http://whatmagicisthis.com/2021/07/08/th...-dan-lowe/

Hi Sci,

I came across this thread because I read somewhere that Reich was jailed and all his equipment and books were burned! It could be because orgone energy was linked to the energy of orgasms and this was 1954, but it does make you wonder if there was another reason.

Did you have anything in mind when you posted it?

BTW, your link has a rather odd structure, and would not respond for me under Firefox, but I was able to extract it:

http://whatmagicisthis.com/2021/07/08/th...-dan-lowe/

Honestly I was following the What Magic is This podcast at the time and figured people here might be into it, so no greater reason.

I was not familiar with his imprisonment, would have to look into the details.

The way new age types and conspiracy theorists talk about orgone energy and orgone accumulators, I got the impression that Reich was a bit "out there" so I was surprised to find that Orgone energy was just a term for life energy and that orgone accumulators were just modified Faraday cages.  Not "out there" at all.  The ethical/political implications of what happened to him are, of course, far reaching.

The way new age types and conspiracy theorists talk about orgone energy and orgone accumulators, I got the impression that Reich was a bit "out there" so I was surprised to find that Orgone energy was just a term for life energy and that orgone accumulators were just modified Faraday cages.  Not "out there" at all.  The ethical/political implications of what happened to him are, of course, far reaching.

I think it's a bit more out there than that. He claimed to be able to control the weather and apparently he tapped into a power source that threatened the powers that be. The sexual stuff didn't help either.

I think it's a bit more out there than that. He claimed to be able to control the weather and apparently he tapped into a power source that threatened the powers that be. The sexual stuff didn't help either.

Yeah, I've read a bit more detail now, although I haven't come across being able to control the weather yet.  Are sources on this generally reliable? I ask because so much untrue stuff has been taken as fact for so long concerning Dr Timothy Leary by so many authors and people that I mistrust much of what is written about these people.  As soon as sex or drugs comes into something the whole world becomes a lynch mob, creating strawmen to publicly burn.

Yeah, I've read a bit more detail now, although I haven't come across being able to control the weather yet.  Are sources on this generally reliable? I ask because so much untrue stuff has been taken as fact for so long concerning Dr Timothy Leary by so many authors and people that I mistrust much of what is written about these people.  As soon as sex or drugs comes into something the whole world becomes a lynch mob, creating strawmen to publicly burn.

John B Alexander gives a favourable mention of this subject in his book, "Reality Denied". He met up with Trever James Constable who repeated some of Reich's weather experiments, and Alexander was certainly impressed.

David

John B Alexander gives a favourable mention of this subject in his book, "Reality Denied". He met up with Trever James Constable who repeated some of Reich's weather experiments, and Alexander was certainly impressed.

David

Thank you.  For anybody who is interested, Reality Denied can be downloaded FREE here:
 https://www.pdfdrive.com/reality-denied-...26431.html


I'll be giving it a read later.