Others come for therapy not because they are experiencing any pressing emotional problem but because they are either in training to become orgone therapists (therapy is part of training) or because they've heard about orgone therapy and want to experience its benefits.
The concept of wellness has become a familiar one today. Most who exercise, practice yoga, meditate, enjoy massage and explore alternative modalities do so because they are seeking ever-better states of feeling, not because they are unwell. They want not only to feel better, but to feel more. With his creation of orgone therapy, Wilhelm Reich was far in advance of his time as he developed not only a method of treating emotional disorders but a natural wellness therapy that can be used to "treat" those who are healthy.
A reason I was drawn to orgone therapy for myself so many years ago is I have always been inclined to actively participate in my health. I have always wanted to feel as good as possible. This propensity also has led me to explore and use many other natural health approaches over the years. I will be writing a little about this here.
My father was a pharmacist and I grew up over our drugstore in Philadelphia. In those days the role of physicians and pharmacists overlapped quite a bit. Pharmacists were often called “doc” and were regularly asked for medical advice, and those who came in for help became our “patients.” Our neighborhood people came in with a wide range of complaints and conditions. My father and then I, while still a high school student, recommended treatments. They included cough syrups, tinctures, powders, poultices, ointments, mustard and belladonna plasters, liniments and other remedies. Some products required compounding and others were sold as prepared “patent medicines.” Humphrey’s Homeopathic Remedy # 1 (for teething) and tincture of arnica (for bruises) were popular and effective. Multivitamins in capsule form or as a tonic were frequently recommended and those who took them regularly usually said they felt better.
Often it appeared the patient did as well with our treatment as with the physician’s. Keep in mind that in those days there were not many effective medications available. When they were used, the drug interactions so common today did not exist, as these are the result of poly-pharmacy, the giving of multiple medications at the same time. This wasn’t regular practice then.
Our patients often reported back what was effective and what wasn’t, and in this way I came to learn what worked. This early experience gave me respect for what might now be called alternative medicine. It also gave me an appreciation the value of not doing much a good deal of the time, and waiting for time and nature’s healing powers to overcome illness.
I went on to study pharmacy, which prepared me well for medicine, better I thought than the regular pre-med liberal arts programs. The courses were all science based and included mathematics; medication calculations; biochemistry; inorganic, organic and physical chemistry; physiology; pharmacology and pharmacognosy. This last is the study of medicinal drugs obtained from plants and other natural sources. Thus my background of growing up in a drugstore and becoming a pharmacist before entering medical school helped point me in the direction of prevention and natural healing.
I began taking a multivitamin about fifty-five years ago and have added, over the years, ever more supplements. I now have an extensive supplement regimen. Much of what I have incorporated is backed by published studies, many conducted in Europe. Given the nature of medical practice here in the States and the profit motive of the pharmaceutical industry, there isn’t the incentive to fund studies of natural remedies that cannot gain FDA approval. So the studies just don’t happen. Some of my regimen has been recommended by my European colleagues and patients, as they are aware of methods of treatment and supplements hardly known here in the United States. Thanks to those through the years who have offered their knowledge and advice!
My usual procedure before adding something new is to wait until I see follow-up research studies. This way I can see if the effectiveness is confirmed and if there are reports of drug interactions or adverse side effects. I now take many pills as well as some powder formulations each day. I also take some anti-aging agents. And there is never a time I look forward to swallowing them! (A carbonated drink out of a bottle will help those with difficulty getting down more than one pill at a time.) Taking so many pills everyday is a discipline, and an expensive one at that.
With all I've taken over the years, it’s reasonable to ask: How do you know your regimen is doing anything? My answer is I don’t. Even if I live well beyond my genetically programmed lifespan, without the illnesses and disabilities that come with aging, I still won’t know. As a case study of one, I will never know which, if any, supplements have been valuable and which have not, or even how they might be interacting. Also, there’s no control for whatever else I do (or don’t) that might account for my overall health.
I do know I continue to feel fine at seventy and appear (so far!) to be in all-around good health, free of arthritis or even any of the aches and pains that many of similar age experience. However, my health has not always been perfect. Medical issues have cropped up from time to time, and for the most part I have addressed them naturally and with success. Heart disease runs in my family and I experienced angina in my forties. This is when I really began to investigate and take supplements. It is decades later, and I am without evidence of heart disease. Without pharmaceutical medications, I have normalized my blood pressure, brought all my blood chemistries (including cholesterol) into normal range and improved kidney function. My vision and hearing are as good as, or even better than, in my youth. I also see an internal medicine physician and other specialists regularly for examination and testing and would never hesitate to undergo traditional treatments.
Patients sometimes ask me what supplements they should take. There is no one-size-fits-all program so I work with them to help them develop the right plan. As a pharmacist and their psychiatrist, I am in a good position make recommendations, and I do. However, I always remind my patients that traditional medical evaluations and tests should be performed and I ask that reports of those studies be sent to me.
My knowledge of supplements is the product of probably thousands of hours of research over many years. To detail the specifics of what I take, and why, is far too comprehensive a subject for today. Also, what I take is based on my unique biochemistry and health goals and therefore it would be unwise of me to recommend it to anyone in a general sense. However, if there is an interest in what I have to say about supplements, I will write again on this topic with more detail.
There are many sources I turn to in order to learn about supplements. Those interested in doing their own research may wish to consult one source I visit regularly that publishes abstracts of worldwide scientific studies. It is located at: http://www.clinicalpearls.com/.
5 comments:
As someone of a similar age (I'll be 69 in January) and someone who has been in orgone therapy, I too take a whole bunch of supplements. In doing so I have relied on advice from both an endocrinologist and a naturalpath. But, I am also someone who has studied the placebo response with a degree of thoroughness, and I do wonder about just how effective all the supplements I consume are in and of themselves.
What I would like to hear is how yhou think these minerals, vitamins, etc, function orgonomically. I do recall some speculation many years back as to why vitamins worked. Do you have any thoughts about this?
Phil, thanks for your question. I don't really know how vitamins/supplements function orgonomically. I can say that I have examined various vitamins and supplements microscopically and have at times observed a wide, blue field. Whether this is an energetic charge or a light diffraction artifact, I can't say. There is a microscopist I know well who performs the Reich blood test. I will speak with him and get his thoughts on this aspect. I can also ask him if he would be interested in doing some experiments using vitamins. I'll report back. Also, I know you are speaking on December 5 and have posted the details on the blog for all who might be interested. Will your reflections on Dr. Sobey be tape recorded?
In trying to answer Philip Bennett’s relevant question about the connection of orgone to vitamins, perhaps we can review Reich’s "The Cancer Biopathy" for some clues. This book deals extensively with the cancer disease, but also spends considerable time discussing the discovery of orgone energy and its experimental proof. In the chapter on “Orgone Energy Vesicles”, Reich states how he discovered orgone energy through his bion experiments: In almost any matter that went through a fast decomposition through boiling and swelling--blue, shimmering microscopic vesicles appeared almost instantaneously under high magnification. These "bions" had an energy field around them that emitted a life-positive radiation, which later proved to be capable of strengthening the body and fighting off disease. In 1944, Reich started using a fluorophotometer-an apparatus that measures the intensity of fluorescence (light) of liquids-to see if in fact the luminance around bion water was a measurable energy. He compared regular water and other chemicals and foodstuff and found a marked difference between clean, vital foods and their chemically adulterated counterparts. For example, unpasteurized milk and honey had very high readings compared to pasteurized milk and sugar. So, this leads us back to our question of how does certain foodstuff, including vitamins "work"? Reich deduced that energy which we needed to function is somehow contained in food and in some way released after digestion. His bouillon soup mixture proved this microscopically in that these bions were very strong energetically; and one can postulate that once in the digestive tract, the energy was absorbed by the bloodstream. For some evolutionary reason, certain molecules and their chemical units emit high levels of orgone, and luckily for us, these are attainable by the pleasurable function of eating. Perhaps vitamins-through their chemical makeup- have a very high dosage of orgone compacted in a small substance. The question I would like to pose though--is there a difference in the orgonotic potency between a vitamin and fresh food? Personally, I used vitamins for a while, but I found their distaste and biological uncertainty a hindrance, so I opted to improve my eating habits. Organic foods, which some time ago where considered “high-brow”, have become a necessity owing to the lack of vitality and taste, and chemical adulteration of “ordinary” foods. It’s also true than in some parts of Europe, where food and its protection are taken more seriously, there really isn’t any organic, just fresh, wholesome and good tasting food. Therefore, because of our food adulteration, vitamins make sense.
Ed, your thoughtful comments are always welcome. The researcher I spoke with has agreed to examine some vitamins microscopically and to photograph them. I will of course post the results on the blog. He has done hundreds of Reich blood tests and will surely be able to tell us if the vitamins examined (B6, B12, C, and folic acid) are radiating an energy field. If there is a field, it will be interesting to see if it varies from one vitamin to another. My thought now, if positive results are obtained, is to see if a mixture of two vitamins produces a larger and stronger field than either alone. As to how a vitamin field might differ from a fresh food field is yet another experiment. If there are readers out there who would want to join in this research -- jump right in!
Dr. Schwartzman,
I have been working in Natural Foods stores since 1971. Through studying, and apprenticing with owners, a Doctor who gave up his practice to advise on diet and supplements and untold seminars, I became knowledgeable about supplements and diet. Having tried numerous diets, taken many herbs and Vitamins, read many books, have taken biology, anatomy and college chemistry I recognized the importance of diet and supplements.
One of my favorite is Linus Pauling's book How to Live Longer And Feel Better. Two time Nobel Prize winner Dr. Pauling out lined his general Vitamin program, and reasons for mega doses of Vit. C..
It is a easy to read book, explaining the biological (Gene related) need for higher doses. For me it is clear that one doesn't have to have blood tests to apply a helpful, healthy program, I have literally worked with hundreds of people who have been helped.
I have taken a different path in learning about nutrition. The typical route through accredited schools is prejudiced by large pharmaceutical companies. I would love to compare information and knowledge.
I hope that can happen.
Richard Schulman
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