An Orgonomist's Response to Radiation Concerns

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 area, there is, and will be, no great danger. So long as the radiation from the damaged Japanese reactors can be brought under control, and I am sure it will, this event will become an important lesson that can only result in safer energy production. 

External events such as this cause justifiable concern, so it’s difficult to know if one is reacting rationally and appropriately, or overreacting. However, at least in part, the panic now sweeping the world is being fed by people’s general fearfulness, the result of early childhood experiences. My advice is to remain calm, avoid watching too much news, and act sensibly when and if there is something to do. 

As to Reich’s experiences with radiation, his Oranur (Orgone against nuclear radiation) experiment proved immensely important because it brought an understanding of just how nuclear energy produces its effect on living organisms. In the late 1950s, Reich placed a small amount of radium in an orgone accumulator to test his hypothesis that cosmic orgone energy would reduce and neutralize the effects of radiation. He did this hoping to find a powerful antidote against radiation sickness.

This was only five years after atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and the threat of atomic warfare with Russia was very real. School children practiced bomb drills as today they practice fire drills, and many people thought stocking food and water in bomb shelters wasn’t at all a crazy idea.

The results of Reich’s experiment were disastrous! Geiger counters went wild with readings off the scales. Reich, and those in the vicinity of his home and laboratory in Rangeley, Maine, became dangerously ill with all the symptoms of radiation sickness. The effects continued even when the radium was removed from the accumulator. The atmosphere in the immediate area became extremely oppressive, and three weeks after the incident the New York Times reported unusually high radiation counts in a circular area three hundred to six hundred miles in radius with Rangeley as its center. 

Reich had certainly not found an antidote to radiation sickness! However he did discover that the effects of radiation are not a direct result of radiation on living tissue, but rather a reaction of one’s orgone energy against the action of nuclear energy. By exposing the concentrated orgone energy in the accumulator to radium, Reich had transformed nature’s pure energy into a form that was life-threatening. He called it “deadly orgone energy” (DOR). He referred to the changes that had taken place in the surrounding area as having produced a “DOR atmosphere.” The physical reaction people had sustained he termed “DOR sickness.” 

Out of this disappointing and disastrous experiment came one of Reich’s most important inventions, a device to siphon DOR out of the atmosphere, which he called a “cloudbuster.” It is a made up of pipes grounded in running water. On a visit to Organon, more than 30 years ago, I recall asking the caretaker, Tom Ross, how Reich had come up with the idea of the cloudbuster. Ross said Reich had told him that during World War I he had noticed that rain often followed antiaircraft shellings. Reich modeled the cloudbuster, in part, after the antiaircraft guns. 

Following the Oranur disaster, Reich was able to use the cloudbuster to effectively draw off the DOR from the Rangeley atmosphere. This allowed rain clouds to form, and rain to fall, with its beneficial effects.*  

Turning to the subject of radiation sickness, let me emphasize that I’m not an expert qualified in preventing or treating the effects of nuclear radiation. Additionally, I also do not feel that such interventions will become necessary for the vast majority of the world’s population as a consequence of the Japan disaster. I can, however, tell you of measures Reich felt valuable in treating DOR sickness, what is recommended in some of the literature I’ve read, and what actions might be worth considering.   

Reich advised, understandably, to remove oneself from a DOR atmosphere if possible. At this point, he had not yet invented the DORbuster, which is really just a smaller version of a cloudbuster to be used on one’s person. Should one have access to a Reich DORbuster, it should certainly be used. Reich also said that taking baths and drinking tea was helpful. The orgone accumulator (ORAC) should NOT be used in a DOR atmosphere because it will accumulate DOR--not orgone energy!

While I don’t advise any of the following, and encourage everyone to do their own research, I have read a number of recommendations, both in the medical literature and elsewhere. These include taking potassium iodide; taking certain vitamins, antioxidants, and supplements; and eating certain foods. 

Potassium iodide appears to be the most important, but it has its hazards and is not to be taken as routine measure. If taken, it must be administered in exactly the recommended dose. I have read that kelp is quite beneficial, as are vitamins C and E. Calcium, B complex and lecithin have also been recommended. Brewers yeast has been shown to prevent a drop in hemoglobin following radiation exposure. The National Cancer Institute found that taking bone marrow tablets is protective against the effects of radiation. In at least one study, cod liver oil was found to extend the life of mice exposed to radiation. 

I have read a bath with Clorox added is beneficial, as is an Epson salt bath. I, myself, would recommend adding a pound of baking soda and a pound of sea salt to a warm bath, and to bathe at least daily. Showers are always an excellent way to draw off stale or toxic energy, and if you live by the ocean you might consider spending some time in it. It seems to me that eating at least some raw, organic foods daily would be good thing to do. 

All forms of electromagnetism affect our body’s orgone energy and can cause reactions ranging from feeling not quite well, to feeling sick, to the development of diseases. This explains, for example, why overhead power lines, with their high voltage and strong magnetic fields, have been linked to leukemia. For this reason, if there has been exposure to nuclear radiation, I would advise individuals to not make things worse and avoid, as best they can, further damage to their body’s orgone energy. It would be prudent to stay away from, or limit exposure to, electromagnetic fields generated by high voltage or microwave devices. Cathode ray tubes (CRT), fluorescent lighting, and cell phones are also common sources of unnatural energy. Exposure to any man-made energy, not just nuclear, can produce emotional and physical effects. Certainly nuclear energy is by far the most dangerous, but these others should not be considered harmless.

Finally, I will relate an experience I had that just might indicate there is a silver lining on the way. When I was treating patients on a regular basis in Hamburg, Germany, I arrived there about two weeks after the radioactivity from the Chernobyl meltdown had passed over. When I got off the plane I was amazed to find myself in the most glorious atmosphere I have ever seen or felt. The sky was brilliant blue, the air almost palpable, and my vision three dimensional. I felt wonderful. Given my usual and rather extreme jet lag, this was astonishing. To this day, I don’t know if my experience and the marvelous atmosphere were related to the passing radiation or some other phenomenon. I’d appreciate learning if any of my blog followers in areas exposed to Japan’s radiation can report a similar experience.

*Readers of this blog may wish to read about the Oranur Experiment, which can be found in “Selected Writings: An Introduction to Orgonomy.”