Previously published in Pulse of the Planet #5, p.251-257.
Following are a series of short and preliminary reports, on various research and educational projects organized through the Orgone Biophysical Research Lab (OBRL) since publication of the last issue of Pulse of the Planet in 1993, beyond the research detailed in the previously-presented articles in this issue.
OBRL Greensprings Center
In 1995, OBRL was relocated to an energetically clean, high-altitude forested region of southern Oregon, with sufficient room for necessary expansion of facilities. A two-story, passive solar-heated laboratory structure designed by James DeMeo (Director of OBRL) was added and was in use by 1996 for seminars, research and office work. This new location for OBRL was given the name Greensprings, a name also used by local people due to the large number of springs in the area. The Greensprings facility is the home-base for Dr. DeMeo, with a working microscopy and analytical laboratory, seminar room, research library, and weather center for coordination of OBRL overseas desert-greening field operations. An orgone energy darkroom was constructed on site in 1997, with a CORE operations station in 2001.
New Solar-Photovoltaic System at OBRL
In Summer of 2001, with help from Bob Maynard of Energy Outfitters in Cave Junction, Oregon, a 1200 watt Siemens Solar Electric System composed of 16 solar panels and grid-intertie inverter (which requires no batteries, and puts excess power back into the utility lines for our neighbors to use), was installed at the OBRL Greensprings Center. The system currently generates about one-third of the energy requirements of the Greensprings residence and laboratory buildings. After some initial period of evaluation, additional panels may be added (assuming the secrets of the orgone-motor power source are not solved beforehand). The decision to make this investment came shortly before the year 2001 California "energy crisis", and underscores the commitment of OBRL to "walk our talk" regarding social and environmental responsibility.
Educational Programs and Activities:
Ft. Mason Center Lectures: 1989-1994
During each year from 1989 through 1994, OBRL hosted a 16-week evening lecture series on "The Life and Work of Wilhelm Reich", at the Fort Mason Conference Center in San Francisco. The lecture series was organized by James DeMeo and Theirrie Cook, with major lectures given by James DeMeo, and occasional guest lectures by Richard Blasband, Theirrie Cook, Lou Hochberg, Marilyn Milos and others, on relevant subjects. A similar series may be organized in Ashland, Oregon, during wintertime, assuming there is local interest to do so.
Greensprings Seminars: 1995-2001
Since the move to Greensprings in 1995, a more dedicated series of summertime weekend seminars have been presented at the OBRL Greensprings Center in Ashland, Oregon. These seminars - which have attracted a total of around 300 students from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Greece, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Australia, Brazil, Japan and Indonesia - have included the following:
* Bions, Biogenesis, and the Reich Blood Test: Introductory Microscopy Seminar (presented yearly). Instructors: Richard Blasband, Stephen Nagy, Bernard Grad, James DeMeo.
* The Orgone Energy Accumulator: History, Construction, Experimental Use (presented yearly). Instructors: James DeMeo, Theirrie Cook.
* Today's Children and the Struggle for Tomorrow's Humanity (1996). Instructors: Michael Rothenberg, Daniel Schiff, Marilyn Milos, James Prescott, Tina Kimmel, Edward Applebaum, James DeMeo.
* Wilhelm Reich's Last Years: Oranur, CORE, Contact With Space, and the FDA "Investigations" (1997). Instructors: Jim Martin, Peter Robbins, James DeMeo.
* Orgonomic Medicine: Theory and Practical Experiences with the Orgone Accumulator (2000). Instructors: Jorgos Kavouras, Stefan Mueschenich.
* Remembering Wilhelm Reich: The Man and his Work: 100th Birthdate Anniversary (1997). Instructors: Morton Herskowitz, Bernard Grad, Lou Hochberg, James DeMeo.
* On Drought, Desert-Spreading and Forest-Death: The Bioenergetic, Orgonomic Basis of Climate and Weather (1996, 1999). Instructor: James DeMeo
* Special Seminar with Morton Herskowitz and Michael Rothenberg (1999).
* Saharasia: Social, Historical and Environmental Aspects (1999, 2000, 2001). Instructor: James DeMeo
* Guided Independent Study Program (presented yearly). Instructor: James DeMeo.
Greensprings Seminars: Summer 2002
The 2002 Summer Seminars include the following:
* 27-28 July: Bions, Biogenesis & the Reich Blood Test. Instructors: Bernard Grad, Richard Blasband, James DeMeo.
* 3-4 August: The Orgone Energy Accumulator. Instructor: James DeMeo.
* 10-11 August: The Rediscovery of Living Functions in Organism, Nature and Economy: Instructor: Bernd Senf.
* Guided Independent Study Program, 23 July through 8 August (each Tues., Wed. & Thurs.) for the more serious student. Instructor: James DeMeo.
Registration for Weekend Seminars is $180 per person, and limited to approximately 35 participants. The Guided Independent Study program is $500 per person (partial attendance for a reduced fee is possible), and limited to 8 participants. A half-price arrangement is possible for full-time students.
For more information on the continuing series of Greensprings Seminars, with a list of local restaurants, motels and tourist attractions, contact OBRL for a brochure and information package, or see the educational section of the OBRL internet web site:
http://www.orgonelab.org/events.htm
Student Assistantships Available
OBRL routinely has openings for two student assistants during the four week period of our summer seminars. The assistants help prepare the lab facility for the seminars during the week before the events occur, and then assist with various experimental demonstrations, and with other tasks during the seminars. A full tuition waiver for the three summer weekend seminars and Independent Study, plus a place to stay in the student cabin, are offered. Students of any age interested in applying to the assistantship program should contact Dr. DeMeo early in the year to ascertain if the positions are open. Applicants should be prepared to submit a resume with statement of their interests and background in orgonomy, along with any recent university transcripts plus a letter of recommendation and a photo.
Field Research in Progress
Overseas Desert-Greening & Drought Abatement
Since the publication of reports on cloudbusting operations in back issues of Pulse of the Planet, Journal of Orgonomy, and as separate Special Reports, requests have come to OBRL Offices to undertake drought-abatement or desert-greening work around the world. These include inquiries from Algeria, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, China, Cyprus, Eritrea, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Zambia. We were able to positively respond to only a small percentage of these requests, usually due to extreme logistical difficulties and/or lack of financial resources. Nevertheless, operations were organized in Eritrea, Germany, Greece, Israel and Namibia, in addition to various regions of the USA. In each of these latter cases, we were able to find a combination of skilled teams of cloudbuster operators, local support from people familiar with Reich's discoveries, plus financial support and in most cases, permissions from local governments. The obstacles in the way which prevented operations in the other cases are illustrative: Absence of funding, no local support network, inability to obtain government permissions, terrorist groups creating havoc in the regions needing attention, and government fascism and/or corruption.
Unfortunately, the world regions suffering from the most intensive drought and desertification - within or adjacent to the large Saharasian desert belt - often suffer most from the various obstacles listed above, making cloudbusting field work a potentially hazardous enterprise. A general policy is, we do not work in areas of terrorism, or where governments sponsor terrorism, or where governments are fascistic (right or left wing variants). In fact, we have declined invitations to work, with extremely lucrative offers, in several of the Persian Gulf oil kingdoms. (In one case, when informed about how we would have to genuflect to the sponsoring King, on our knees, we spontaneously broke out in laughter, which ended the negotiations.) This is not always the case, however, and many operations have taken place in very dry regions, bringing immense social and environmental benefits, with the restoration of widespread and oftentimes enduring rainfalls to parched landscapes.
CORE Network USA
Since the early 1990s, all cloudbusting field operations in the USA undertaken by OBRL staff have been coordinated with the USA CORE (Cosmic Orgone Engineering) Network, which currently has under 10 members. The CORE Network is dedicated to coordination of responsible cloudbusting work in the USA, for constructive critical review, oversight and evaluation of such operations, and training of responsible and serious individuals in the art of cloudbusting (as originally described by Wilhelm Reich). The Network has been most active on the West Coast during several years of drought in the late 1990s and in the 2000s. At some point in the future, information will be posted to a new internet site giving the CORE Network's policy statement, and an informal training and apprenticeship program. See: http://www.cloudbusting.org
On the Problem of Irrational Cloudbusting
In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in "the cloudbuster", but mostly in an irrational and haphazard manner, with severe distortions of Reich's orgonomic discoveries and theory, and no concerns regarding atmospheric chaos. For this reason, Dr. DeMeo has posted his cautionary paper "So You Want to Build a Cloudbuster" to internet:
http://www.orgonelab.org/sobuildaclb.htm
Laboratory Research In Progress
Water Research
Some limited progress has been made into investigation of the question of orgone-charged water, as outlined previously in OBRL fund-raising letters. With assistance of students during the summertime Guided Independent Study Program, at the Greensprings Center, work with a duNouy-type Fisher surface tensio-meter, orgone-charged water (kept in a strong accumulator for months) was shown to have a surface tension approximately 5%-10% higher than uncharged control water. The life-energy meter (detailed below) also showed a slightly higher reading with the orgone-charged water as compared to the control. Other evaluations were made of the solubility characteristics of orgone-charged versus control water, with indeterminate results. This work progresses slowly, but steadily.
Orgone Accumulator Temperature Differentials (To-T)
The To-T experiment of Wilhelm Reich has been undertaken at OBRL over the years, but nothing has yet been published, in part because many of its parameters required tighter experimental control procedures, to rule out classical thermodynamic expectations. Some of the problems encountered over the years are as follows:
1. Electronic thermometers involving thermistors or thermocouples always seemed to yield a different result from those obtained by mercury or alcohol thermometers. This anomalistic effect, which is quite interesting all by itself, was reproduced independently by both James DeMeo of the OBRL, and by Victor Milian, a Spanish physicist, who communicated their findings to each other (see p.182). Milian believes the effect is a direct orgonotic influence upon the current-carrying properties of the wire itself, though DeMeo suggests it may also be due to the production of a slight current within the wire by the higher orgone charge. The matter requires further study for clarification, but suggests use of electronic thermometers for the To-T would produce anomalies outside of the issue of any thermal effect.
2. Orgone accumulators exposed to radiating heat sources, such as direct sunlight, heat lamps or light bulbs, or even to the downward radiation of a heated roof surface, could develop slight warming effects on the exterior surfaces of the metal layer exposed to such an influence. This needs to be evaluated regarding Reich's early view of measuring thermal changes in a chamber above the accumulator.
3. The problems of heat capacity and thermal lag have not been sufficiently evaluated in the construction of orgone accumulators and control enclosures, in any of the studies published so far, though we do know that Dr. Richard Blasband of the Center for Functional Research (www.functionalresearch.org) did a lot of work on orgone accumulators thermally balanced against control enclosures, via empirical methods. Results of this work have not yet been published. Empirical evaluations of thermal lag, by direct evaluations of heat flow across wall surfaces (thereby matching a control against an accumulator, to external forcing thermal energy) appears to be the preferred approach to the matter.
A renewed effort to evaluate the To-T effect, taking into account all of the above classical thermodynamic problems, as well as the fundamentally-important prerequisites of orgone energy functions, is underway.
(Postscript 2003: New clarifications have already been undertaken on these considerations. See the Report on Summer 2003 Seminars for more details.)
Photographing the Orgone Energy
Photographic documentation of orgone energy phenomena are of vital importance, and so a considerable effort has been undertaken over the years towards this goal. Various optical filters have been employed to make both energy fields and orgone energy units more appreciably visible to the eye, after which efforts were planned for enhanced photographic evaluations. However, this line of work led to the identification of a major problem: the possible confusion of blood corpuscles in the eye with spiral-form orgone energy units.
Optical filters allowing near ultra-violet frequencies of between 410-420 nanometers¤ to pass have proven very effective in making eye blood corpuscles readily visible - the filter is coupled with a microscope illuminator with diffusing screen, and readily shows blood cells which pulse along fairly constant pathways, surging with one's heartbeat. The phenomenon is somewhat similar to the orgone units visible in the atmosphere, and so the argument has been raised that what Reich and others have called orgone units might, in reality, be only blood corpuscles. However, there are powerful counter-arguments, suggesting the existence of two separate phenomena: blood corpuscles in the eye and orgone units.
For example, orgone units as visibly observed against the blue sky, or against a solid white screen or cloudy sky, tend to move in a manner unconnected with one's heartbeat. Trees, as observed against the blue sky as a background, often appear to be flaring orgone units off away from themselves, in a manner wholly disconnected from what one can see in the eye-corpuscle filter device. More telling, however, is the occasional observation of orgone units in the atmosphere moving in a unidirectional manner, or as Reich described, in a spiralling manner, and with velocities either slower or faster than is seen with blood corpuscles in the eye. Until the time that we can produce photographs of the orgone units, however, the critics of this particular orgonotic phenomenon may honestly point to the blood corpuscular explanation. The burden of proof rests with advocates of the orgone units.
Additional effort was made to objectify orgone units, using a variety of sensors, such as infrared and ultraviolet imaging devices and various image-enhancement and light-amplification sensors. Night vision equipment does yield what are called "random photons", and these may be visible expressions of orgone units impinging upon the front side of the detector in the dark. However, this is only speculation. Several new devices merging ultraviolet detectors with night-vision technology show better promise. There are new classes of far ultraviolet detectors, as currently used on the IMAGE satellite, using special cesium-compound phosphors, to produce photographs of the aurora and magnetosphere of the Earth from space. However, these have not been possible to study given their very expensive price and the limited financial resources of OBRL.
Several attempts have also been made to create orgonoscopes following Wilhelm Reich's methods, but exacting details were never published by Reich in this regard, and so these attempts have so far not been particularly revealing or validating. Naked eye observations, using simple hollow tubes or binoculars, have proven just as good in this regard (or just as poor, from the viewpoint of failing to allow objective photographs or video recordings of unusual phenomena).
Orgone energy phenomenon have been verified in the OBRL orgone accumulator darkroom, in the objective blue-grey glow within orgone-charged high-vacuum tubes (vacor tubes). This glowing has been produced by merely stroking the tubes with the bare hand, without electrical excitation, and has also been photographed. The phenomenon is most beautiful to see, and one physicist who observed it repeatedly declared "That can't happen!" Shorting out the electrodes at the ends of the tube by attaching a wire between them, or by grounding the electrodes to earth, or to the walls of the accumulator room, or to the person doing the stroking does not make a difference, as the glow regularly appears when the hand strokes the tube. However, not every person can produce the effect - some persons clearly can create the excitation, while others not, something which possibly reflects the orgone-charge of the hands of different people.
Another orgonotic light phenomenon visible in the orgone room is the distinct flimmering of light as seen against zinc sulfide screens. Long parallel strips of zinc sulfide material with spaces between, have shown the strongest effects. After about 20 minutes of visual dark-adaptation, the light along the strips dances or "flames" with a great activity. To date, we have not been able to record this particular phenomenon, which will require a special low-light videocamera not currently available. This effort continues.
Millivoltmeter Studies
Evaluations of the electrical potential of the Earth and atmosphere, following on the methods pioneered by the late Harold Saxton Burr, have been periodically undertaken at OBRL with interesting results. The methods are regularly demonstrated to students at the Independent Study Seminars, and will be published in a later edition of Pulse of the Planet.
New Life Energy Meter
OBRL is working to analyze and review a new life-energy field meter developed by Mr. Dave Marett, a Canadian scientist and engineer. The new meter is basically a solid state version of Wilhelm Reich's orgone energy field meter, and holds great promise for orgone biophysical research and therapeutic evaluations. An early version of the meter was distributed and sold for evaluations through Natural Energy Works company (www.natural-energy-works.com). The original design was limited given that the apparatus could detect and measure the strengths of life-energy fields at only a very short distance, of only a few centimeters. A new version is under preparation, however, to detect energy fields at from 30-60 centimeters distance, and should become available by Summer 2002.
Archaeological-Historical Research
Dr. DeMeo's interests in ancient history, and specifically on the question of early unarmored societies, have always been a part of the research and educational activity at OBRL. In 1980, he made an extended survey of the deserts of the American Southwest, from both an environment-ecological and human cultural viewpoint, visiting numerous sites of the old Anasazi peoples, and other pre-Columbian sites, including all the significant museums in the areas to review their collections. Likewise in Europe, during many lecture trips, museum collections revealing the most ancient archaeological strata were a high priority. Later research took him to the old Minoan sites, on the islands of Crete and Santorini, and in Israel, Egypt, Eritrea and Namibia, Africa. Much was learned about the archaeology of these regions during those field expeditions, some of which was included for discussion in his major work, Saharasia, and also are discussed in this issue of Pulse of the Planet, in "Update on Saharasia", p.15.
However, there is an entirely different line of research being pursued, which covers some of the territory discussed in the works of Immanuel Velikovsky, and others of the catastrophist viewpoint. Some of Dr. DeMeo's work has suggested the presence of a major polar axis shift in the period coincidental to the end of the Pleistocene Ice Age. This new evidence is most exciting, as it may provide a clear connecting point between the Saharasian origins of armoring event, and the large-scale desert-forming process, with some elements of Velikovsky's catastrophic scenario, or something similar, at least. One of the maps developed from this line of research, titled "Ice Age or Polar Axis Shift" is presented here, as a preliminary indication of this work, and it should be self-explanatory for those with a background in the Earth Sciences.
There remain many large complications associated with making these connections, however, and consequently, full publication of these materials is being delayed until such time that additional necessary research can be undertaken, to either validate the connections, or refute them.
Lou Hochberg Awards
In 1993, shortly before his death, Mr. Lou Hochberg provided for the continuance of the cash prize award program which bears his name, with the purpose to stimulate university and high school students to engage in serious investigations of the Social Aspects of Wilhelm Reich's Discoveries. Advertisements were taken out in student newspapers in Columbia University (Mr. Hochberg's Alma Matter), and later in the Chronicle of Higher Education, announcing the Hochberg Awards, which fall into the following categories:
* University Thesis and Dissertation Awards
* Thesis and Dissertation Improvement and Implementation Awards
* University/College and High School Essay Awards
* Outstanding Research and Journalism Award
Several awards have been given out over the years, including individual cash prizes of up to $1000, and smaller gifts such as copies of Reich's books. The names of student winners are protected, given the ongoing attacks against students and faculty in American universities who openly express interests in Reich's work. However, we can announce one of our winners, Mr. Jim Martin, author of the book Wilhelm Reich and the Cold War (Flatland Publications, Ft. Bragg, 1999), winner of the Outstanding Research and Journalism Award category (see p.260). More information on the Hochberg Awards is available on request to OBRL, and also is posted to:
http://www.orgonelab.org/hochberg.htm
The OBRL Internet Web Site
A great deal of information on the subject of orgonomy is now posted to OBRL's internet web site, specifically regarding the work of Dr. James DeMeo, and Dr. Wilhelm Reich. Many articles are posted, along with a bibliography and catalog of publications available for purchase, and information on forthcoming lectures and seminars hosted by OBRL. For those who have access to internet, this is a primary source for information.
http://www.orgonelab.org
Fund-Raising Appeal
Many of the preceding articles, the works in progress as reported in this section, and even the typesetting and printing costs of this issue of Pulse of the Planet, were made possible in large measure by the generous donations of various individuals. Without those added financial resources, only a smaller portion of this work would have transpired. We therefore ask our readers to consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Orgone Biophysical Research Laboratory, or to include a bequest to OBRL in their will, to help us carry on with this work into the exciting, though already chaotic, New Millennium There are only a few places where the research tradition developed by Wilhelm Reich is openly worked with and carried forward in a serious and focused manner, and OBRL is one of the primary institutions on our small planet that is doing so. OBRL has been the organizational vehicle for James DeMeo's interdisciplinary work along this track, and in this effort he has been joined by others. With additional funding, even more could be done. We are now seeking donations for sponsoring student assistants during the OBRL Seminars, for a new astronomical telescope and telescope dome, for a DVD recording system to archive our many videotapes from lectures and field expeditions, and for continuance of basic laboratory experiments on water structure and the accumulator To-T and electroscopical discharge phenomena. A more formal and elaborated fund-raising letter is available on request, and is also posted to:
http://www.orgonelab.org/funding.htm
Send your tax-deductible donations or bequests to:
Additional Articles and Materials:
* Click here to review and/or purchase books by James DeMeo.
* The Orgone Biophysical Research Lab: James DeMeo's Research Website.
* The Saharasia web page.
* The Complete OBRL / Natural Energy Works On-line Bookstore and Product Shop
If you enjoyed and benefited from these materials, please consider to
purchase our publications on similar topics, or to
make a donation to the OBRL research fund.
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