Me and the Orgone
Encyclopedia
Me and the Orgone – The True Story of One Man's Sexual Awakening (1971) is an autobiographical account written by American actor and award-winning director
Orson Bean
about his life-changing experience with the controversial orgone therapy
developed by Austria
n psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich
.
The book tells how, after ten years of unsuccessful psychotherapy
, Orson Bean discovers medical orgone therapy, a therapeutic intervention that focuses on renewing what it describes as "energy flows" within the patient, orgone
being Wilhelm Reich's name for the "life energy". It is a strongly personal account of a man who gets a second chance at a personal sexual revolution, feeling his body beginning to change, feeling freer and more alive, and also seeing his relationships transformed. It is also a rare personal testimony of the effects which this form of therapy is said to facilitate.
The book includes a foreword by Scottish
educator A. S. Neill
.
It also contains information on the famous Fifteenth Street School in New York City
where Dr. Reich's concepts were applied to childhood education.
According to TIME magazine, Bean's account is "clear and balanced", discussing Reich's "final tragic swerve toward insanity" even as it "over-insists ... his greatness."Me and the Orgone has been cited in several books on the topic of orgone energy, including Charles R. Kelley's Life Force: The Creative Process in Man and in Nature and investigative journalist Mary Coddington's Seekers of the Healing Energy, in which she described Me and the Orgone as a good source for understanding the workings of Reich's orgone therapy treatments. In Fury on Earth: A Biography of Wilhelm Reich, Myron Sharaf
describes Me and the Orgone as a vivid view of Reich's therapeutic process.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Orson Bean
Orson Bean
Orson Bean is an American film, television, and Broadway actor. He appeared frequently on televised game shows in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including being a long-time panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth....
about his life-changing experience with the controversial orgone therapy
Orgone
Orgone energy is a theory originally proposed in the 1930s by Wilhelm Reich. Reich, originally part of Sigmund Freud's Vienna circle, extrapolated the Freudian concept of libido first as a biophysical and later as a universal life force...
developed by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich
Wilhelm Reich was an Austrian-American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known as one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry...
.
The book tells how, after ten years of unsuccessful psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
, Orson Bean discovers medical orgone therapy, a therapeutic intervention that focuses on renewing what it describes as "energy flows" within the patient, orgone
Orgone
Orgone energy is a theory originally proposed in the 1930s by Wilhelm Reich. Reich, originally part of Sigmund Freud's Vienna circle, extrapolated the Freudian concept of libido first as a biophysical and later as a universal life force...
being Wilhelm Reich's name for the "life energy". It is a strongly personal account of a man who gets a second chance at a personal sexual revolution, feeling his body beginning to change, feeling freer and more alive, and also seeing his relationships transformed. It is also a rare personal testimony of the effects which this form of therapy is said to facilitate.
The book includes a foreword by Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
educator A. S. Neill
A. S. Neill
Alexander Sutherland Neill was a Scottish progressive educator, author and founder of Summerhill school, which remains open and continues to follow his educational philosophy to this day...
.
It also contains information on the famous Fifteenth Street School in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where Dr. Reich's concepts were applied to childhood education.
According to TIME magazine, Bean's account is "clear and balanced", discussing Reich's "final tragic swerve toward insanity" even as it "over-insists ... his greatness."Me and the Orgone has been cited in several books on the topic of orgone energy, including Charles R. Kelley's Life Force: The Creative Process in Man and in Nature and investigative journalist Mary Coddington's Seekers of the Healing Energy, in which she described Me and the Orgone as a good source for understanding the workings of Reich's orgone therapy treatments. In Fury on Earth: A Biography of Wilhelm Reich, Myron Sharaf
Myron Sharaf
Myron Ruscoll Sharaf was an American writer and psychotherapist. He taught in the Department of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, and was the director of the Center for Sociopsychological Research and Education, Boston State Hospital and assistant clinical professor of psychology, Department...
describes Me and the Orgone as a vivid view of Reich's therapeutic process.
Source
- Me and the Orgone from The Education Revolution
- Orgone Information and products