Positive/Negative Life Energy: Magic Boxes, Smokie & the Rain
+10 10 Votes
Rate it:
By jazprof
- Positive/Negative Life Energy: Magic Boxes, Smokie & the Rain
- Created: Oct 4, 2007
- Last updated: Aug 14, 2008
- After episode: 3.22: Through The Looking Glass
- Status: Current
- Flag this theory:
Wilhelm Reich concluded that the libidinal-energy that Freud discussed was the primordial-energy of life itself, connected to more than just sexuality. Orgone was everywhere and Reich measured this energy-in-motion over the surface of the earth. He even determined that its motion affected weather formation.
— jazprof
I was looking at a list of inventions this morning and saw one that I had never heard of before called an Orgone Accumulator. This was an invention by the psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich for gathering “life-energy” otherwise known as “chi” (alluded to on the show in many ways: the I-Ching, Dharma, the importance of the lower back/spinal area and injuries to that area). Now this is definitely pseudo-science so I’m not making any claims as to its reality, but it’s definitely been a source for other fictions (Kerouac, William Gibson, and on a much lighter note, I think Woody Allen’s “Orgasmatron” in the movie “Sleeper” is a comic version of Reich’s Orgone Accumulator).
Here are some of the possible Lost tie-ins:
1) “Wilhelm Reich believed that traumatic experiences blocked the natural flow of life-energy in the body, leading to physical and mental disease. Wilhelm Reich concluded that the libidinal-energy that Freud discussed was the primordial-energy of life itself, connected to more than just sexuality. Orgone was everywhere and Reich measured this energy-in-motion over the surface of the earth. He even determined that its motion affected weather formation.” (About.Com)
Maybe Dharma was working on a way to unblock that life energy and the “disease” on the island is the uncontrolled release of both positive and negative life forces. The Flashbacks—the release of early traumas? The Whispers—life energies connected to people on the island—including those like Pickett who were never on the island directly but whose life-energy might in some way be carried around by Sawyer through the traumatic experience of death/murder. Cancer cures through contact with the positive energy. Negative energy—things like Locke’s loss of faith, but maybe more importanly manifested as Smokie?
2) Magic Box?
“In 1940, Wilhelm Reich constructed the first device to accumulate orgone energy: a six-sided box constructed of alternating layers of organic materials (to attract the energy) and metallic materials (to radiate the energy toward the center of the box).” (About.Com)
3) Jacob’s Glowing Goo?
“From 1934-37, based for most of the period in Oslo, Reich conducted experiments seeking the origins of life. He examined protozoa, single-celled creatures with nuclei. He grew cultured vesicles using grass, sand, iron, and animal tissue, boiling them, and adding potassium and gelatin. Having heated the materials to incandescence with a heat-torch, he noted bright, glowing, blue vesicles, which, he said, could be cultured, and which gave off an observable radiant energy. “ (Wikipedia)
4) Cancer Cure
“n 1936, in Beyond Psychology, Reich wrote that ‘[s]ince everything is antithetically arranged, there must be two different types of single-celled organisms: (a) life-destroying organisms or organisms that form through organic decay, (b) life-promoting organisms that form from inorganic material that comes to life.’
This idea of spontaneous generation led him to believe he had found the cause of cancer. He called the life-destroying organisms “T-bacilli“,,,He concluded that when orgone energy diminishes in cells through aging or injury, the cells undergo “bionous degeneration” or death. At some point, the deadly T-bacilli start to form in the cells. Death from cancer, he believed, was caused by an overwhelming growth of the T-bacilli.” (Wikipedia)
5) Purple Sky
“Reich said orgone was the “primordial cosmic energy”, blue in color, which he claimed was omnipresent and responsible for such things as weather, the color of the sky, gravity, the formation of galaxies, and the biological expressions of emotion and sexuality.” (Wiki)
Because of Doppler effect would a sudden release of orgone appear purple?
6) Smokie , Cloudbusters & Rain
“Reich posited a conjugate, life-annulling energy in opposition to orgone, which he dubbed Deadly Orgone or DOR. Reich claimed that accumulations of DOR played a role in desertification and designed a “cloudbuster” with which he said he could manipulate streams of orgone energy in the atmosphere to induce rain by forcing clouds to form and disperse.” (Wiki)
Accumulation of deadly orgone=smokie? If you look at the picture of Reich’s cloudbuster I think it looks like the security fence towers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WilhelmReichcloudbuster.gif
When the “security fence” or cloudbuster disperses smokie—it rains? I remember the moment in Tabula Rasa where there is a real buildup of tension between Kate and the Marshall and then it rains and the tension dissipates.
Key episodes
| # | Title | Aired | Central character | Theories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3 | Tabula Rasa | 10-6-2004 | Kate | 95 |
Just gonna shamelessly drop a name here jazzie (great post by the way) but I though you might think it’s cool to know that William Gibson’s house and my parents’ house shared a common back fence growing up, and I was close friends with his son in elementary school. He is an imposing figure to say the least, but one of the gentlest people I have ever encountered…
+1 Fantastic….So many connections/explanations to the Lost story line.
i’ve also come across nuclei while doing endless searches for this and that but gave up trying to write a theory on it -so congrats +1,
Smokie and the Rain … the new single by Ben and the Castaways featuring a saxaphone solo by Jazprof. Availble now on-line and in music stores everywhere.
Sorry JP but that name just sent me off in a thousand directions. “Smokie and the Rain” sounds like a great jazz song - certainly one I want to hear! When I get focused again I’ll read the theory, but you’re getting a +1 just for the name!
Excellent work JP. Or am I just saying that because you look mighty fine today ;-)
Seriously this is very interesting and I need to take time to read it through properly and understand it. Unfortunately I’ve got to apply myself to some work so its going to have to wait til later!
I’m in the same boat with mrssawyer, looks great need more time to digest it. +1 so far
Just fantastic work, jaz. Great tie-ins to Lost. Like Kat, I especially liked the rain. +1
Jukin: lol, you just slay me!!!!
OK I went back and read the theory and for the most part I like it. I especially like the way you use it to explain the flashes and the whispers. One thing though about the magic box, Ben did say he was using a metaphor and there wasn’t an actual box so that part of the theory may not be right. I do like the overall theory though. If I could give you a +1 for the theory and one for the name I would. You’ll have to settle for just 1 for the name. Good job though!
Jukin, LOL—hey I love that you have me playing the sax . Jazz sax is one of the coolest sounds. :-) And +1 for the name is great.
And you’re right about the box being a metaphor—I wonder if Room 23 could be an Orgone Accumulator though?
mrs., heh, well I’m gonna go with both! I know you’re not one of those superficial types that would separate physical from mental beauty. ;-)
kat-wise, I don’t know if the heat required would need technology or not. Another possibility—maybe Jacob’s dislike of technology stems from the incident and the incident was the first releast of both the positive and negative orgone?
One more connection—Orgone is libidinal energy so I wonder if the concentration of it is affecting reproduction (high sperm counts).
yup.
And this is yet another classic example of why I love your theories. +1
Score one more for the “paranormal island” camp! Woo hoo!
That’s awesome my six-sided friend. The only brush with “greatness” I have had is meeting Pat Sajak in a bar in the 80’s.
Of course the flip side of the coin could be that you lived next to someone like Jeffry Dahmer. shiver
Miss Jazzie: I totally believe in Reich’s theory about dis ease, being caused or created by traumatic experiences! Other researchers have concluded the same thing.
Positive thoughts, bring about positive body experiences, while negative thoughts, bring about stress and dis ease in the body. +1 for that!
katlectricity—I didn’t think it only affected the men but couldn’t quite explain what was happening with the pregnancies—but dab-be-clever just pointed out that dis ease can be created by traumatic experiences. Wonder if Ben has any of his negative orgone energy related to his mother’s death floating ‘round the island?
Hah—”prego”—Just pictured Ben and Jack fighting over the pregnant Losties: “Leggo my prego!”
kat-alyst—it is considered a pseudoscience. Reich’s reputation really plummetted with this idea. Though I agree with dab that positive and negative energies do affect health and I think there’s been lots of scientific evidence for that.
Just watched the deleted scenes linked by Hex, and… well… in one of them, it seemed Paulo had gone all orgonic ;-)
No, seriously, he makes a comment that made me jump: “God forbid someone has sex in this Island”, or something the like. I know it’s a deleted scene, but… wouldn’t that imply there’s no “sex” on Island?
Well, we know there is, and we know who got it…
Ok, I’m rambling.
I’m new to this site. Just finished season 3 and I can now catch up and see what every one out there is thinking.
Just a thought in reference to the positive/negative energy. I have heard before but am not sure is true, that in the science world the human body views a pregnancy as a parasite. If this is true then would not the island see a woman getting pregnant as negative energy, and give a reason why as to why they die? And with a woman getting pregnant off the island like Claire, the island would not have had a chance to sense the start of this “parasite”? Again I just finished Season 3 and am not as well versed as every one else on this site. I will be Lost on this site until Season 4 starts.