Last summer's pickle jar becomes our experimental orgone energy accumulator.

Since several parts of the HDR or HyperDimensional Resonator system built by Steven Gibbs are described in the manual as orgone capacitors, I've been doing some research into orgone technology in an attempt to understand why these components are there. In the system devised by Wilhelm Reich I haven't as yet found anything exactly the same as the parts of the Time Portal, so calling these components orgone accumulators may be wrong. Gibbs recommends copper as the metallic component and Reich did not, building his devices from iron-based alloys. Since I'm just starting to dig my way through the literature I'm not sure whether all his devices were based on iron -- in particular the cloudbuster devices may have been some other material. So far, though, I'm not finding a description of PVC tubing filled with crushed anthracite coal, or sealed copper tubing either filled with air as mine are or filled with crushed coal as others have made them.

Reich's devices were often very simple, based on his findings that organic materials attract and hold orgone energy but metallic materials attract orgone only for a short time and then repel it. By layering organic and metallic materials in a container such a device could gradually build a charge. As an outer layer of metal attracted orgone energy, some part of that energy would then be repelled into the inner layer of organic fabric or wood and held there. Slowly the inner charge would build.

Follow up:

Being within a cubicle constructed in that way created a zone of charged space which showed healing properties, according to Reich's experiments, and that got him into serious trouble since the FDA didn't believe it. Never make the government mad.

My understanding of all this is very sketchy as yet. For years I've considered building one of Reich's accumulators but exact plans have been hard to find and it hasn't been within my budget of time or money. Some of the simplest of his concepts are cheap, though, and I am trying one of those.

I'm using a large glass crock for the case of the accumulator (actually we used the same crock last summer to make fresh pickles). Steel wool forms the first layer of the accumulator's inner secrets, since Reich believed that iron would provide a form of energy helpful to human health, which is based at least partly on hemoglobin. I suppose that since we are also based at least partly on carbon, that may the logic behind the structure of the time portal -- the anthracite coal provides the resonant carbon for the structure. If there's a little logic somewhere in this I always feel more optimistic about it.

The inner layer of the accumulator is built of stacked white cotton balls. I didn't think they'd stack well but they attached to the steel wool very easily and the whole thing went together in minutes.

Paying close attention to the best of the directions I have found so far, I've set the accumulator in the bedroom away from our electronic gear. Experts say it may pick up harmful energy around intense EM fields. I'm keeping the accumulator capped with the crock's glass lid during the daytime when we're using the household electronics, and I'm opening the accumulator at night when we sleep. Possibly we'll see some effects or odd phenomena from it. Haven't seen any yet, although I did sleep well last night without the usual breathing problems I get (occasional asthma and sinus irritation).

Update 3/6/2010: Using the orgone accumulator continues to have a noticeable positive effect on my breathing at night. I'm certainly not sure whether the orgone accumulator is responsible for that. Possibly I react well to placebo technology. If I gradually revert to the old problems in spite of the device I'll have less interest in it, but for now I'm keeping it going.

I've also seen blue energy around it, but only on one particular night, and then only as a variation of the light I often see while meditating. The color was different than usual, light blue shifting towards dark blue, seeming to move closer to me as I watched. I check for unusual things around the accumulator before I go to sleep but I've only seen that glow the one time.

Because dreaming is important to me I pay attention to unusual dreaming events, and last night I did have one which involved the accumulator. I got up from the bed (in the dream) and placed my right fist in the center of the device. Immediately I felt a strange sparking energy, and as I turned my hand slightly I heard a snippet of voices. Turning back again, I found a position of my hand that held the voices steady. I don't recall the exact words, but the language was English and the information didn't seem related to me in any way. The impression was more like listening to part of a radio program.