Etheric Technology 6: Ruth Drown and The Evolution of Radionics

[ecosophia]

Despite the usual pushback from the medical profession, the work of Dr. Albert Abrams -- which was discussed in an earlier post in this sequence -- attracted a great deal of attention from medical practitioners who were willing to push the envelope. That allowed Abrams' work to come to the attention of the next pioneer of radionics, Dr. Ruth Drown. (That's her on the left.) Drown entered the medical profession the hard way. Born in rural Colorado in 1891, she married a local farmer, but caught a train to Los Angeles in 1918 with her children to escape domestic abuse. She landed on her feet, worked in a variety of jobs, and in 1923 became a nurse working for Dr. Frederick Strong, one of a number of physicians who used Abrams' equipment to diagnose and treat patients. She turned out to have a remarkable talent for healing with the Abrams method. Her experiences and succesful cures convinced her to study for a chiropractic degree, which she earned in 1927. 

As soon as she hung out her shingle and began practice, she began experimenting with modifications on Abrams machines. She was apparently the first person to guess that the effects Abrams and his peers were getting had nothing to do with radio waves or electricity, and began to devise machines of her own that had electrical wiring but used no electrical current. Her talent for naming devices, alas, was not on a par with her talent for healing; she called her most successful device the Homo-Vibra Ray. (In her defense, "homo" as slang for homosexual wasn't yet in common use. George Winslow Plummer's once-famous volume Rosicrucian Fundamentals, published in 1920, began with the ringing sentence: "The subject of Rosicrucianism is Man, the Homo.")

Some of her innovations turned out to be crucial for the evolution of radionics -- a term which she invented, by the way. Along with the recognition that some force distinct from radio waves and electricity was responsible for radionics cures, she pioneered the "stick pad," a plate of glass or plexiglass used by radionics machine operators to gauge the flow of the unknown force through the machine, and she began the systematic collection of "rates" -- settings on radionics machines -- which are specific to illnesses, organs, and other factors. These became standard elements of radionics during her lifetime and remain common today. 

Some of her other claims pushed the boundaries of radionics further than many subsequent practitioners have been willing to go, and helped fuel the debunking crusade against her.  She found, according to her writings, that she could get accurate readings using a drop of blood from the patient, and that she could treat patients at a distance using the same medium. (Paracelsus, the great Renaissance alchemist and physician, made the same claim; both were able to produce evidence for it.) The spookiest of her achievements, and the one that came in for the most criticism, was the apparent ability of her Radio-Vision machine to take photographs of organs at a distance -- photographs that apparently showed lesions where medical diagnosis by other means found them to be. The judge, predictably, refused to let these be introduced as evidence in her trial. 

Yes, there was a trial.  In the wake of the Second World War, as the American Medical Association and the pharmaceutical industry tightened their grip on health and healing in the United States, alternative medical practitioners of all kinds came in for increasing persecution under laws designed to defend the medical monopoly. In 1950, at the behest of the AMA, federal authorities brought charges against Drown. Most of the evidence she offered in her own defense -- evidence that her methods worked, and that she had successfully diagnosed and treated thousands of patients -- was excluded from her trial. She was accordingly convicted of interstate fraud for shipping one of her machines across a state line and served a brief prison sentence. Still more legal charges were pending against her when she died in 1965.

Some of her equipment survived, and inspired other students of radionics -- the device above is one example. After her time, however, while radionics flourished elsewhere, it was forced underground by legal proscription in the United States. The fate of the next pioneer of etheric healing we'll be discussing put the seal on that process. The golden summer of etheric medicine was ending, and a bitter winter followed. 

Comments

[grandswamperman]

If we’re now talking about people who went to prison for energy healing, I have a sneaking suspicion about the identity of one of the next two people this series will discuss, but no spoilers...

[ecosophia]

Spoilers are fine in this case. Yes, we're about to talk about Wilhelm Reich. (I had misremembered what happened to Royal R. Rife, whom we'll get to a little later. I've corrected that detail of the post, and a few others.)

[(Anonymous)]

When I was a teen and suffering from chronic fatigue my mother took me to a homeopath who used a machine that ran a current from a specific point in my hand to my other hand. The machine went through and matched the vibration to numerous things from foods to antibiotics, anything that I had an allergy to would show resistance and any drug etc stored in my adipose tissue also came up. It was really remarkable it came up with over 200 antibiotics stored in my system that my body had been to weak to flush out all left over from me being chronically ill as a child. She then over a few months used homeopathic remedies to clean me out and basically gave me back my bounce. Seeing a gadget bring up so accurately every antibiotic you have ever taken with no prior knowledge of you is quite amazing, and I am not surprised such devices are illegal in places where there is a pre existing dominant interest in maintaining a status quo.

[ecosophia]

A classic use of radionics! Some alternative health care practitioners in the US still use radionics methods under a variety of disguises -- these days, for example, it's common to label the machines "biofeedback machines," because those aren't as heavily persecuted. The combination of radionics diagnosis and homeopathic treatment strikes me as very useful.

[ecosophian]

Interesting. I'm still making my way through Eeman's books for now.

[ecosophia]

Understood! I'm covering a lot of ground very quickly. You can always go back later and see what interests you.

[open_space]

Whenever it was that I first inquired about what it would take to use technology to control the ether I had no idea at all so much work had been done on it. I always thought that the moment some vaguely promising results where accomplished the flood gates would open. It seems I was wrong.

When confronted with compelling evidence, the opposition will twist itself one extra turn in order to keep a hold on the things that change threatens. That is a lesson that I believe has been learned the hard way, many times in history, whenever something sufficiently different no matter how good it is sees the light.

To me this would imply that change needs to happen by itself, away from its opposition to let it crumble by its blindspots while it grows until it is of a sufficient size. That needs to happen by spreading the word, and that is why things like this series of posts are crucial. Thanks for making them available!

[ecosophia]

It's very frustrating, I know. That said, since most of these etheric technologies are relatively easy to build and use, getting that core of people who can make change in their own lives and then let it extend from there -- that's well within reach.

[(Anonymous)]

JMG, the other site is giving a Bad Gateway message.

[ecosophia]

I know. It seems to be okay now, but I've contacted my tech guy.

Early 20th C AHA moments

[(Anonymous)]

This post resonated, more than usual. I've been flumoxed over the past decades about how much historical info/data was simply silenced.
But, in ways I can only hope to trace, these ideas pop up in fiction.
(In the 80s, I trained with Engl profs who were into textual/archeological crit rather than the wave of pomo nonsense since.)
In your commentariat, some have brought up B5's Great Maker (inside joke) Joe Straczinski before.
I'm not at all sure he's an atheist, as some say.
He was raised Catholic.
Very unstable childhood. Far more sinned against than sinning.
His Babylon5 writing incorporated a medical machine that (in the B5 universe) could be used for good or ill.
The consequences were deep and startling.
An energetic machine could be used to heal, but also to execute capital punishment.
And a final twist: that same energy-transferring machine (that June Lockhart from 60s TV, guest starring in this B5 episode used to cure) another good guy Ranger uses to feed his life energy to a mortally wounded Russian (as in, been through hell, won't turn down the need to face hell again) unrequited love interest but hugely important Susan Ivanova.
Now--where did J.Michael Straczynski get all those ideas from?
I can tell you that his Babylon5 narrative on TV survived several big changes because of fan outcry.
I can also tell you that before the Rocky Mountain News went Tango-Uniform, an Army Captain quoted lines the wisest speaks in dire straits to her loved one : I will meet you where no shadows fall.
Joe Straczinsky has a bio out--I will get to it. Wouldn't surprise me a bit to find occult meanderings there.

Re: Early 20th C AHA moments

[ecosophia]

Interesting! Yes, that sounds like an echo of radionics.

Re: Early 20th C AHA moments

[(Anonymous)]

That specific episode was rather pivotal for me. The doctor (June Lockhart) 'reversed' the polarity of the machine when an escaped serial killer forced her to use it to cure him and instead killed him. When the ship's doctor told her 'you did the right thing' her response was 'no doctor, I did the necessary thing'. Probably not an exact quote, but the meaning was there and I've spent many a year unpacking the difference. It's become a bedrock of my personal philosophy.

[kimberlysteele]

Thank you for introducing me to the work of this wonderful scientist. I'm not surprised the AMA attacked her in such a vile and cowardly fashion. Not even slightly.

I recently wrote an article on etheric starvation: https://kimberlysteele.dreamwidth.org/29931.html To sum up, I believe etheric starvation is the extremely common result of our ugly, asphalt and wireless tech saturated world.

The Seventh Day Adventist Jethro Kloss used to have infirmaries where patients routinely took sitz baths (a cool bath with compresses, seems suspiciously hoodoo-ish to me) and fed people thoughtfully-crafted vegetarian food while making sure they got some mild exercise and sunlight every day. In other words, Kloss made an etheric body restoring respite for his patients.

[ecosophia]

Several of her books are still available, I believe, and her work with radionics was picked up and carried on by others we'll be discussing, so you're not her only fan -- fortunately.

The concept of etheric starvation is a useful one. We'll be getting more into that, and into the parallel issue of contaminated and unwholesome etheric energy, in discussing Wilhelm Reich.

As for Kloss, are you at all familiar with the work of Fr. Sebastian Kneipp? He was the source from which, iirc, Kloss and many others got the idea of bath therapy. You can download an intro to his work here.

Stick pads

[(Anonymous)]

On the subject of stick pads, what do you think is the best material to make them out of?

Re: Stick pads

[ecosophia]

Good question. The one I've used was made of plexiglass and worked just fine; other machines have used glass, and although I've never tried that it has a good reputation. There may well be other substances that work equally well, but I don't know of them.

[deborah_bender]

I am finding this series on the history of research into etheric technology extremely interesting. I'm hoping you plan to make this the subject of one of your forthcoming books. It would be very useful to have the historical information, the references, and the bibliography collected in one place, in a more permanent medium, for people who want to follow up with their own research or applications.

Osteopaths, naturopaths, and chiropractors survived the fight over control of medicine as niche practitioners. Chiropractors seem to have remained popular because back surgery isn't very effective compared to other surgical interventions. However, I see the acceptance of acupuncture as a treatment that medical insurance will pay for in the US, despite the fact that its theoretical basis is a form of vitalism, as a more recent major breach in the AMA monopoly on judging what constitutes legitimate treatment. This opens up a possibility for widening the breach, without putting all the responsibility on the customer to assess the claims.

I've read that nurses can get continuing education credit for taking a course in what amounts to laying on of hands. I've forgotten the label they give it. But laying on of hands, like the other methods of etheric healing I've tried or been exposed to, is a subjective method that depends on the practitioner tuning in to the body of the patient. Because people's abilities vary, it's hard to do any research that requires statistical methods to judge efficacy.

Once you get a machine involved, it is easier to standardize treatment enough to study how well it works, to say nothing of making improvements.

[ecosophia]

The laying on of hands method practiced by nurses is called Therapeutic Touch; I've known people who've had excellent results with it. In my experience, for what it's worth, radionics is also dependent on the talent of the individual practitioner; the radionics machine helps channel and structure the healing activity, but it doesn't do the work by itself.

[(Anonymous)]

I second this; a book collecting all of these folks together, and their bibliographies, would be great. Not just those in this Dreamwidth series, but the 'occultists' you've been covering on the main Ecosophia blog too. I do suspect that each and every one of them is nibbling around the edges of the same phenomenon.

I wonder if the government's experimental vehicles flying saucers are powered by this same "stuff". It would explain the vigorously vicious suppression of discussion of same-- simple opsec.

- Cicada Grove

[(Anonymous)]

The field today seems to have a mix of sincere researchers, crackpots, and charlatans.

Once again, electronics tinkerers could readily experiment using "software defined radios." These are exactly what the name implies: use of software to select frequencies that are broadcast, usually at low levels. So much easier and more portable than wiring up the right collection of vacuum tubes!

Hulda Clark and her "zapper" might be worth adding to this series. I don't know if she originally came up with the idea or just popularized it. There are others now making "zappers" as complete products, and also as kits and plans.

The "zapper" is a small box that makes pulses of current which go to two metal rods, one held in each hand so that the patterns of current go through the body. A nine volt battery is used to power a typical model. Some have a USB port to download new patterns.

The patterns, whether generated by hardware or software, are allegedly set to the resonant frequencies of infectious bacteria and viruses. The premise is that the presence of the electrical current traveling through the body at these frequencies induces shattering of the toxic micro-organisms. This renders the bugs into harmless debris for the immune system to sweep up. The use of these frequencies is said to be harmless to healthy cells, which resonate at a different range of frequencies.

As an Anon posted, there are people who have developed the "match the resonant frequency" idea into a diagnostic tool. I think software-defined radio could be quite valuable here, with the output going into the patient rather than broadcast into the air.

Clark's haughty book claimed that people with cancer were always totally cured by her system, which also included some nutrition elements, and that all other treatments and cures were bogus. She did not provide medical documentation that the patients had cancer or that they were cured. Some people who actually did have cancerous tumors believed her, discarded all other treatments, and died terribly. If I remember right, she was one of many American medical inventors who relocated to Mexico so she could continue to sell services not approved by the U.S. medical establishment and government.

Another interesting character in this same nonfiction plot line is Ryke Hammer with his "German New Medicine." That's enough of a lead for readers to find out more on the their own.

I believe there are some important medical science findings along these themes, that need further hype-free investigation. I find it easy to suppose that there are entrenched chemistry-based interests that actively fight against anything along these lines.

JMG, I again thank you for the series. I hope you include some discussion of 5G.

Mr. New-Writer

[(Anonymous)]

The story of the literal book-burning by the U.S. Government of Reich's work is one of the hardest strikes ever documented against the facade of "totally reasonable, scientifically evidence based medicine." The real scientific method advances by repeating experiments, analyzing, and discussing, not by burning evidence and analysis alike and putting people in jail for having conversations about the subject. Hmm, would it be accurate to say Reich was the first notable victim of Cancel Culture?

SamChevre, thank you for the link to Unsong in last week's comments about magic/fantasy fiction. I read the whole novel, except that I accepted the author's suggestion for sensitive readers to skip over the detailed descriptions of the tortures of Hell. I enjoyed the novel immensely, and found it thought provoking. I wonder if readers who weren't already familiar with the Qabalah would be totally lost.

[ecosophia]

Oh, cancel culture existed long before Reich. Franz Mesmer was canceled, for example, and you might look into the ancient Greek practice of ostracism as another example!

book burning

[ritaer]

Counter culture, Discordian author Robert Anton Wilson tells in one of his books of actually witnessing the burning of some of Reich's materials. It made a tremendous impression on him. He had also been treated for childhood polio by the unconventional methods of Elizabeth Kenny. Needless to say these experiences led him to question the conventional wisdom. He wrote a play about Riech called "Wilhelm Reich in Hell." Quite interesting.

Rita

A follow up to last week's magic/fantasy books discussion.

[(Anonymous)]

A follow up to last week's magic/fantasy books discussion.

Rita mentioned a book with "An alternate universe in which magic works and the EPA fights against return of Aztec gods." These days, the EPA would need to fight school districts in California as well!

As with many of the Commentariat, I share some qualities:
* Avid reader and public library enthusiast since my youth. Dismayed at current trends to disparage libraries and books as valuable cultural heritage and important infrastructure of ideas.
* Enjoyed reading magic/fantasy themed fiction novels since youth.
* In adulthood, interested in nonfiction metaphysical, esoteric type topics. Exploring life's potential spiritual meanings and activities outside of "conventional wisdom." This is part of a broader sense of re-consideration of widely accepted but perhaps untrue memes about How Things Really Work.
* Thoughtful conversationalist.
* Aware of and interested in science and technology, and how their actual workings differ from popular hype and ignorance.

Not all of this was necessarily obvious from my first couple of posts. But, an overall sense might have been possible to start to develop.

A week ago, JMG posted and commenters agreed and expounded that:
* It's been decades since there's been anything much of interest in magic/fantasy themed novels. Books worth recommending are few and far between.
* In large part this is because of an extensive, dismaying lack of evidence of original thought by the novelists.
* Recent efforts in this field tend to recycle derivative tropes such as Ye Olde Medieval setting, and Lord of the Rings or D&D derivative, swiped concepts with nothing new added. Not even any new twist on tired, worn-out, overused themes.
* Recent efforts in the field include way too much pandering to dumb cardboard cliche characters, "special because super specially special" (and likely teenage) good guys fighting the "awfully awful just be awful awful meanies" bad guys. Lousy derivative formulaic philosophy leads to lousy derivative formulaic writing! (Part of an ongoing trend. "Critical Drinker" on YouTube - I have no association with him - discusses this well.)
* Recent efforts in the field tend to have a total absence of any complexity or thematic interest, or development or modern-day relevance.
* Science fiction is just as bad these days in its ignorance about actual science, or buy into the cult of infinite progress upwards.
* It's really annoying when one has to read everything in a series to get to the point.
* These books can sometimes be way too heavy going and grim.
* It's really disappointing when well liked main characters are killed off.

I introduced myself and explained out:
* I'm a brand new first time novelist; author voices don't get ANY fresher than this. (The book's done, but most weeks I do a few spots of minor editing to improve wording, punctuation, etc.)
* I have a magic/fantasy themed novel set in the present day.
* My book has nothing to do with Ye Olde Medieval setting, LOTR or D&D related tropes, or SJW fantasies of "specially specially perfect" good guys fighting "meanie just because they're meanie" bad guys.
* Almost all my book is, by design, fluffy, light-hearted, fun beach reading material.
* I include some very relevant modern day themes in a sometimes almost Monty Python or Mark Twain style, over the top exaggerated manner for entertainment.
* I include scientists thinking scientifically, including (not much of a spoiler beyond my big spoiler last week) a scientist who is really pissed at being able to do magic that one experiment of hers after another only proves yet again is impossible.
* I have a series concept, but Book One certainly concludes in a complete way that wraps up major character arcs and themes with a sparkling multicolor bow. The ending invites readers to continue to Book Two for further enjoyment, rather than just to get some basic resolution of frustrating incompletion.
* Although I think high school readers could enjoy the book, a few parts of which some more conservative parents might find at the edge of questionable for teens, there's plenty for older readers to enjoy as well with no pandering. Characters of several generations have a mix of positive and annoying qualities.
* Not only do no major characters die horrifically, there are not even any scenes with minor characters tortured inconveniently.
* Implied by demonstration: it's true that I could use some professional editing, but it's also true that I can string words and sentences together.

I offered to provide the book's installments for free to readers here, asking only that two things: that they not be redistributed, as I intend to self-publish. And, that I get some remark or comment, good or bad, as readers go through the book.

My number of takers? Zero.

Have I inadvertently caused offense? I certainly intended none.

Is there an unwritten rule of Trial by Time, that new acolytes must prove themselves to the Commentariat for half a year or more before what they'd like to share may be considered?

Perhaps I'm appallingly bad at pattern recognition to see reasons a group of people might like my book. Or, I need to take a copywriting class to learn how to express relevant information in an appealing way.

Am I just dealing with too small a sample size?

Or, perhaps there's not actually as much interest as actually discovering new voices and fresh approaches in magic/fantasy fiction, as there is in complaining about their lack... even when one shows up, as summoned, that's an EXACT fit for the requested bill of materials, just like... hmm, five letter word, starts with M....

Mr * New * Writer 2021 * at * gmail * dot * com
Without the asterisks
Responses usually provided within a couple of days, due to some health & finance issues limiting free time.

Mr. New-Writer
Mood: Baffled

Re: A follow up to last week's magic/fantasy books discussion.

[ecosophia]

Ahem.

As someone who used to be a new writer -- though it's been a few years now! -- I think it falls to me to pass on the really unwelcome news that new writers have to deal with at some point early in their careers; I certainly did.

It's quite simply this: there are tens of thousands of really bad writers out there busy pushing their own work on all and sundry, and by and large, the more loudly they demand that someone, anyone, read their fiction, the worse said fiction turns out to be. You may be the exception to that rule, but the more you sound like a bad writer trying to badger people into reading your novel, the more certain it is that nobody is going to invest the hours necessary to read your work.

I know, it's unfair. Life is that way.

If you want to find an audience as a writer, you're facing a steep uphill climb. It's not insuperable, but if this comment of yours is an example of how you're going about it, you've embraced a strategy that almost always fails. I encourage you to rethink your approach.

Specifically, I encourage you to:

- Get some short pieces published in genre magazines;
- Start a blog, and post regularly;
- Consider doing some genre pieces as 99-cent e-books;
- Consider trying some field of nonfiction, where the competition is much less fierce and it's easier to build an audience.

You need to get some name recognition for your writing, and posts like this one -- where you come across as demanding that people read your novel whether they feel like it or not -- will not help. I know how frustrating it is to write and be unable to find a market; I finished my first novel in 1978 and finally got published for the first time in 1996. This is something that most writers have to go through, however. If you want a writing career, it's one of the burdens you have to face.