Reichian Therapy, character armour

[Regina]

Relative to the work of Ray Peat, Wilhelm Reich's work is perhaps an important adjunct by which one might realize why William Blake's work is so important to Peat, as "energy is eternal delight" speaks to Reich's observation that such delightful energy, our love energy, can well become a poison in our system when we seek to suppress feelings, or rather do not have the flexibility in our system, our bodies, such that energy no longer moves, gets stuck, surrenders and shrinks.

The link of the book is a relevant way to approach the work as it does follow a classical Reichian approach, of working with the armoring from the head downwards, staring with of our eyes, face, and throat with breathing...yeah go slow and there are a few classically trained orgonomist on the east coast usa.

It should be remembered that Reich understood that we all have a natural living pulse of health, and that if we look at say the work of Peter Levine regarding observations of animals in relationship to trauma, how trauma creates a shut down, a stiffness that then body might start to shake and breath and reboot from, then we can note that what Reich was exploring were approaches that help to revive health and energy.

The so called dangers, and sure the work can be hell, but it is a living process, and no Lowen's Bioenergetics is not necessarily 'safer', but does work.

It should be noted what Wim Hoff is doing, breathing without holding, then breath holds, then breathing, etc then exposure to the cold...an approach that prepares one for a stress a shock, and addresses the whole being through a process that is very Reichian in a way...

This is sort of the same with the Russian martial art, Systema, where muscular armoring, breath and fear are explored...some of that basic work is going to go into the same areas as Reich and others...

As regards marijuana, the Reichians see that as temporarily opening up the armoring of the head, and that the danger is that then the armor comes back with a revenge can prompt people to seek the expansion effect through such means, and thus serves to pronounce the armoring into a chronic state. This serves to understand the "dangers" of such therapy for loosening armor can result in a rearmoring, which is why Reich was against working on pelvic armoring first as there would be too much energy in the system and the system would be more prone to protect itself.

The issue is not to get rid of our need to armor and protect ourselves, but to be flexible, which includes the capacity to rest and repair, to participate in life and one's perceptions..

yes progesterone is protective

we have this kind of training in aikido called "ukemi." It means to "catch" (the drift) or receive. I like "catch" better than "receive" because it has more interactive perception as distinct from the receiver is being done to.
This is just an exercise where the student practices allowing his arm to be used as a fulcrum, rather than resisting. Whole body allows the whole thing to happen and thus stays able to perceive each new shift in what's happening to him. If he resisted these joint locks couldbe very apinful and/or damaging.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-Kym_iUPKU

 

[OccamzRazer]

This is sort of the same with the Russian martial art, Systema, where muscular armoring, breath and fear are explored...some of that basic work is going to go into the same areas as Reich and others...

Wonderful tie-in to Systema here

 

[334c]

Relative to the work of Ray Peat, Wilhelm Reich's work is perhaps an important adjunct by which one might realize why William Blake's work is so important to Peat, as "energy is eternal delight" speaks to Reich's observation that such delightful energy, our love energy, can well become a poison in our system when we seek to suppress feelings, or rather do not have the flexibility in our system, our bodies, such that energy no longer moves, gets stuck, surrenders and shrinks.

The link of the book is a relevant way to approach the work as it does follow a classical Reichian approach, of working with the armoring from the head downwards, staring with of our eyes, face, and throat with breathing...yeah go slow and there are a few classically trained orgonomist on the east coast usa.

It should be remembered that Reich understood that we all have a natural living pulse of health, and that if we look at say the work of Peter Levine regarding observations of animals in relationship to trauma, how trauma creates a shut down, a stiffness that then body might start to shake and breath and reboot from, then we can note that what Reich was exploring were approaches that help to revive health and energy.

The so called dangers, and sure the work can be hell, but it is a living process, and no Lowen's Bioenergetics is not necessarily 'safer', but does work.

It should be noted what Wim Hoff is doing, breathing without holding, then breath holds, then breathing, etc then exposure to the cold...an approach that prepares one for a stress a shock, and addresses the whole being through a process that is very Reichian in a way...

This is sort of the same with the Russian martial art, Systema, where muscular armoring, breath and fear are explored...some of that basic work is going to go into the same areas as Reich and others...

As regards marijuana, the Reichians see that as temporarily opening up the armoring of the head, and that the danger is that then the armor comes back with a revenge can prompt people to seek the expansion effect through such means, and thus serves to pronounce the armoring into a chronic state. This serves to understand the "dangers" of such therapy for loosening armor can result in a rearmoring, which is why Reich was against working on pelvic armoring first as there would be too much energy in the system and the system would be more prone to protect itself.

The issue is not to get rid of our need to armor and protect ourselves, but to be flexible, which includes the capacity to rest and repair, to participate in life and one's perceptions..

yes progesterone is protective

what you've written resonates a lot with me.

as much as markovskys advice is philosophically inspiring, and i agree with the Ray Peat quote about it being important to move forward in uncertain situations, i have to be honest - ive tried 'just doing things' for years in the past and reducing the meaning behind painful experiences, but its just not energetically adequate - there is something real happing in my body, a physical weakness and fatigue. its great to talk to somebody who understands but its just not enough to really move on from the problem. Its not purely mental. the same traumatic experiences occurred in cycles - each time getting more and more hurtful - i really do need to release something / readjust my self, ive been watching videos by 'devaraj sandberg' and everything hes saying resonates so deeply with me.

i intellectually know everything i need to do, but there is some much emotional hurt in my body - i never in my life been able to touch my toes, my nutrition and eating is amazing - yet i still feel weak, and very emotionally needy.

some things about the jack willis book and devaraj sandberg that related to my experiences

- i constantly dream of preparing things, and i wake up before i can enjoy them
- i also frequently dream that im about to have amazing sex and then right before things go down the girl will turn into a zombie or ill become paralysed etc etc - there will always be some circumstance blockage to me getting satisfaction. What makes it funny is that half the time i'm actually aware that im having a dream, though ill have no 'lucid' control.
- though i do not frequently use weed / dont have an urge to - every time i try it - i can notice an intense sense of insecurity and deep lack of belonging or connection to others. I can perceive things with deep understanding and clarity, and i can see others having a warm cozy, secure connection with eachother - i myself feel like a hurt alien - keep in mind - i wont be panicking when i feel this either, ill be able to experience joy / novelty / introspection when i listen to music/ art/ philosophy while high, but when i place my awareness on social relationships i feel heartbroken.
- i go between feeling okay and then feeling deep pain of being deprived / neglected / missing out. i also really struggle to cry. its like theres a blockage in my throat that stops me from sobbing when i need to.
- always would get a shock at how smoking weed would ease all this tension in my scalp / make my scalp feel much more vascular and 'comfortable'.
- the weed also makes me realise how mentally tense / uncomfortable i am in the present moment - that i could be experiencing so much more relaxation, fun, drive
- when im high i can laugh and also cry more easily. like i could when i was a child.


i'm not saying any of this to make anyone feel sorry for me or anything like that, and sorry if this writing may be a bit sporadic. not everything is bad, however something needs to change. i do not believe that this amount of tension and difficulty is 'normal' or 'acceptable' at all. i know its possible for the body to be more resilient, free, secure, comfortable, optimistic.

BRmarshall - do you recommend any approaches to readjusting the character armour?/ healing?

 

[ivy]

what you've written resonates a lot with me.

as much as markovskys advice is philosophically inspiring, and i agree with the Ray Peat quote about it being important to move forward in uncertain situations, i have to be honest - ive tried 'just doing things' for years in the past and reducing the meaning behind painful experiences, but its just not energetically adequate - there is something real happing in my body, a physical weakness and fatigue. i did cbt al throughout highschool - its great to talk to somebody who understands but its just not enough to really move on from the problem. Its not purely mental. the same traumatic experiences occurred in cycles - each time getting more and more hurtful - i really do need to release something / readjust my self, ive been watching videos by 'devaraj sandberg' and everything hes saying resonates so deeply with me.

i intellectually know everything i need to do, but there is some much emotional hurt in my body - i never in my life been able to touch my toes, my nutrition and eating is amazing and i have high quality supplements, red light machine, sunlight, free time - yet i still feel weak, and very emotionally needy. + i had a huge amount of hair shedding recently.

some things about the jack willis book and devaraj sandberg that related to my experiences

- i constantly dream of preparing things, and i wake up before i can enjoy them
- i also frequently dream that im about to have amazing sex and then right before things go down the girl will turn into a zombie or ill become paralysed etc etc - there will always be some circumstance blockage to me getting satisfaction. What makes it funny is that half the time i'm actually aware that im having a dream, though ill have no 'lucid' control.
- first time i got high on marijuana, i had an intense hysterical laughing fit on the ground. my body was shaking.
- though i do not frequently use weed / dont have an urge to - every time i try it - i can notice an intense sense of insecurity and deep lack of belonging or connection to others. I can perceive things with deep understanding and clarity, and i can see others having a warm cozy, secure connection with eachother - i myself feel like a tortured alien - keep in mind - i wont be panicking when i feel this either, ill be able to experience joy / novelty / introspection when i listen to music/ art/ philosophy while high, but when i place my awareness on social relationships i feel heartbroken.
- i go between feeling okay and then feeling deep pain of being deprived / neglected / missing out. i also really struggle to cry. its like theres a blockage in my throat that stops me from sobbing when i need to.
- always would get a shock at how smoking weed would ease all this tension in my scalp / make my scalp feel much more vascular and 'comfortable'.
- the weed also makes me realise how mentally tense / uncomfortable i am in the present moment - that i could be experiencing so much more relaxation, fun, drive
- when im high i can laugh and also cry more easily. like i could when i was a child.


i'm not saying any of this to make anyone feel sorry for me or anything like that, and sorry if this writing may be a bit sporadic. not everything is bad, however something needs to change. i do not believe that this amount of tension and difficulty is 'normal' or 'acceptable' at all. i know its possible for the body to be more resilient, free, secure, comfortable, optimistic.

BRmarshall - do you recommend any approaches to readjusting the character armour?/ healing?

You've stated and restated that the problem is not exclusively mental. You acknowledge that from a metabolic point of view you are providing several wholesome stimuli. You also recognize that you lack meaningful exchanges with other humans and feel alienated. And yet you insist on the concept of character armour alone... It feels like quite a mental loop. I believe you would fare better with an experiental practice that could reunite you with your kin. Don't try and work things out in your head, give a try to something entirely new and of collective nature, you don't need any more solipsism! I've recommended Biodanza to you before, but it could be something else. See what's available in your area. Touch, movement, joyful music, bonding, these are precious tools.

 

[334c]

You've stated and restated that the problem is not exclusively mental. You acknowledge that from a metabolic point of view you are providing several wholesome stimuli. You also recognize that you lack meaningful exchanges with other humans and feel alienated. And yet you insist on the concept of character armour alone... It feels like quite a mental loop. I believe you would fare better with an experiental practice that could reunite you with your kin. Don't try and work things out in your head, give a try to something entirely new and of collective nature, you don't need any more solipsism! I've recommended Biodanza to you before, but it could be something else. See what's available in your area. Touch, movement, joyful music, bonding, these are precious tools.

i think you are right, going out with friends to different places, seeing people - i find this has a healing effect - i feel warmer, more resilient, able to relax.

two things i forgot to mention earlier - i find that sex - even when not particularly satisfying has a very potent 'de-armouring effect' - it makes my voice gets much more deeper,, i feel much less stressed and my whole body feels less tense.

the other thing - i am quite young and still live with my parents - they are good, well meaning people / and i love them - but nonetheless i did suffer a lot of emotional and verbal abuse growing up - i think the 'inner child' in me does not feel secure around them at all, and being around them has a 'subliminal' effect of making me feel like i do not belong / am isolated yet dependant.

i wonder to what extent my tension/ 'armouring' has to do with being around my parents and how much of it is stored in the body.

 

[BRMarshall]

what you've written resonates a lot with me.

as much as markovskys advice is philosophically inspiring, and i agree with the Ray Peat quote about it being important to move forward in uncertain situations, i have to be honest - ive tried 'just doing things' for years in the past and reducing the meaning behind painful experiences, but its just not energetically adequate - there is something real happing in my body, a physical weakness and fatigue. i did cbt al throughout highschool - its great to talk to somebody who understands but its just not enough to really move on from the problem. Its not purely mental. the same traumatic experiences occurred in cycles - each time getting more and more hurtful - i really do need to release something / readjust my self, ive been watching videos by 'devaraj sandberg' and everything hes saying resonates so deeply with me.

i intellectually know everything i need to do, but there is some much emotional hurt in my body - i never in my life been able to touch my toes, my nutrition and eating is amazing and i have high quality supplements, red light machine, sunlight, free time - yet i still feel weak, and very emotionally needy. + i had a huge amount of hair shedding recently.

some things about the jack willis book and devaraj sandberg that related to my experiences

- i constantly dream of preparing things, and i wake up before i can enjoy them
- i also frequently dream that im about to have amazing sex and then right before things go down the girl will turn into a zombie or ill become paralysed etc etc - there will always be some circumstance blockage to me getting satisfaction. What makes it funny is that half the time i'm actually aware that im having a dream, though ill have no 'lucid' control.
- first time i got high on marijuana, i had an intense hysterical laughing fit on the ground. my body was shaking.
- though i do not frequently use weed / dont have an urge to - every time i try it - i can notice an intense sense of insecurity and deep lack of belonging or connection to others. I can perceive things with deep understanding and clarity, and i can see others having a warm cozy, secure connection with eachother - i myself feel like a tortured alien - keep in mind - i wont be panicking when i feel this either, ill be able to experience joy / novelty / introspection when i listen to music/ art/ philosophy while high, but when i place my awareness on social relationships i feel heartbroken.
- i go between feeling okay and then feeling deep pain of being deprived / neglected / missing out. i also really struggle to cry. its like theres a blockage in my throat that stops me from sobbing when i need to.
- always would get a shock at how smoking weed would ease all this tension in my scalp / make my scalp feel much more vascular and 'comfortable'.
- the weed also makes me realise how mentally tense / uncomfortable i am in the present moment - that i could be experiencing so much more relaxation, fun, drive
- when im high i can laugh and also cry more easily. like i could when i was a child.


i'm not saying any of this to make anyone feel sorry for me or anything like that, and sorry if this writing may be a bit sporadic. not everything is bad, however something needs to change. i do not believe that this amount of tension and difficulty is 'normal' or 'acceptable' at all. i know its possible for the body to be more resilient, free, secure, comfortable, optimistic.

BRmarshall - do you recommend any approaches to readjusting the character armour?/ healing?

HI., From what you related, relative to dreams and experiences with marijuana, speak, from a character analysis sense to the issue of "ocular armoring" where marijuana brings energy to the head, but demonstrates that with the added energy and temporary release of ocular armoring, brings insecurity that you previosly do not feel or heartbreak relating to relationships though are able to be active in perceptions of music....it speaks of the disconnect with your deeper feelings that you can filter appreciate vicariously through art, but when you are more deeply engaged as in sex, your partner becomes a zombie which is a contact with perhaps an inner zombie sense that as it is a lucid dream, finds you aware of this dichotomy...a dichotomy perhaps revealed by your language description using the word "sex"....where perhaps the "amazing sex" is divorced from your heart, from deeper surrender, of the greater nurturing;

It sounds like you are aware and thus continuing with say the Willis book is a good approach, amongst many.....try square dancing!

 

[Herbie]

I’ve experienced this loss of armour as well and wanted to stay free of it forever but as soon as I came back “down to Earth” and met with my family and being in the western culture again, the armour comes back for new reasons. It must be a survival mechanism for western society.

 

[ivy]

i think you are right, going out with friends to different places, seeing people - i find this has a healing effect - i feel warmer, more resilient, able to relax.

two things i forgot to mention earlier - i find that sex - even when not particularly satisfying has a very potent 'de-armouring effect' - it makes my voice gets much more deeper,, i feel much less stressed and my whole body feels less tense.

the other thing - i am quite young and still live with my parents - they are good, well meaning people / and i love them - but nonetheless i did suffer a lot of emotional and verbal abuse growing up - i think the 'inner child' in me does not feel secure around them at all, and being around them has a 'subliminal' effect of making me feel like i do not belong / am isolated yet dependant.

i wonder to what extent my tension/ 'armouring' has to do with being around my parents and how much of it is stored in the body.

If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? And what are you doing with your time?

I completely understand the association between sex and a letting go. But I'm trying to point you in a different direction, otherwise you'll rely on having a one to one relationship (even if occasional and not entirely fulfilling) for any sort of well-being. Instead of crying over spillt milk, you have a chance to overwrite past hurts in your physical and emotional landscape by observing and testing those experiences which feel nourishing. If your environment feels impoverished, what would enrich it?

I'll give you an example: I'm not sure whether a cuddle party is something you'd be willing to try. You should assess whether it brings about some sort of moral anxiety, because if it does it might entail more harm than good. But if it makes you feel as if you indeed belong to humanity, and are a caring and cared for human being, then it might just be what you need.

Look around, see where your curiosity leads.

 

[Makrosky]

I’ve experienced this loss of armour as well and wanted to stay free of it forever but as soon as I came back “down to Earth” and met with my family and being in the western culture again, the armour comes back for new reasons. It must be a survival mechanism for western society.

It is. Very good point. And I have experienced it as well. In fact Alexander Lowen wrote in one of his books something along the lines that to live in any big city (i.e. proxy for western society) requires a high degree of numbness (i.e. armouring) to survive.

 

[Herbie]

It is. Very good point. And I have experienced it as well. In fact Alexander Lowen wrote in one of his books something along the lines that to live in any big city (i.e. proxy for western society) requires a high degree of numbness (i.e. armouring) to survive.

There was a study done and it New Yorkers have higher baseline cortisol levels than one else in the states allegedly for this reason.

 

[334c]

I’ve experienced this loss of armour as well and wanted to stay free of it forever but as soon as I came back “down to Earth” and met with my family and being in the western culture again, the armour comes back for new reasons. It must be a survival mechanism for western society.

very interesting,

if you don't mind sharing - what change was it that induced the loss of armour?

 

[Herbie]

very interesting,

if you don't mind sharing - what change was it that induced the loss of armour?

I went to the Amazon jungle in Peru to drink ayahuasca (psychedelic drug) as part of ceremony’s performed by native people. The other part is that the native people don’t have this armour and so being around them helps too plus being isolated from any society.

 

[334c]

I went to the Amazon jungle in Peru to drink ayahuasca (psychedelic drug) as part of ceremony’s performed by native people. The other part is that the native people don’t have this armour and so being around them helps too plus being isolated from any society.

wow,

if you're comfortable with sharing, what did the ayahuasca reveal to you? totally understandable if its too personal.

 

[Vajra]

Reich is cool. Definitely has a legit model. I think the most practical way to work with what you're describing is meditation - for energy blockage stuff you can check out kundalini yoga (but be careful with that, lol), internal family systems, or metta (loving-kindness). Stay away from gurus

 

[YourUniverse]

It is. Very good point. And I have experienced it as well. In fact Alexander Lowen wrote in one of his books something along the lines that to live in any big city (i.e. proxy for western society) requires a high degree of numbness (i.e. armouring) to survive.

Interesting

 

[Herbie]

wow,

if you're comfortable with sharing, what did the ayahuasca reveal to you? totally understandable if its too personal.

It’s a long story but in context, It seems to break down heaps of conditioning, trauma, patterns, beliefs.

 

[334c]

update for those interested:

i did try some 'bio energetic' energetic techniques as taught by a guy called Devaraj Sandberg, and also some of the intro exercises in the Riech homebook for like a month or two, but i decided to quit them as i had the realisation that i had created way too many daily regimens and rituals (eating, supplementing, various exercises, peat inspired therapies, tre, etc etc etc)- i had mentally confined myself to a life of strict routines and practises -i quit all of it and let myself live spontaneously for sometime.

i did have some interesting feelings from the exercises - sometimes id feel great afterwards, sometimes id feel very angry - i would think of how i was mislead and bossed around by authoritative figures as a child, sometimes id feel stressed out / estrogenic / demotivated afterwards, but it was usually quite mild

i think the cause for my depression i was writing about was truthfully due to my life circumstances at the time, and so i write this for anyone else suffering who comes across this thread - i am now much less of the doctrine that my depression was caused by some sort of persistent internal failure - ie stored childhood trauma / negative past patterns etc - and while i'm not outright denying the existence of those concepts, i think that the rut i was in was caused being in toxic relationships at the time.

and so i think the solution to this emotional blockage and particular rut was going into the world and having new experiences, creating new positive memories which surpass and overwrite the grief. also beliefs and world views can obviously contribute to how mental suffering manifests for oneself.

i think character armour is real, however the physical exercises / postures etc may not be the only way to go about 'de-armouring' oneself, i think the conscious decision to try new things that seem out of character / daunting also could change ones 'armouring'

 

[Makrosky]

i had mentally confined myself to a life of strict routines and practises -i quit all of it and let myself live spontaneously for sometime.

Very wise decision.

sometimes id feel very angry - i would think of how i was mislead and bossed around by authoritative figures as a child

I also get angry sometimes when I do those kind of exercises. But also when I do certain strenuous exercises non related to anything psychological. Also when I stretch. What I suspect though is that the rational content that you attach to those angry emotions is arbitrary. When I was into the whole psychoanalysis/traumas/attachment theory and stuff, what I was thinking is on my upbringing, parents, etc. Now that I don't believe that anymore, I think about things in the present that infuriate me. None is true none is false, it is just that we need to put a rational layer to those emotions and if you put the trauma lens on, you will go to traumas and so on so forth.

It simply might be that these exercises by whatever reason increase cortisol or estrogen. Who knows.

Try to do them less hard.

and so the solution to this emotional blockage and particular rut was by going into the world and having new experiences, creating new positive memories which surpass and overwrite the grief.

Very wise. You are on the right track IMHO :)

 

[LUH 3417]

Very wise decision.

I also get angry sometimes when I do those kind of exercises. But also when I do certain strenuous exercises non related to anything psychological. Also when I stretch. What I suspect though is that the rational content that you attach to those angry emotions is arbitrary. When I was into the whole psychoanalysis/traumas/attachment theory and stuff, what I was thinking is on my upbringing, parents, etc. Now that I don't believe that anymore, I think about things in the present that infuriate me. None is true none is false, it is just that we need to put a rational layer to those emotions and if you put the trauma lens on, you will go to traumas and so on so forth.

It simply might be that these exercises by whatever reason increase cortisol or estrogen. Who knows.

Try to do them less hard.

Very wise. You are on the right track IMHO :)

I think one of the reasons people find attachment theories and childhood trauma so validating is that when you didn’t have great models growing up, you end up repeating similar dynamics in your adult life. So even though you can be out of your parents house and dating and making your own decisions, you can be replaying the relational dynamics with a romantic partner that you had with your mother or father. I think therapy can be helpful in unraveling that and helping people realize the way they may be accepting how they were treated as children as the standard for adult relationships. For instance if no one ever asked how you were feeling as a kid or checked in with you, it’s likely you’ll date people where you often times set aside your needs.

I’m kind of anti therapy myself and think the book Anti therapy is quite interesting. I don’t think people should have to pay someone just to talk to them. I also think a lot of therapists are potentially dangerous and have their own personality issues.