A relative who felt her life sorely needed
A variety of improvements
Became involved with more than a few
Human Potential Movements.
In the 1950s, it was Reichian Therapy. Dr.
Wilhelm Reich (cleverly)
Believed atom-sized “orgones” contained
Primordial cosmic energy.
Orgones were essential to healthy living ---
Women and men could strive
In a brash new way to create well-being and
Achieve a healthy sex drive.
But Reich went to jail as authorities proved
He didn’t really have the answer
To a major health crisis ‒ the good doctor
Said he had a cure for cancer.
In the 1960s, she’d switched to Macrobiotics.
Dr. George Oshawa had high
Praise for his organic dietary regime. (George
Was a descendent of samurai.)
Some followers became malnourished with rickets:
Some of them even died.
So, my relative said Sayonara! to Oshawa. The next
Movement that she tried
In the 1970s was Synanon. This rehab facility became
A church and had its proponents
But collapsed when its leader, Charles Diederich, tried
To murder one of his opponents.
I never knew whether my relative couldn’t find a new cult
Or grasped they weren’t shoo-ins
To fix her life, and maybe Human Potential Movements had
Only limited potential for humans.