Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey of spiritual importance. This weekend I made one to the Wilhelm Reich Museum up in Rangeley, Maine. I've been meaning to do this for several summers, and finally took the time to make it happen no matter what.

Reich was a mad genius. He was a student and associate of Sigmund Freud and was later banished from psychiatry because of his views. The socialists banished him. The communists banished him. The capitalists did too: the FDA sued him when it appeared he may be curing cancer, he was imprisoned by the US government, and died mysteriously just before his release.

His personal life was a shambles. He was completely obsessed with sex. And yet he very well may have scientifically proven the existence of God.

That is no small statement. What Reich proved was the existence of life force. For thousands of years it has been known by many names. Remember the "Force" in Star Wars? Ever hear of T'ai Chi, the cultivation of life force (known as qi in Asia)? Prana, aether, vril, anima mundi, mojo . . . nearly every culture has a reference to it.

Reich's term was orgone, which he named, of course, after the orgasm. Had he merely named it "procreative energy" or "life energy" he may have lived long enough to fully elucidate its higher powers. Instead, he upset the Puritans with his sexual talk, and it brought about his demise.

I'd rather withhold my judgement and focus on his achievements. This was a pilgrimage to the source: his museum. It was all right there.

Don't worry, this is not a post about a bunch of voodoo. The side benefit was that the journey was blast. I so rarely go exploring in Maine except for along the coast, but it is a vast treasure. What was just a one-day road trip felt as though I was on vacation.

Maybe that's why Maine is called Vacationland.

Heading out in the boonies is just part of enjoying New England. Much of it feels stuck in time. And a mighty good time, too. Here are some of the highlights.

Sadly too early for Harmon's

Roy's in Lewiston-Auburn, otherwise known as LA

Every day value menu. Cheeseburger: $2.15

Cervezas!

Road signs in the boonies often serve multiple roles

Be careful around dusk

Altitude

Latitude

Gratitude

These guys were smoking it up but good

You know you're in Maine when . . .

A little bit of heaven in the outback, easily as good as Memphis,
Lockhart, and Kansas City

Over 200 acres bought for $4000 in the '40s

Reich's former home and laboratory, now a museum

The infamous Cloudbuster, incorrectly imitated throughout the internet

Reich's tomb (and what eerily appears to be DOR -- dead orgone energy -- in the upper left, above the cloudbuster)

Special treat on the way out: red raspberries on both sides. Yum

This place caught my eye on the way home, but it was only serving frozen custard

But I found this place tucked away out back

Stepped right up and ordered a $3 cheeseburger

Primo