This week: the origins of one of the most popular pseudo-medical traditions out there. Where does reiki, the notion that one can manipulate energy in the human body using their hands to heal people, come from? And why does studying the history of practices like this matter?
Sources
Stein, Justin B. Alternate Currents: Reiki’s Circulation in the Twentieth-Century North Pacific
Winfield, Pamela D. “KYOTO PILGRIMAGE PAST AND PRESENT.” CrossCurrents 59, no. 3 (2009)
An article from McGill University’s medical school discussing why reiki should not be taken seriously as a medical practice.
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