From blessing to reiki: a case study

Abstract

This article aims to interpret the meanings of the experience, practices, motivations and conceptions of a former healer who joined spirit passes and later reiki. It focuses on a case observed during a doctoral research on therapies that use hands-on techniques, carried out in 2009-2012, in the city of Ribeirão Preto. This case study used direct observation, in-depth interview, a survey of life history and field notebook. Its main results concern the construction and reformulation of knowledge about the gift of healing, that can include blessing, application of spirit passes, which consists of movements of the hand over a person to bless or cure, and energy transmission through the application of reiki techniques. Findings indicate coherence of the actions and concepts found in the studied case, in the different types of therapy researched, with the mythical thought and in disagreement with the biomedical rationality.