Laying On of Hands

Laying on of hands is one of the most-distributed ritual healing forms across religious traditions. The same physical structure — hands placed on or near the body, with attention focused on healing or blessing — appears in Christian sacramental practice, Jewish *smicha* (rabbinical ordination), Reiki and other Japanese-origin modalities, and many Indigenous healing systems. The instinctive forms of comforting touch (a parent's hand on a hurt child, a friend's hand on a grieving shoulder) work the same physiological mechanism without religious framing. Modern formalised systems include Reiki (Mikao Usui, Japan, 1922), Therapeutic Touch (Dolores Krieger and Dora Kunz, USA, 1972), and Healing Touch (Janet Mentgen, USA, 1989) — all developed within or alongside the nursing profession. Clinical research on Therapeutic Touch and Healing Touch shows modest effects on pain perception, anxiety, and reported well-being (Coakley & Barron, *Holistic Nursing Practice*, 2012). The 1998 *JAMA* study by 9-year-old Emily Rosa famously found practitioners could not detect a researcher's hand at above-chance rates, undercutting the specific 'energy field' claim while leaving the broader supportive-touch effect intact.

Laying on of hands is documented in the earliest religious-healing texts. Hebrew scripture describes *smicha* — the laying on of hands for transferring authority or blessing — in *Numbers 27:18-23* (textual tradition 13th–6th century BCE) and as the priestly blessing in *Leviticus 1:4*. The Christian gospels record Jesus healing through touch (Mark 1:41, Luke 4:40, etc., ~70–90 CE), and the practice continues in Catholic and Orthodox sacraments including ordination and anointing of the sick. The 'royal touch' for scrofula was practised by English and French kings from at least the 11th century (Edward the Confessor) through 1825 (Charles X of France). Modern energy-healing modalities trace from Mikao Usui's Reiki system (Japan, 1922), through Dolores Krieger and Dora Kunz's Therapeutic Touch (NYU School of Nursing, 1972), to Janet Mentgen's Healing Touch (Colorado, 1989). The Healing Touch Program was endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association in 1993.

If you want to develop the practice seriously, choose one structured modality: Reiki Level 1 attunement (weekend workshops with teachers in the Usui Shiki Ryoho or Holy Fire lineages; the International Center for Reiki Training maintains a teacher directory), Therapeutic Touch (Dolores Krieger-trained teachers through the Therapeutic Touch International Association), or Healing Touch (Healing Touch Program, certified through Healing Touch Worldwide Foundation). The documented supportive-touch effect — independent of any specific energy claim — is reliable and accessible without training: hands gently on or near the area, sustained attention for five to ten minutes, observation of the recipient's response. Janet Mentgen's *Healing Touch: A Guidebook for Practitioners* (2014) is the standard nursing-clinical reference; Frans Stiene's *The Inner Heart of Reiki* (2015) covers the Japanese-tradition framework alongside practical instruction.