CRESSEY BELDEN

LICENSURE AND EDUCATION

Cressey Belden is a Reiki Master Practitioner in the Usui Lineage. She received her training at the Open Center, New York City, and has experience working with a range of clients. In addition, she is an Interfaith Minister and spiritual counselor, ordained through All Faiths Seminary International, New York City. She trained as a hospice volunteer and is a certified instructor of Dying Consciously.

BACKGROUND

My path to Reiki and Interfaith was circuitous. A fourth-generation native Californian, I graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Sociology in 1991. In many ways, a sociologist’s spirit has guided me, from careers in corporate strategic marketing (Charles Schwab, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros), to running a small film music business, to renovating houses, to founding a community foundation in Appalachian Ohio—all while growing personally and spiritually as a parent, writer and poet. I found Reiki at a time when I felt unmoored. During that time I began to study Interfaith as well.

I have published one roman à clef, Puzzle Pieces; three volumes of poetry, Sublimely Entangled, Skipping Stones, and Holiness of the Ordinary; a memoir, Where I End and She Begins: Stories of Motherhood after a Loss; a complementary DIY arts and crafts book for children and caregivers; and Beyond the Reach: Essays on Motherhood & Self-Rediscovery.

PHILOSOPHY

“In this great space that surrounds us, there is endless, enormous energy—

a limitless force—the source of energy that makes plants grow and birds fly. 

When human beings have pain, they can draw from it… it can revitalize, restore harmony.” 

- Mrs. Hawayo Hiromi Takata (who brought Reiki to the West)

Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? Where is my path? St. Catherine of Siena said, “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire.” 

Living in alignment, instilling courage, listening—these are jewels we can pick up and craft into our daily lives whenever we are ready. And when we do, the world starts to unfold before us. 

I believe the greatest riches are health, time, nature and love—the roads to which are kindness, compassion, heart, and yes, touch. When you invite Reiki into your life, harmony and vitality will follow.