Hello and welcome to Aluna Bridge.  Aluna Bridge was created to honor and hold space for our loved ones transitioning from this life. As a certified End of Life (EOL) Doula and Grief Companion, it is my mission to help members of our dying community navigate the physical, spiritual and emotional challenges that often arise after they have been given a terminal diagnosis. Aluna Bridge is here to serve hospice patients as well as family and friends suffering from any type of loss (death, divorce, pregnancy loss, pet loss, or job loss). It is my belief that our losses should be honored and time should be taken to really integrate the mental and emotional shifts that we experience as humans. Some of our greatest spiritual lessons are gained from the mystery of death and the deeper journey it can provide, if honored as sacred. I believe this work heals not only the dying, but also our ancestors, future generations and the very planet and universe we call home.  It is all connected.

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The dream of Aluna Bridge started back in 2010, after I lost my father to suicide. Not long after his death, I began my own personal spiritual journey that would eventually lead me to the "No One Dies Alone" (NODA) program at the hospital where I worked for many years. I began seeing firsthand many from our homeless community come in for care for their terminal diagnosis and nowhere to go. No family to turn to for support. In 2017 alone, we lost 120 friends on the streets of Nashville due to exposure and illness.  I also witnessed families struggling with the stress of trying to navigate the process of hospice care for their loved ones, while also trying to take time for their own emotional needs and grief tending. This became my mission - My calling. To create a bridge of awareness and love for our community of dying, uniting those in need with acts of kindness. That is the heart of Aluna Bridge.

 

Why the name ALUNA?

During my own spiritual journey, I came across the name "Aluna" from an indigenous Pre-Colombian tribe, known as the Kogi, that live in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains in South America.  Aluna is the name the Kogi give to the Divine Spirit, the creator of all. It is the life source, the essence of Spirit that connects all humans with the one Source. The Kogi, see Aluna as being the great sea of water that existed before creation. She is the great womb of creation and the place where all also returns. According to the Kogi, Aluna is also the great light of the Moon, lighting our path and marking our cycles of life, of death, of rebirth.

 

When I researched the name further, I learned that in Africa, the name means "approach." In Hawaii, it means "to descend or loosen." In Portugal, it means "student." I could not help but notice how this word globally defines the experience of transition. When we embark or approach any kind of journey, be it spiritual, emotional or physical, we must approach it like students, allowing ourselves to loosen from what we think we know, and descend into the depths of unknowing. By surrendering to the will of the spirit of Source that courses through us, we are guided towards new beginnings- New life.

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Aluna Bridge was created to hold space for those transitioning out of this world and into the next. A space where they are cared for, loved and supported during those final sacred moments between breaths. Like a lamp post rising out from the shadows, Aluna Bridge will be the light helping to support and guide individuals and families through the grief process. 

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I believe the spiritual gifts of ALUNA are reciprocal. Those volunteering and supporting the organization also enter as students, with the understanding that those we care for are our greatest teachers.

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"Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels." - Hebrews 13:2

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It is my hope that the love and connection created by Aluna Bridge, will expand into our community, impacting families and inspiring all to walk more gently on this earth, acting as stewards and guardians to all God's creatures big and small that are in need of grace, of mercy, or just an extended hand.

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Blessings,

Dasha