My Journey with the Bees
One story from my own past that I have actively worked to rewrite, is the story of losing my father to suicide back in 2010. The very same month that he died, I also ended an 11 year marriage, walking away from my home and the life I had built with the father of my two children. Not long after this cycle of losses, I began entering into my own 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 my community experiencing homelessness come in for care for their terminal diagnosis. Later, these patients would be discharged and left to shoulder the burden of their crisis alone out on the streets.
Another interesting relationship began to form, literally out of thin air, as I began to notice bees showing up in my life in a big kind of way. They were visiting my dreams every night along with visions of Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. During the day, I was constantly noticing bees in print, on little trinkets and what-knots. A stranger would cross my path wearing something with a bee on it. In my dreams, I was being shown that they are psychopomps, able to connect with our deceased loved ones just beyond the veil. I was also learning that the hive is like a window into the wisdom teachings of the ancient Marys’ mystery schools.
The more I opened to their wisdom, the more they revealed and became present in my life. I was also following the teachings of The Way of the Rose group founded by Clark & Perdita Strand and was leading monthly dreamwork circles in Nashville, which I would follow with a Rosary circle. A close friend asked me to join her in Mexico and help host a Rosary workshop in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
While preparing for this workshop, the bees were ever present. The morning after the Rosary workshop and ceremony, our group toured the cathedral where the famous Tilma found by Juan Diego is kept on display for pilgrims to behold. When we entered the basilica, we were even more surprised to find that the shrine was in the shape of a honeycomb and the baptismal font and all the light fixtures were made to look like honeycomb with honey dripping down the sides. From that moment on, I have never questioned my connection to the bees and Mother Mary. I may not like what is asked, but I still trust and follow knowing theirs is a Divine call to action.
I had been dreaming of opening up a nonprofit called Aluna Bridge that would help offer support to dying women and children who were also experiencing homelessness. Having lived with the burden of questioning how my father must have felt during those last few moments of being alone before taking his life, I knew this was the new story I wanted to tell. In the words of Mother Teresa, I felt “everyone should die with dignity and not alone.”
The bees came to me one night in a dream and very clearly advised that I would need to lead a collaborative book project which would help kick start fundraising for Aluna Bridge and the guesthouse that would house the dying. Listening and dreaming even bigger, I did that very thing and on World Bee Day, May 20th, 2024, twenty-three of my bee sisters joined me in releasing a collaborative book of our grief stories which instantly became an Amazon bestseller in 19 different categories.