“Death, like birth, is a secret of nature”
~ Marcus Aurelius
Our Mission
The Seventh Sense is a nonprofit organization aiming to be a leading provider of volunteer-driven compassionate community death care, a steadfast advocate for the deep connection and intersectionality of nature, life and death, and a committed partner to return death to the family, back home and within the community.
-
We are Certified End of Life Doulas currently offering donation-based non-medical doula services and grief support in our Hudson Valley community.
We are in the process of fundraising for opening a Home for the Dying where we will offer volunteer-driven community death care for the dying.
-
We aim to cultivate a community that reveres the natural rhythms of life and death, rooted in a profound connection to nature. We are a place-based Grief Sanctuary, Home for the Dying and Death and Grief Resource Center connected to the land we are on in Clinton Corners, New York
-
Through this bond with the living world and community death care, we aim to transform society's perceptions and encounters with the end of life, guiding away from fear and towards a profound focus on understanding, compassion, comfort and reverence. We are currently hosting events at The Seventh Sense and around the Hudson Valley.
I became a doula because I want to help assuage the fear that surrounds death and foster safe passage for each person who is facing their transition from life. I want to help heal and encourage the families and loved ones of the dying person through their time of grief and bereavement.
~ Karen Bellone, Founder of The Seventh Sense
As a doula, I will accompany the dying as a witness, gentle advocate and companion. I will maintain a grounding presence and compassionate heart meeting the dying and their loved ones where they are in their process. I hope that our work will leave a healing impact on past, present and future generations of the family, the community and the overculture.
~ Kirby Lee, Co-Founder of The Seventh Sense
There is no greater gift we can give, or receive, than to hold space for one another in death. Holding space is to have our needs and desires heard, understood and addressed in order to bring more light, peace, comfort and closure to the time when we prepare to meet death. It is a time to rekindle an understanding of life’s continuum. This is an integral part of our humanity. No one should die afraid, feel unfinished or be alone at their time of death, if they do not choose to. Death is the last great mystery, and we can be accompanied to the doorway.
