Our Story

About This Space

Bridges Apaixonadas was created to be an active participant in birthing a progressive, more loving world for us all to inhabit. The founder, Christopher Michael, has been both externally and self-identified as a bridge builder. Connecting people back home to themselves and to others in their community, connecting worlds, and weaving together stories and experiences. The ultimate confirmation and naming spark came when Christopher stumbled upon the quote above from one of their favorite poets, “13th century” Sufi mystic, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, known widely as Rumi. “Apaixonadas” is the Portuguese word to denote beings that are in love, more literally translated to “impassioned.” Rather than a passive framing of bridges built with love, Christopher desired the name to reflect bridges in the active and dynamic process that is love, as well as their Azorean heritage. Thus, “Bridges Apaixonadas” was born; during a doula training, no less!

Bridges, as it is affectionately called for short, aims to be a non-judgemental and affirming space. A safer space where people feel seen, held, and tended to; being witnessed in their humanity. A place for curiosity, learning, and unlearning that can hold space for multiple truths. Those who find themselves here are given a system and a language for better understanding themselves and their human experience. Bridges is working towards a world where life and humanity are centered and prioritized. Where we are building bridges across identities, communities, generations, “borders,” time, space, etc. while birthing a new world together. A world where love and compassion are our primary tools for existing together, and where everyone is free to explore their curiosity and desire on the path towards uncovering their most honest self.

About the Founder

My name is Christopher Michael (they/she/he) and momentarily, I will tell you some of the things I consider myself to be. First and foremost, though, I am a human just like you. While I don’t always get it “right,” I’m doing my best to live as honestly, out loud, and in color as I can. I am a queer, non-binary, neurospicy person born in “Rhode Island, USA”, and raised here by Azorean immigrants. I am a holistic healing practitioner, writer, interdisciplinary artist, and certified full spectrum perinatal doula.

Spirituality has been a cornerstone of my life for as long as I can remember; functioning as a wellspring of wisdom, life force, and inspiration. I’ve been inclined towards both the healing and creative arts since childhood; from a love of playing with color, to dreams of being a veterinarian. I received my BA in Community Health from Brown University and have spent over a decade working in public health/healthcare administration.

Over the last several years, the spiral of time brought me into my calling as a holistic healing practitioner, due in large part to the impact of my own healing journey. Practicing professionally for over 5 years and working with well over 200 people, I have acquired both knowledge and experience in energy healing, shamanic practices, sound healing, folk herbalism, astrology, etc. I employ these tools to guide others in healing themselves; taking into account body, mind, heart, and spirit.

Life has also ushered me back to my childhood love of animals, horses in particular, partnering with these majestic creatures for “equine-inspired learning” at Equi Evolution in Cumberland, RI. Bonding and growing with horses in this mindful way, along with reconnecting with artist friends, helped me rekindle my own creativity. When it comes to my artistic practice, I am primarily interested in crafting pieces that fuse various forms of media into a multisensory experience that transcends the physical. I draw influence from my spiritual practice, Mother Earth, and the current human experience of life itself; witnessing magic in the “mundane.” 

As a writer and artist, I wish to birth pieces that open the mind of the witness, provoking questions and generating space for expansive thought. And not only to think, but also to feel, to live, and to love more expansively. I desire to explore the many facets of the human experience and how they weave together; writing about joy, pleasure, and hope, as much as examining grief, despair, and the heavy parts of life. I intend to bring life to this vision across multiple different genres and projects, including essays, short stories, children’s books, fantasy and other fiction novels, as well as plays. At this time, though, my writing is focused on poetry. The poetic “form” is alluring to me because it allows for freedom in terms of structure and composition that aren’t found in the other writing styles to the same degree. I see my poetic practice as extending beyond the written form, as Lucille Clifton describes when she says “poetry is a way of living in the world,” not merely a matter of text and study. Throughout the steps (and stumbles) ahead in my life’s journey, I hope to inspire others to live as their most honest self and work towards collective liberation.