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September 11, 2025 72 mins

Michelle and Katherine are delighted to welcome Dr. Oscar Pérez for a discussion on grief bearers, ancestral healing and Toltec wisdom teachings!

According to Toltec wisdom, in each generation, there is one family member whose soul path includes feeling, holding and processing wounding and shadow on behalf of their lineage. Unfortunately, in the modern, western world, these people are often criticized as “too sensitive,” or rejected as the “black sheep” of the family. 

In some cases, these Grief Bearers (as termed by Dr. Oscar) dive into addiction and harmful behaviors. In others, they become helpers, therapists, healers and care providers as a means to pursue this soul path of lineage healing. But many of these people suffer from burnout, psychic and emotional exhaustion. 

Join us for a potent conversation with Dr. Oscar as we dive into what it means to be a Grief Bearer, ancestral reclamation and lineage healing, and animistic wisdom in the context of mental health and allopathic medicine.

Dr. Oscar C. Pérez is the founder of Tending The Fires, a global community and initiatory school for natural-born healers walking the shamanic path. He is the best-selling author of The Flowering War: Toltec Teachings for Healing Ancestral Trauma, a groundbreaking work that has become essential reading for therapists, spiritual seekers, and leaders reclaiming their lineage and life-force from generational wounding.

Dr. Pérez holds a PhD from Brown University, where his research focused on how intact, earth-based cultures use storytelling, ritual, and collective memory to metabolize trauma and renew the soul of the people. A lifelong student and initiated practitioner of shamanism, Dr. Pérez weaves ancestral wisdom, transpersonal psychology, and cutting-edge neuroscience into his signature method of Soul Recovery, rooted in the Toltec tradition.

Through retreats, immersive trainings, and his signature programs, Dr. Pérez guides modern-day Grief bearers— spiritual healers, coaches, and therapists — through the deep work of becoming the healers their lineages have been waiting for.

Dr. Oscar Pérez links:

Website: https://www.tendingthefires.com/

The Fire Clan, the exclusive Tending The Fires community: https://tendingthefires.mn.co/ 

The Flowering War book: https://a.co/d/ajQ6pzJ

The Flowering War audiobook: https://open.spotify.com/show/71Ij3lNiMMvE0SA9nUqEfd?si=327372266bec4af7

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