276. What Your Body Remembers: Healing Ancestral Wounds, Trauma & Forgiveness with Dr. Richard Grossman

Can trauma live beyond our personal memories? In this powerful conversation, Dr. Kelly Kessler sits down with Doctor of Oriental Medicine Richard Grossman to explore ancestral wounds, somatic healing, forgiveness, plant medicine, and the hidden burdens we carry in the body. Together they discuss trauma stored in the nervous system, past-life experiences, ancestral healing, emotional release, and why true healing may begin when we stop reliving the story and start listening to what the body remembers. Whether you're curious about ayahuasca, forgiveness, trauma healing, or the connection between mind, body, and spirit, this episode offers a thought-provoking perspective on what it means to heal deeply.Richard Grossman, L.Ac., O.M.D., Ph.D. is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine who has practiced energy healing and integrative medicine in Los Angeles for decades. His clinical work draws on acupuncture, Oriental medicine, and somatic approaches to healing — disciplines that attend to what the body holds long after the conscious mind has moved on.In 1984, a plant medicine ceremony led by an elder in Mexico opened something unexpected. Grossman encountered visions of what felt like other lifetimes: a Nazi concentration camp, the jungles of Vietnam, ancient Rome and Egypt. It was the beginning of a long inquiry. He attended the 2005 Iquitos International Amazonian Shamanism Conference, deepening his engagement with traditional plant medicine healing, and in the years that followed became a facilitator of those medicines himself.Through plant medicine and somatic healing work, he encountered what felt like an unbroken chain of trauma reaching back to the earliest moments of human self-awareness — past-life visions, ancient wounds, and a prehistoric clearing he recognized as the place it all began. Whether those experiences were past lives, ancestral memory, or something else entirely, he cannot say. But the healing was real. Feather on the Heart, his first novel, is what emerged.He is also the author of Trust and Forgive: The Medicine of Your Life (2024). Grossman lives and practices in Los Angeles. He is available for interviews, speaking engagements, book club conversations, and events focused on integrative medicine, plant medicine, and healing.Connect with Dr. Richard Grossman:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/251497882-feather-on-the-hearthttps://www.heartfeather.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Feather-Heart-Time-Threads-Novel-ebook/dp/B0GX7BB1ZKConnect with Kelly:Ready to go deeper?If this episode resonated, start with my free Self-Abandonment Audit — a powerful first step to uncover where you may be putting everyone else first, overriding your needs, or talking yourself out of what you know is right for you.Get the audit here:https://drkellykessler.com/selfauditReady for more support? The Self-Respect Reset is my 4-week self-paced course designed for women who know what they need but struggle to follow through. You'll learn how to navigate guilt, build self-trust, create healthier boundaries, and stop abandoning yourself in the moments that matter most.Learn more here:https://drkellykessler.com/selfrespectresetLooking for personalized support? The Self-Loyalty Mentorship is for the woman who is ready to stop second-guessing herself, stay true to what she knows, and build the capacity to hold her boundaries and decisions with confidence—even when it's uncomfortable.Learn more here:https://drkellykessler.com/selfloyaltymentorship