In this powerful episode, strategist, musician, and author Mike de la Rocha opens up about healing generational trauma, redefining masculinity, and reconnecting with his father through emotional truth-telling.

***Click here to watch on YouTube***

Drawing from his debut book Sacred Lessons: Teaching My Father How to Love, Mike explores how grief, silence, and inherited definitions of manhood shaped his early life—and how choosing vulnerability, mentorship, and collective healing became transformative. This intimate conversation unpacks the emotional cost of disconnection, the ancestral wisdom that guides us, and why healing the masculine lineage is essential for future generations. From the power of Ubuntu to the ongoing presence of loved ones beyond the veil, Mike reminds us that true healing is never solitary—it’s sacred, relational, and deeply human.

Whether you're navigating your own father wound, unpacking what it means to be a man in today’s world, or seeking connection with those you've lost, this episode offers insight, hope, and a path toward repair.

Grief Support Resources for the Road:

1. Grief Tending Toolkit
2. Access our online community

Key Takeaways:

• Healing yourself can create ripple effects across your family, including your father.
• Sacred Lessons is both personal memoir and a collective call to interrupt cycles of silence and disconnection.
• True healing is communal—it requires community, mentors, and intergenerational support.
• Redefining masculinity starts with emotional honesty, not suppression.
• Nature, ancestral practices, and rituals can anchor us during times of grief and transformation.
• The philosophy of Ubuntu ("I am because we are") underscores our collective healing journey.
• We remain connected to those we’ve lost through continued bonds and spiritual presence.
• Societal norms around manhood are shifting—and there is real hope in that change.
• Listening with openness is the first step toward breaking inherited patterns.
• Healing the masculine is healing the world.

Guest: Mike de la Rocha

• sacredlessons.com
• Get the book
• Instagram: @mrmikedelarocha
• Photo Credit: Wade Brands

Hosted by: Nina Rodriguez

• Creator of Grief and Light, Grief Guide
• Learn more: griefandlight.com
• Instagram: @griefandlight

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