Who is Manus Braith? – Some thoughts
Since my youth, I’ve grappled with a burning question: Are humans merely a product of chance, born from purely material processes? Or is there a larger purpose to our existence? This inquiry both consumes and captivates me. I dedicate hours each day to delving into various branches of science in pursuit of an answer. Like many others with a thirst for knowledge, I immerse myself in diverse fields to probe these existential questions. Where did we originate? Where are we headed? Why do we inhabit this world? These inquiries are inherently human, impossible to indefinitely ignore. I contemplate them, engage in discussions with friends, and, admittedly, became somewhat fixated on them. I continually strive to approach these questions from fresh angles, teasing out new insights and confronting challenges. While I haven’t discovered a definitive answer, I’ve encountered numerous partial truths. These I weave into my writing, infusing my stories with the quest for a greater understanding.
If I have the choice of where to live… either in a world where everything is meaningless because it’s all random and we’re just insignificant human machines flying through a meaningless universe, or in a world where my life means something, not only to me but also to my family, my fellow humans, and the world, where I can marvel at the magnificence of a pine tree, where my dog is a sentient being with wisdom, where human development has a vector leading to a meaningful goal… if I have this choice, then I choose the latter. And that’s regardless of whether it’s true or not; simply because I feel more comfortable in the latter world. At least I do.
By nature, I am a dreamer who likes to “do.” I acquire most skills in my life on my own and strive to perfect them as best as I can. Perhaps this stems from spending my formative years at a Waldorf school. A book that heavily influenced me at that time was: https://amzn.to/3WYf31a
In addition to writing, music has always enriched my life; often through listening to great works (Martinu’s second cello sonata, Shostakovich’s violin concerto, Villa Lobos’ guitar concerto, or Schumann’s songs, …) but also as a practicing musician on the guitar, the piano, or in composition. Some of my works have been performed internationally, but most of them remain at home in drawers or only exist in my fingers. However, I can always enjoy the songs of Jeff Lynne or Sting, or the arrangements of jazz standards by Andrea Motis or Joan Chamorro. Also Hanan Ben Ari is a musician I admire. Okay, that might be too much detail.
Naturopathy entered my life through a naturopathic doctor who relieved me of a troublesome knee problem and later became my father-in-law and the grandfather of my children. It was a huge mystery to me how he could alleviate pain, that specialists had deemed untreatable because my kneecaps were said to have the wrong shape, using the methods of Chinese moxibustion. (A great introduction to moxibustion: https://amzn.to/3wUZigZ )
He then became my mentor for a project in school, with the title: What is healing? And that’s when I got hooked. I completed my training as a naturopath and concurrently as an educator for children with special needs. I graduated with diplomas in both fields in 1995. Later, I pursued training in acupuncture massage, osteopathy, anthroposophic medicine, spiritual psychology, biofeedback, neurofeedback, learning therapies, and NLP. All of this culminated (for me) in the development of my own method, which I now use in seminars and individual therapy sessions under the term HANAEJ. Yes, this HANAEJ plays a significant role in my books, and that brings us to another topic.
Picture of the German Edition of The Profound
Sure, my books are a product of my imagination and can be neatly placed into the science fiction or fantasy genre. But there are many points with reference to reality. In my view, the barrier between the logical, soberly materialistic world and a world of magic is quite permeable. It is porous, and only the state (what I call the configuration in HANAEJ seminars) determines how isolated we are from a broader world. This theme always plays a significant role in my books.
As for martial arts, I was fortunate to attend many seminars with Master Wong Shun Leung and to train in one of his schools, where I became a coach at a young age. My training began when I was thirteen years old and continues to this day. It should be self-evident from the rest of the information above that my aim has always been to make the world better, not more brutal. These are some of the best books about Wong Shun Leung
In addition to the above, I am primarily a family man. I am the proud father of three children and happily married. I am grateful to my family for never having to give up any of my many interests.