Manu

One of my teachers, and closest people to me in my life, passed away a couple of days ago and I want to share with you a little about that – his name is Te Atua Wera, but most of us knew him as Manu.

I feel so grateful and blessed having known him; no, not from a “spiritual jargon kind of grateful blessed place”, but from the gut, like I’m a better man for having had him in my life.

It was a real privilege having had the kind of quality time I got to have with him.

I say this last part because for those who don’t know, he spent many months out of the year on tour, traveling, teaching and helping people heal which caused him to spend large amounts of time away from his family.… And I appreciate every moment of that time together.

I appreciate his family sharing him with us.

I can’t get through writing this email without crying; I will miss him very much.

He literally and figuratively put a lot of energy into me, and that’s something I’ve never taken for granted.

It’s always a conscious thought for me to utilize the effort he put into helping me in so many ways, and putting that energy and time to good use and action.

I’ve received countless sessions from him – I’ve cussed, cried and raged with him only to receive a deep belly chuckle as a response only Manu could do. He thought I was quite amusing and I liked that.

I’ve helped wipe off sweat from his face when he needed it at times when it was especially hot during sessions.

I’ve watched and supported his countless sessions with people, and sat with him while he sat on people playing the guitar and singing.

I talked with him on car rides. He would tell me about his teacher - Papa-Joe, the Universe, entities, New Zealand and where he comes from.

He also shared with me how he “used” to be a troublemaker growing up – that’s never changed, although the trouble certainly transformed into the healing realm for sure.

I’ve visited him in New Zealand, although I’ve heeded the warning from others who knew him and I decided against sleeping next to him in a teepee; they said that would be traumatizing to anyone who does that – he’s a huge snorer and other various noises, which no one could quite put to words.

He was one of the most purely generous people I knew of.

He gave freely and often, whatever he had and without hesitation. It’s actually really quite remarkable as I think on that and how generous he was.

He pretty much had no teeth, his odor at times was less then optimal … but it didn’t matter to me, and make no mistake about it, the man was a precious gem, and I loved him greatly.

He was extremely talented at what he did. He taught me so much and I feel him daily in my work while with my clients.

It’s almost as if he’s part of my muscle memory in doing what I do; he’s involved for sure and I hear him talk to me while I’m working.

He’s helped me so much; it would be difficult to communicate the magnitude and all the exact ways in which he helped me.

One thing I can say is that he’s always been someone to expend a lot of energy with our sessions together.

When I would receive sessions with him, I would release a lot of emotions and stuff that comes from me working with people in the way that I do. So when I would see him, it would be a lot of deep work to release built up junk I’ve picked up from my client’s and life.

He was known to have worked really deep with people, and that he did. If you wanted to shift something inside you, that certainly got accomplished.

There was just no way you were going to meet Manu and not experience that man in one way or another, especially through his hands and work – that man had an iron grip!

I would ask Manu how to do this move or how he did that move and it was always with hesitation because I knew what was coming …

… He would always show me the move using me as the test-case, and man it was always a painful lesson I could never forget.

He would show me a move in a way that always had me break-out in a hot sweat and a limb that went numb under his grip – but let me tell you, the lesson and the move was learned quickly because I didn’t want it repeated!

I would always cuss and say F-Manu, can’t you show me in an easier way?.. and neither of us ever really expected an answer to that dumb-azz question, because we both always knew the answer without saying it.

NO!

We would roll eyes at each other often when he would be annoyed at a client that was on his table and annoying him.

I knew that all he wanted to do was chuck them out the window, and tell them to get the F-out…

… but because of Ata, his business partner, he would always shoot me a look and then do his best to help that client find their way through something.

Watching and experiencing Ata and Manu’s relationship was a very sweet one.

She is the boss and he was her muscle.He was a modern day Maori Warrior.

However, when it came to Ata, he was putty in her hands, and fully empowering of what she wanted and needed - it was great to watch there dynamic.

I can hear Manu telling me right now to wrap it up.

And I will, even though it’s painful to let go of him and to know this physical ride together is over.

I wish I could share all the great moments we had, but if you’re my client, I’m sure you’ll here a couple of them at some point.

Just as I shared how he lives on within me through my work with my clients, in some weird way, he’ll always be alive and well with me as he’s always been – playful, direct, powerful, warm-hearted, loving, strong, grounded, attentive, boisterous, vocal, a teacher and an even better student, bold, crass, generous..

Thank you for listening and letting me share Manu with you.

I don’t want this email to end, but I know I must.

As he would always say, “breath!”

Harold~