The magical mountains of Manoa is a destination that summoned me. When I first arrived the lead Shaman told me that he knew that he was expecting me. Shaman Sirata along with the other spiritual leaders that I have had the pleasure to meet and live with have become my second family. After my first trip to Manoa in 2020, I left with the feeling that if there was a heaven and you found yourself in a valley with people that you had never met, this is what it would feel like. That feeling of love, support and community that I experienced is unlike anything I could have ever imagined, except in heaven. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to return to Manoa with others from the US as well as the same group of spiritual leaders and families, I did not hesitate. The ‘24 expedition was just as magical as the previous two trips. In addition to the spiritual work that I was immersed in, I was also able to film some interviews and record some cool sound effects. It was quite helpful in taking the docu-series entitled ‘SOUL QUEST’, to the next level. There are two more segments that need to be filmed to complete the docu-series and hopefully, that will be produced in the fall of this year.
Manoa 2023
After a two year delay courtesy of Covid 19, I was finally able to return to Colombia, South America. Before I departed in 2020, I told all of the spiritual leaders that I’d like to return with a film crew to properly document the week of activities and ceremonies in hopes of witnessing another amazing transformation of some or all of the participants. The 2023 trip included individuals from all walks of life across the US. It was once again led by Shaman Sirata along with numerous other spiritual leaders from across South America. The trip did not disappoint in terms of providing a life-changing opportunity in all of the participant’s lives. My crew of Dan T Peters (Director of Photography), Matt Edgar (Camera Operator) and Michael Jacobs (Location Sound Recordist) provided the perfect mix of energy and enthusiasm to document this deep immersion into the spiritual world. The result of our efforts is a four-part docu-series entitled ‘SOUL QUEST’. If you are interested in viewing this documentary and it’s not available on this site under the PROJECTS tab, (film fest regulations) please contact me and I can get a link to you for your enlightenment.
Journey into the mystical mountains of Manoa
In late February, a friend invited me to a healing session the following weekend that was being held not far from my home. It took place on a Sunday, the day I usually spend running errands. I asked myself, ‘how long can a healing session last?’ I had been to numerous Native American healings, Raki sessions, etc. so, I figured it would last a couple/few hours at most.
At noon, I pulled into the residence on a sunny, unseasonably warm day. There, I met a wide variety of friendly, nice/cool people. The facilitator of the ceremony’s name was DRagon Love, who was studying to be a spiritual leader. He began by acknowledging and expanding upon the spiritual aspects of centering, self-care and self-healing techniques. With the application of plant based medicines from the Amazon, my mind, body and spirit embarked on an experience that had a very cleansing effect on me in a soulful way.
After what seemed like a couple of hours, the session concluded with a shared meal. As I departed, I was quite surprised that it was dark outside! When I reluctantly turned my phone back on, I could hardly believe that over eight hours had passed.
DRagon Love spoke to me about a trip that he was co-leading the following week, into the mountains of Manoa in Colombia, South America. Sirata, a Shaman from Northern Colombia, would be the other leader. He had just published a book entitled ‘Manoa’, which revealed his mystical experiences in the sacred Andes mountains. (The book is now being translated to English and will be available soon!). On the journey there would be other Shamans, Swamis, Yogis along with some very spiritual people from across South America. DRagon Love encouraged me to not only join the group, but to document the trip. Four days later, I was on a plane headed South! Guess I’ve always considered myself to be spontaneous and it was nice to see that that trait is alive and well.
The journey was a life changing experience for me as well as for the other participants. It challenged every aspect of myself as a human being. The ruggedness of the accommodations, the constant motion and hours that filming a documentary requires resulted in one of the most physically challenging things I’ve ever done in my life. What kept me going and fueled my passion to try and capture the story to the best of my ability was the love that was shared within the group. Even though we were all there for different reasons and were at different points along our spiritual path, we were encouraged to ‘look in’, take pause and get in touch with our spirit, in hopes of getting us back on the path. Our inner work was supported by the mystical and spiritual energy of the mountains, the incredible food cultivated from the valley that we stayed in and the music that was a daily occurrence in Manoa. The musical talent within our group was amazing and provided a fantastic soundtrack to a magical journey.
The journey into the mountains of Manoa has had a profound impact on my life. My biggest take-aways from the trip were the close connections that I made through the pure, unconditional love that was shared. In some ways, it’s what I imagine heaven (if there is one!), might feel like. Every sense was both challenged and treated to a stunning array of sensory pleasures. But what received the most attention was my spirit. It was so wonderful to have the space, support and guidance to do the inner work that too often does not recieve attention.
All of us in the group answered the call to be a part of this journey and I’m so very happy that we did.
At long last, I have completed the docu-series entitled SOUL QUEST. You can find it under the projects page in the SOUL QUEST Episodes panel. Let me know if you are interested in viewing any or all of the episodes and I can forward a password to get you connected. Gracias.
Puyki Puyki {My heart is in your heart, your heart is in my heart}
This is just part of the wonderful group of souls that gathered in 2020. Love ‘em all.
Symphonic Power
The power of a symphonic concert is known by everyone who has ever attended a performance. The pure majesty of so many musicans in such incredible syncronicity is substantially amplified when you are fortunate enough to be on stage during a performance. For over two hours myself and my five person crew were in complete awe of the professionals that make up the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. To actually be on stage filming several pieces was one of the most moving experiences behind the camera that I've ever had. The music just resonated through to my very soul. When I found out that Aaron Copeland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man' was a piece that I was to film, I was quite excited as that has always been one of my favorites. Check out the video I cut together on the Motion page.
