Manfred Miethe

After completing a commercial apprenticeship and abandoning his studies in social pedagogy, Miethe left his hometown of Hamburg in 1979—seeking a deeper life beyond conventions and career ladders. It was the beginning of a long inner and outer journey that took him to the United States for twelve years. In Honolulu, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Oakland, and Boston, he earned his living as a cook, baker, massage therapist, German teacher, carpet and shoe salesman, martial arts instructor, and poster-paster—always moving between worlds, between body, mind, and daily life.

During this time, he trained in a wide variety of body-centered healing methods—guided always by a desire to unite healing and awareness. His teachers included Robert van Heckeren (yoga), Frieda Goralewski (breath therapy), Michio Kushi (macrobiotics and Do-in), Kathy Robinson (Swedish massage), Marie Riley (Jin Shin Jyutsu), John Pasqualetti (Reiki), as well as Manocher Movlai and John Schreiber (Breema).

After a burnout that brought him to the edge of his strength, he remembered an old, never entirely forgotten passion: writing. In 1989, he began publishing articles in German and American magazines. Two years later, he returned to Germany, became editor-in-chief of the magazine Connection, and later worked as an editor for the Integral publishing house—a place of spiritual encounter and intellectual openness.

Martial arts, too, were never merely a technique for him, but a path of mindfulness, presence, and inner stillness. From 1972 until two hip surgeries in 2013 and 2017, he dedicated himself to Judo, Aikido, Wing Tsun, Taiji, stick fighting, and Qigong - as a student, teacher, and lifelong learner. His teachers included Andrew Lum, Francis Pang, Gia-Fu Feng, Wong Jack Man, Tsung Tsai Liang, William C. C. Chen, Y. C. Chiang, Rupert Sonaike, Irmgard Hölzel, and Rosa Ahrens.

From 1993 onward, Miethe worked as a freelance writer and translator. By the time he retired in 2015, he had translated more than 160 books from English into German—including works by spiritual teachers, visionaries, and healers such as Jiddu Krishnamurti, Louise Hay, Dan Millman, Virginia Satir, John Perkins, Michael Murphy, Diana Cooper, and Elizabeth Clare Prophet. He also authored 26 books of his own, five of them as a ghostwriter—always with the intention of making depth accessible.

Since 1997, Miethe has lived in Switzerland with his wife. In 2011, he became a dual citizen of Switzerland and Germany. Today (2025), he lives a quiet life in a small village in the Bernese Oberland—in rhythm with the mountains, in tune with the seasons, at peace with himself and with silence.