Dr. Tallis Barker, D.Phil, Nat.Dip., NA.Dip. is a writer, an expert waterfast specialist and coach, and classical musician whose work bridges the realms of consciousness, embodiment, and deep healing.
He holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford, and is internationally known for his pioneering work in extended water fasting — particularly in the context of long fasts as catalysts not only for physical regeneration, but also for emotional and spiritual transformation.
“Through ego we are born into pain, not love.
But it’s precisely through the unbearable agony of a broken heart and human ego-pain…
that we are driven forward.”
— Growing into Being
Far from retreating from the world, Tallis’s work invites a return to it — more whole, more awake. Whether he is guiding a client through a 21-day fast or reflecting on the physics of vibration in a Bach fugue, his focus is the same: helping others find what is real.
“The experience of fasting is a descent — not into absence,
but into presence. You meet your body. You meet your mind. You meet your Self.”
He has spent the past two decades in both deep personal retreat and public-facing service, translating his experiences in meditation, fasting, music, and silence into practical support for others on the path.
He is the founder of waterfasting.org, one of the most comprehensive online resources for guided extended fasting, visited by tens of thousands of readers each month. His coaching practice supports clients worldwide.
“We all crave happiness, truth, meaning.
So why not do something about it?
The time to act is now.”
As a classically trained pianist and former Beethoven scholar, Tallis’s writing carries a rhythm and depth informed by years of musical immersion. As a practitioner of long silent fasts and energy-based practices, it is also grounded in the body and direct experience.
Growing into Being, distills these dimensions into one path: an inward spiral from ego toward essence — from separation to wholeness. It is the fruit of lived experience, not theory.
“Knowing means that, through a perceptible flow of inner energy,
you receive direct experiential knowledge in a language far deeper than words…”
At the heart of Tallis’s work is a quiet revolution — one that invites us to feel again, to know directly, and to reconnect with the pulse of what we truly are.
Growing Into Being | A book by Dr Tallis Barker 