Introduction to the Extracts
The following passages from Growing into Being offer windows into the inner terrain the book traverses: from ego to essence, from fragmented mind to unified awareness. Each extract is both a reflection and a threshold — not meant to provide answers, but to evoke the kinds of questions that stir just beneath the surface of everyday life.
These texts explore the mechanics of consciousness through direct experience: what it means to feel the chakras open, to encounter pain as a teacher, to let go of belief and step into knowing. They also examine the seductions of spiritual ego, the limitations of intellectual forgiveness, and the quiet mystery of synchronicity when the self begins to dissolve.
Whether you’re arriving at this book through fasting, meditation, music, or a simple longing to feel more fully alive, may these fragments speak to something you already know — and perhaps help you remember it more clearly.
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Ben J “If you are looking at this book now and contemplating if you should get it or not, then my advice would be definitely Yes! Growing into Being is a beautiful book. If you are on the path of spiritual growth and looking for your purpose in life, your call, or just trying to see more meaning in life beyond material things or just looking more within yourself, then this book is exactly what you need! The book is written in a very genuine style, the author shares many precious examples from his personal life journey, which help the…
From “Synchronicity” (Chapter Seven)
Synchronicities are often hailed as ‘signs from the universe’. Loosely speaking they are, but I would also draw a distinction here, describing them more precisely as a sign that you are in a flow with the universe. As much as the surface language of both expressions may sound quite similar, the wording belies fundamentally different attitudes. A sign from the universe implies that the universe, the outer world, is responding to something you’re doing. Actually, though, the process taking place is not one of cause and effect. You aren’t acting with the universe reacting. The process is rather one of…
From “Now” (Chapter Two)
On our inability to remain mindful and present, on why a flood of thoughts constantly pulls our attention away from the present moment, now, and into that all too familiar world of internal dialogues and inner fantasy: “… Why do people love music, films or any old entertainment for that matter? Why are street-side cafés filled with people chatting away their lives? Or, to take the opposite scenario, why do prisoners go mad in the silence and solitude of solitary confinement? Because alone, you have no ‘proof’ that you exist. It feels a little too much like death. Without feedback…
From “The Way of the Heart” (Chapter Six)
“… In the long run, if you do have the resolve, then happiness and truth will eventually begin to converge. In order to reach this point, though, the only possible way forward is in relentlessly pursuing a path of self-honesty: the Way of the Heart. In contrast, the path of happiness can take you only so far before it gets lost in the jungle of your deepest, darkest subconscious issues. Although the ‘positive thinking’ often associated with Western therapeutic approaches does initially seem to produce results more effectively, it is precisely this relatively quick fix which dooms it to later…
From “Enlightenment and Ego” (Chapter Eight)
In Growing into Being, enlightenment is described as a process consisting of four basic stages: separation – believing – knowing – being one. These are referred to in the passage below. “Whether or not you choose to believe or not believe, ultimately either decision is based on a leap of faith. How can it be otherwise when approaching metaphysical issues with knowledge of only the five physical senses? Either you have faith in nothing (separation), or you have faith in something (believing). Actually, it’s this lack of deeper knowledge which permits a choice in the first place. The state of…
From “The Way of Light” (Chapter Five)
“…When the chakras begin to manifest, either spontaneously or through concerted spiritual practices, they reveal themselves most commonly through the perception of subtle light, subtle sound and subtle physical sensation, such as tingling, vibration or temperature change. In a sense, all of these phenomena concern vibration in various aspects. Light is simply electromagnetic vibration as perceived through the eyes; sound is simply the vibration of physical matter, emitted through a medium such as air and perceived through the ears; physical sensations like those mentioned above are caused by vibrations at a localised point and perceived directly through the body. Of…
From “Forgetting and Remembering” (Chapter One)
…For most people, yes, forgiveness is inextricably tied to forgetfulness. Think of the saying: ‘Only time can heal.’ Why? Because over time you have a chance to forget the pain and injustices inflicted upon you. Let’s be fair: this process often does seem to work well enough with day-to-day problems. Some pain, though, is simply too great to forget. It lingers on in your body and tears – and even when you sleep, in your dreams. As much as, rationally, you want to get on with your life, as much as, rationally, you know it would be good for you…
Growing Into Being | A book by Dr Tallis Barker 