33. Mathew Barber - The Engineer Who Is Engineering Himself Into Enlightenment

How do you describe Mathew Barber? The words that come to mind are COURAGEOUS, EXPLORATIVE, beautifully SPIRITUAL and blissfully CONTENT.

How much COURAGE would it take for any individual to turn their back on a 6-figure sum, the penthouse overlooking Bondi, a wide circle of friends and a girlfriend that turned heads everywhere she walked, in the pursuit of one's greater inner happiness. In Mathew's own words, the lifestyle he was living, courtesy of an expanding engineering career, simply wasn't making him happy. He had a simple answer: Let's try meditation. 

His first mantra-reciting meditative encounter revealed to him the possibilities of a whole new existence. He needed to discover more. It took him to Spain where he EXPLORED his first 10-day silent Vipassana retreat. He has now done many. As this episode goes to the Global Public for the first time, Mathew is sitting his first 20-day silent Vipassana retreat. He went to India on a three-month mission to EXPLORE his SPIRITUAL journey and thanks to Covid, finished up spending two and a half years predominantly in the mountainous regions of the North. Amidst his journeys, he embraces the gifts of plant-based psychedelics, which Mathew acknowledges certainly played a role in AWAKENING him to a wider level of consciousness. He also knows the dangers of that experiment and shares them openly in this podcast. I am not sure I have met a more CONTENT person. 

His bank account does not have many digits in it. His van looks broken and battered, and I am not quite sure what he would say if you asked him 'Where is home', yet CONTENTMENT, PEACE, HAPPINESS, CALM, LOVE, define Mathew's Spirit. This is his remarkable journey. Let me warn you now, this episode is different. It is not like any that have preceded it. Yet, I suspect there are few episodes that have the capacity for thought provoking reflection as this one. Embrace it ... don't judge it ... consider it ... don't dismiss it, for it is rare that you will hear from such an awakened spirit.

Bernie K +61412982444
Mathew Barber +61402240344