The Rose of Baghdad

The Rose of Baghdad

What is the meaning of life? This question plagued mankind thousands of years ago and continues to puzzle us today. Mathew Carter's The Rose of Baghdad addresses this theme through the exploration of the totality of life in all dimensions.

The Rose of Baghdad is an autobiographical memoir that provides insight into the meaning and purpose of life through Carter's own experiences. Through soul-searching and learning life lessons, Carter has streamlined his experiences to share his powerful consciousness to aide readers in finding life's meaning and truths.

A born-and-raised Catholic, he wrote this book to reflect on his personal journey to enlightenment, which he discovered by means of meditation and divine realisation. Since life is the ultimate teacher, this book will serve as a reminder of how little control one has over their life because of God's plan.

'This book is about a life-long search for the truth in order to escape the bonds of perpetual reincarnation," Carter said.

Carter's work urges exploration into a variety of topics, including reincarnation, anti-organised religion and the power of meditation. He hopes his work will be a reference to others seeking to uncover the hidden truths of the universe.


Mathew Carter's life has focused on the discovery of what exists beyond all religion and all life on earth. A self-described Reiki Healer, Carter currently lives in Sydney, Australia.


The Rose of Baghdad

Author: Mathew Carter
ISBN: 9781452504292

Interview with Mathew Carter

Question: What inspired you to write The Rose of Baghdad?

Mathew Carter: My inspiration came from an intuitive knowing that I had been here on Earth before. Being made to conform to confirmation and confessions that the Catholic church are so fond of, only reinforced that there was only emptiness within the hearts of the priests and nuns. They were repeating everything by rote. I could sense no heart connection to their words. At the front of my book is a quotation by the master Ramtha, channeled Via J.Z. Knight, 'I never particularly wanted to travel the earth, I didn't know why I was here, or what on earth I wanted to do for work here." These are all signs that 'You have done it all before".

Every single person on the Earth will, when their time is right, sense emptiness within organised religions and life. I just knew that in my current life I had to find out all that lay beneath what religion was so I followed my own heart to look at all that every single master that had ever been on earth had in common. Meditation and living by certain rules were common themes. The divine hears all prayers but no amount of prayer, as I found out, can stop the death of a loved one, a bitter lesson in itself. Our lives are concocted and planned out to the 'enth' degree by whatever it is that your own soul needs to experience in the coming incarnation.

After nearing the end of my time on Earth, realising that we are trapped within an endless cycle of reincarnation and having constant communication with my daughter after she had passed, I understand that we cannot die. Therefore, I chose to escape this continuous cycle, as would anyone once they fully understand the prison within which they find themselves. I meditate and I live by those rules.

I appreciate that there are many that are quite happy to reincarnate time and time again, but given that karmic debt will take centuries of living as a saint to repay, especially if you consume animal flesh, I figure who knows what my next life will hold.


Question: Why did you title the book The Rose of Baghdad?

Mathew Carter: The title of my book stems from the name of a spiritual master formally of Baghdad, during my own search for truth I was constantly impressed and belittled by the amount of truth I found within the teachings of the Sufi's, many of which were masters within their own right. Although the teachings of Jesus were inherently the truth, he tends to be misunderstood since his teachings were largely taught through allegory and parable.

I found no difficulty understanding the Sufi's. It was in fact reported that Jesus during his missing years actually went to the Sufi's to increase his own knowledge of God.

There have even been records of the apostles dancing around Jesus in precisely the same manner as the fabled 'Whirling Dervishes', initiated by Rumi since the Sufi's were well aware that the entire universe, including our very own molecules revolve around each other as do every planet and solar system in the universe.


Question: How does The Rose of Baghdad explore the meaning of life?

Mathew Carter: Each person must find his or her own meaning in life. All I can do, as someone who was aware that they had done it all before, is to encourage everyone to follow their own heart. That is the key to the divine. We are all conditioned by our early upbringing, as is intended by the divine, so whether we succeed in life will depend on our ability to either overcome our conditioning or learn what a powerful ally our hearts are.

We must trust only the subtle feelings that the heart communicates. Life in today's world does not make this an easy path to follow. This is a significant time on earth because everything is changing, as the Mayans predicted.

It is the dawning of a greater awareness of the divine and all that it means. Organised religion, as falling attendances dictate, no longer has much to offer us.

Meditation opens a door to a direct connection to the divine so that you may find your own truth.


Question: What do you hope readers take away from this title?

Mathew Carter: Readers will take away only what they have been conditioned to take away from it. Even then, only those with an open mind will be able to grow from that knowledge. The title resulted from my own search for truth, via the Sufi's, to find that my own truth will be found somewhere in life. If you need to find it, ask the universe. It will make sure that the right book, or the right answer will come to you.

Question: Are you currently writing another book?

Mathew Carter: Some 10 years ago my own soul guided told me to write. Various religions have assured that the whole truth is not immediately apparent to us and they have paid a price for that. At present I am writing a feature film as my role on Earth is to be a healer, to disseminate all I have learned. I've written a film that will explain the whole story of life on Earth, the reincarnation, the conditioning, the power of love and its power to heal, and the fact that we cannot ever, ever die, and in doing so help to heal all who are ready to heal. In my own way, I describe the beauty that the divine represents for us all.