Dr. Robert Svoboda – Living with Reality – Ep. 26 – Sight, Fire, & Possession

Dr. Robert Svoboda takes listeners on a journey through the sense of sight, the Fire Element, and how possession is everywhere.

In this episode of Living With Reality, host, Paula Crossfield, presents part one of an illuminating discussion from a Costa Rican Retreat in 2018, in which Dr. Svoboda offers an introduction to the sense of sight, the fire element, and the nuances of possession.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s Online Courses & Satsangha for teachings on Ayurveda, Kundalini, the Fire Element, The Ramayana, & The Greatness of Saturn.
Dive into Paula Crossfield’s new podcast and ongoing offerings in Astrology, Ayurveda, Business, & more, at WeaveYourBliss.com

Darshana, Sight, & The Fire Element

Opening the talk by sharing on our relation to Darshana—which means both sight and philosophy—Dr. Svoboda relates seeing to believing. From here, he reflects on the very-human experience of creating and harnessing a relationship with the Fire Element – a dancing, kindling reminder of self-awareness, and a natural propagator of our now center-focused visual sense abilities.

“Darshana means to see; it also means philosophy in Sanskrit. It means both sight and philosophy. So not only is it the case that seeing is believing, it’s the case that whatever it is that you are able to see, is going to determine what you are able to believe.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Dr. Svoboda & Paula Crossfield go deep on the subject of possession, on Ep. 6 of Living With Reality

Humans & Fire // Possession & Prana (12:28)

Describing how as we sparked a living relationship with fire, the element actually began to possess us, Dr. Svoboda illuminates fire as a living being, with an agenda to stay alive like everybody else. Through this lens, he elucidates myriad ways humans become possessed, for better or worse. Sharing how wherever we direct our attention so goes our prana, Dr. Svoboda explores how throughout our co-evolution with fire, we actually feed and strengthen the element with our collective attentive energy.

“The fire took over the human being and the human being started spreading fire in all directions. This is what human beings do: they get taken over by something and they start working with that thing and spreading it in all directions.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Agni & The Vedas // Shiva & Worship (22:22)

Explaining why the most important word in a book is generally the first, Dr. Svoboda shares how the first word in the foundational Sanskrit Holy Books, The Vedas, (sans ‘Om’) is Agni – fire, or the Fire God. From here, he describes how the best way to worship a Deity is to connect so directly that you become possessed by it.

“Until we ourselves become Shiva, we are actually just sort of working in the direction of becoming Shiva, so that we will be able to be possessed by Shiva, so that we will then know exactly what Shiva would like, and then Shiva can worship Shiva, and Shiva will recognize that Shiva is perceiving Shiva, and sees not only Shiva and whatever that Shiva is worshipping, but also everything else that is not apparently being worshipped at that moment. Then there is Shiva everywhere. Om Namah Shivaya!” – Dr. Robert Svoboda.

Devatas, Oracles, & Possession (38:22)

Illuminating experiences of possession he learned about on his travels and in his studies, Dr. Svoboda explores formal possession by Devatas – village Deities / local Gods. To close out the episode, he shares the connection between Rishis, Shamans, Soma, the Astral Realm, and Fire.

“Just like Shamans in the Amazons do now; the Shaman goes up into the Astral World, collects a song—an Icaro—and brings that Icaro down for healing and beneficial purposes. That’s what the Rishis did also; they took their Soma—an intoxicating thing—they went up into the Astral World, they brought it back down. The fire was assisting them to do this because the job of the fire is to turn things that are solid, hard, and Earth-connected into non-solid, not hard, and connected to the Astral World.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

     

Art via mountain beetle