Living with Reality with Dr. Robert Svoboda

From the genetic and cultural forces that shape us to Hindu remembrance rituals, Dr. Svoboda explores what it means to live in relationship with our ancestors.

Join Dr. Svoboda for monthly Q&As and biweekly writing on the Vedic sciences, plus occasional courses not available elsewhere! You can also study with Dr. Svoboda and learn about Ayurveda, Jyotisha, the Devatas, and Spiritual Practice. For multiple courses, lifetime access to materials and more, check out Dr. Svoboda’s Spiritual Practice Bundle.

This time on Living with Reality, Dr. Svoboda illuminates:

• How traditional cultures keep ancestors alive
• Becoming more aware of our own ancestors
• Genetics, Epigenetics, and the people we are raised by
• Internalized vs. externalized ancestral experiences
• Traditional Indian perspectives on how ancestors influence us
• Archetypal ancestors (rather than blood-relation) of certain cultures 
• Post-death rituals for the ancestors in Indian culture: Shraddha and Tarpan
• Pitru Paksha: a Hindu fortnight (typically in September) dedicated to remembering and honoring ancestors 
• How neglected ancestors communicate their displeasure 

About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training, he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books, including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 to 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending an average of three months per year in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra, and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content. You can also check out www.drsvoboda.com

“All too often, grief is a private affair, and once you’re dead you’re simply gone. In traditional cultures, however, the ancestors are not really gone. They’re certainly not passive; they actively remain participants in the lives of their descendants. They can help, and they can also hinder.” –Dr. Svoboda

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Dr. Robert Svoboda explores genuine Kundalini awakening, spiritual delusion, and why regularly returning to the basics of spiritual practice is essential.

Join Dr. Svoboda for monthly Q&As and biweekly writing on the Vedic sciences, plus occasional courses not available elsewhere! You can also study with Dr. Svoboda and learn about Ayurveda, Jyotisha, the Devatas, and Spiritual Practice. For multiple courses, lifetime access to materials and more, check out Dr. Svoboda’s Spiritual Practice Bundle.

In this episode of Living with Reality, Dr. Svoboda explores:

• Kundalini energy and connecting to supreme reality
• How to tell if one is genuinely having a Kundalini Awakening 
• Insufficient grounding and the ‘Balloon Without a String” metaphor 
• The capacity to channel and hold onto shakti 
• How the middle of the spiritual path can be more dangerous than the beginning 
• Becoming scattered, bewildered, and dispersed 
• Aligning yourself with whatever you are devoted to
• How delusions can get magnified by kundalini 
• Going back to the basics of practice

About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training, he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books, including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 to 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending an average of three months per year in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra, and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content. You can also check out www.drsvoboda.com

“Genuine awakening makes you more human and not less human, more capable of being in relationship with ordinary humans, more capable of genuinely showing affection to them and receiving affection from them. It is the real test of being able to deal with Kundalini that you can be ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. If you’re a balloon without a string, you’re going to go way off into the stratosphere or you’re going to pop.” –Dr. Svoboda

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From subterranean spirits to the awakening of Kundalini, Dr. Svoboda explores the hidden currents connecting the worlds of nature, spirit, and consciousness.

Join Dr. Svoboda for monthly Q&As and biweekly writing on the Vedic sciences, plus occasional courses not available elsewhere! You can also study with Dr. Svoboda and learn about Ayurveda, Jyotisha, the Devatas, and Spiritual Practice. For multiple courses, lifetime access to materials and more, check out Dr. Svoboda’s Spiritual Practice Bundle.

In this episode, Dr. Svoboda discusses:

• How other planes of existence influence our own
• Nagas: subterranean serpent-like spirits 
• The Tibetan thought of Nagas as a cause of disease 
• The concept of the Nāga in Indian spiritual traditions
• Awakening the serpent energy of Kundalini
• Using Jyotish (Vedic astrology) to understand if a Nāga Dosha has happened 
• Aligning to the ancient current of awareness 

“Nāgas are subterranean serpent-like spirits associated particularly with water, with aquatic underground environments. When humans pollute their environment and otherwise disturb the earth, the Nāgas can become agitated and they can provoke illness.” –Dr. Svoboda

About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content. You can also check out www.drsvoboda.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Discussing behavioral manipulation and ideological engineering, Dr. Svoboda outlines our human vulnerability to the real dangers of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).

This time on Living with Reality, Dr. Svoboda offers a critical talk on:

• How A.I. is one large echo chamber, reflecting humanity back at itself
• Keeping Kali Yuga in mind as we navigate A.I.
• Maintaining awareness of all the layers of reality
• Asking ChatGPT what serious dangers exist in the context of A.I.
• Destabilization of institutions and automated cyberattacks
• Economic destruction and inequality from uneven wealth distribution
• The loss of human agency and behavioral manipulation
• How human vulnerability and mental illness make A.I. even more concerning
• Coercion and ideological engineering from the government/billionaires  
• Using A.I. as a friend, emotional support, or even a romantic partner 
• Losing the ability to create actual human relationships 

“A.I. is an externalization of the human thought process, an externalization of how humans perceive and project awareness onto the external world. It is returning our collective intentions, fears, biases, etc. back to us in intensified form. It is an echo chamber...we have two mirrors pointed at one another generating images that recede into infinity.” –Dr. Svoboda

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Through a retelling of classical Indian stories, Dr. Robert Svoboda pays homage to the most beloved saint of Maharashtra, Jnaneshwara.

This week on Living with Reality, Dr. Svoboda discusses:

• Jnaneshwara’s detailed commentary on the Bhagavad Gita and awakening Kundalini
• Jnaneshwara’s father: a story of retracted renunciation and becoming a family of outcasts
• The devotion of Yogi Changdev to Saint Jnaneshwara
• The story of Pundalik's devotion and the famous image of Vishnu standing on a brick
• How Jnaneshwara decided to take Jeeva Samadhi 
• The Pasayadan: a prayer for all written by Jnaneshwara about the gift of divine grace 

“Jnaneshwara said to himself, 'I’ve seen the perfection of the tantras and using magic, and I’ve seen the perfection of using Bhakti. What more do I have to experience in the world?' It’s said that is what caused him to take jeeva samadhi.” –Dr. Svoboda

Sign up for a free e-book from Robert Svoboda, "Analyzing Karma: Fate or Free Will" at drsvoboda.com

About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Svoboda explains our tumultuous world through the lens of Rahu, an Indian shadow planet that influences our world.

This week on Living with Reality, Dr. Svoboda shares:

• The confusing, multi-polar, world which we are living in
• The current manifestation of Rahu (a shadow planet in Indian Astrology)
• The myth of The Churning of the Ocean of Milk and Rahu’s cosmic origin
• How those influenced by Rahu are highly interested in scheming, immortality, and grandiosity 
• The three times of Rahu in the United States (The birth of the United States & Revolutionary War, 1895-1913, and 2015-current times)
• Tremendous concentrations of wealth vs. poverty and great confusion around the truth
• Navigating how to live through 8 more years of Rahu 
• The current U.S. president as an incarnation of Rahu
• Grandiosity, spiritual inflation, and ego-driven delusions in times of Rahu
• Following Ayurveda and being with Sangha as antidotes to the effects of Rahu
• Putting our focus on nature, our guru, and a vision of a more peaceful future

“Human beings are being strongly influenced by shadows, in particular the shadows on their screens. Yes, those are colorful shadows and they're back-lit, but they’re still shadows. They’re representations of reality that claim to be real, when in fact they’re simply shadowy images. Image more than actual reality is what Rahu is all about.” – Dr. Svoboda

About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content. You can also check out www.drsvoboda.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Using an Ayurvedic lens, Paula Crossfield and Dr. Svoboda discuss the element of fire and the concept of Bhuta Agni.

This episode was originally published on Paula Crossfield’s The Cosmic Business Podcast

This time on Living with Reality, Paula and Robert :

• How fire is the reason that humans were able to expand
• The fascinating hypnotic effect of fire
• Agni as an element, personality, and being
• Transformation as the key quality of fire
• Digestion as transformation of energy
• Digesting emotions, thoughts, and concepts
• Tending to internal and external fires
• How Bhuta Agni is fed by sensory inputs
• The importance of being mindful when consuming
• Slowing down our thoughts so that we can digest what is going on
• Developing a relationship with our own life force
• Listening to what our organism tells us

About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content. You can also check out www.drsvoboda.com

About Paula Crossfield:

Paula Crossfield is Vedic astrologer and Business Coach dedicated to helping a million spirit-led entrepreneurs make more money and impact so they can bankroll the change they want to see in the world. Her insights on astrology and business strategy have helped her clients build sustainable five figure+ per month incomes while still embodying their values.

For more information on 1-on-1 opportunities and group coaching programs with Paula, go to www.weaveyourbliss.com, where you can also get the 2023 Astrology Guidebook

”Agni is regarded as a personality, as that element, but also that being who is able to release awareness and energy and heat and light from where it is being trapped in the earth and water elements and to release it into the less physical aspects of reality.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

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Robert Thurman joins Dr. Svoboda once again for a vast discussion on his lineage, karma, and the chain of being.

Get a free 50-page ebook, Analyzing Karma: Fate or Free Will, by Dr. Svoboda here.

In this episode, Dr. Robert Svoboda and Robert Thurman converse about:

• Robert Thurman’s lineage, upbringing, and young adulthood
• Robert’s experience losing his eye and having a spiritual vision while in the hospital
• Robert’s journey to and through India and finding home with the Tibetans
• Robert’s instruction to bring Buddhism to those seeking enlightenment through psychedelics
• Karma producing an effect of biological evolution
• The danger of solipsism and how we have all been everything
• Living in inter-tangled subjective fields
• Astrology and the Zodiac

About Robert Thurman:

Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University and President of the Tibet House U.S., and is the President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. His new book, Wisdom Is Bliss: Four Friendly Fun Facts That Can Change Your Life, is now available.About Dr. Robert Svoboda:

Dr. Robert Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda and be licensed to practice Ayurveda in India. During and after his formal Ayurvedic training he was tutored in Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Tantra and other forms of classical Indian lore by his mentor, the Aghori Vimalananda. He is the author of twelve books including Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution and the Aghora series, which discusses his experiences with his mentor during the years 1975 – 1983.

In the years since 1986, Dr. Svoboda has traveled extensively, spending three months per year on average in India. He often speaks on Ayurveda, Jyotish, Tantra and allied subjects in locales across the world.

Join Dr. Svoboda’s courses, watch the latest video in Dr. Svoboda’s 5 Minutes series on Youtube and follow Dr. Svoboda on Facebook and Instagram for updates, events, and new content. You can also check out www.drsvoboda.com

About Paula Crossfield:

Paula Crossfield is Vedic astrologer and Business Coach dedicated to helping a million spirit-led entrepreneurs make more money and impact so they can bankroll the change they want to see in the world. Her insights on astrology and business strategy have helped her clients build sustainable five figure+ per month incomes while still embodying their values.

For more information on 1-on-1 opportunities and group coaching programs with Paula, go to www.weaveyourbliss.com, where you can also get the 2023 Astrology Guidebook

“I consider karma to be Buddha’s Darwinian theory.” – Robert Thurman

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Focusing on the value of relationships, Robert Svoboda discusses genuine friendship and the concept of Runanubandh.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/beherenow

This time on Living with Reality, Dr. Robert Svoboda lectures on:

• True friendship and a familial connection
• The root of the Sanskrit word for friend
• Vimalananda and the quality of friendliness
• Sangha, Satsang, and what real friendship is all about
• Being mindful of who we associate with
• Recognizing when our friendships are beneficial or not
• Runanubandh and the karmic debts that may bring people together
• Knowing when to end a relationship
• Having patience when enduring a disconnection
• The positive imprints from real friendships

"In satsang, we should come together and attempt to assist one another to go beyond our limitations. That’s what real friendship should be about. Devoting your attention and your energy, your life force, your prana, to extending yourself out to your friends to attempt to assist them to be able to live their lives better and more satisfactorily, more meaningfully, and investing some of your prana, investing some of your life force in order to do this.” – Dr. Svoboda

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Dr. Svoboda is joined by Dr. Fred Smith & Paula Crossfield to share the many cosmic lessons learned from Vimalananda.

This time on Living with Reality, Dr. Robert Svoboda , Dr. Fred Smith, and Paula Crossfield discuss:

• How Dr. Svoboda and Dr. Smith met Vimalananda
• Transforming what we ingest
• The unusual and auspicious things that Vimalananda made happen
• Vimalananda’s capacity to enliven tantric forces
• Dealing with karmic debt
• Being attuned to the celestial realm
• Vimalananda’s lessons on the cosmic forces in trees
• Becoming sensitized to our own senses
• Magic and mantras in the kitchen
• The challenges of being born in the west

Read more about Vimalananda on Drsvoboda.com.

“This was a way that he was teaching, by just sensitizing us to use our own senses” – Dr. Fred Smith

About Dr. Fred Smith:

Dr. Fred Smith studied Sanskrit for more than a decade in Pune, Madras, and elsewhere in India, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is known for his work on Vedic ritual and the early sixteenth-century philosopher Vallabhacarya, whose work he has been translating. With his work on deity and spirit possession, his interest in Indian religious and spiritual experience has assumed a unique form. He teaches at the University of Iowa.

About Paula Crossfield:

Paula Crossfield is Vedic astrologer and Business Coach dedicated to helping a million spirit-led entrepreneurs make more money and impact so they can bankroll the change they want to see in the world. Her insights on astrology and business strategy have helped her clients build sustainable five figure+ per month incomes while still embodying their values.

For more information on 1-on-1 opportunities and group coaching programs with Paula, go to www.weaveyourbliss.com, where you can also get the 2023 Astrology Guidebook

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.