Resonance
LIII — Ayahuasca – The Borracheira
Listening to seasoned ayahuascan drinkers, or those who have practised the ceremony for many years, they will tell you that the experience of borracheira is never once the same: each session brings with it different visions and experiences, depending upon how you feel at the time and what events and histories surround your past. With every borracheira, though, there is movement, and what incredible movement and journey there are.
Throughout this journey of ayahuasca and borracheira, there is a profound sense of self-knowledge, or knowing your true self. It is as though you are allowed to travel to the very seat of your consciousness. Your whole being is supremely alive to this highest state of consciousness, and what has been hidden until now is opened. There is not a single portal that can open, but many portals of time can unfold and give you access to the past, the present, and the future, and most importantly the attachment with the Universe.
During this experience, you are not incapacitated in any way, and if you wanted you to carry out the most ordinary jobs, you can. Ayahuasca simply allows you to access the divine in you if you so wish.
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About Karl Swainston
Karl Swainston is a writer and storyteller whose work is forged from a life lived across the North of England and far beyond. Growing up on a Leeds council estate in the 1960s, Karl's journey was anything but linear. By the age of thirty, he had already lived a dozen lives: from the rigors of grammar school to a degree in Latin, a stint as a fishmonger, a period of discovery living in Marseille, and a return to the hustle of London. Whether working as a postman, a builder, or competing as a county-level chess player, he was, above all, an avid reader—constantly documenting the world around him. This restless spirit continued into his professional life. Karl later taught in Bradford, where he ran a specialist unit for 244 of the most excluded students from across the region—young people whom even the local Pupil Referral Units could not accommodate. Working alongside his old friend Malcolm, Karl spent his days navigating the volatility of Bradford's most aggressive and dysfunctional teenagers. Throughout his life, Karl has been an avid runner and has always shared his home with a rotating cast of beloved dogs and cats—companions who have been constant witnesses to his work. As a writer, Karl's range is as expansive as his history. He works across a wide breadth of genres, including fiction and short stories, autobiography and memoir, biography, non-fiction, and metaphysical writing, as well as providing sharp commentary, opinion, analysis, and essays. Whether writing about his years managing the Harrogate Arms or offering insights from his current adopted home in South East India, where he lives in a simple village with his dog, Bambi, Karl's voice reflects the full, untidy, and deeply human breadth of life. He continues to draw on the rich, decades-long tapestry of his experiences to tell stories that matter, proving that no matter where you live, the human story remains the same.
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