Almost every preparation guide says the same thing: go in with an intention. What they do not usually explain is what that means or how to do it. An intention is not a wish or a goal to be met. It is the direction in which you decide to look, knowing that the experience may take you somewhere else.
What an intention is and what it is not
An intention is a short sentence that sums up what you are approaching the experience for. It works like a compass: it does not decide the path, but it helps you find your bearings when everything is moving.
It is not the same as an expectation. An expectation demands a result: I want to be healed, I want to see something specific, I want to come back a different person. When the trip does not deliver that, frustration or struggle appears. An intention, by contrast, opens a question and accepts whatever comes.
- Expectation: “I want my anxiety to go away.”
- Intention: “I want to understand what my anxiety is telling me.”
Why it helps
Having a clear intention is useful at three different moments:
- Before, because it makes you ask yourself why you are doing it and whether it is a good time.
- During, because it gives you a place to return to if you get lost or frightened.
- After, because it offers a thread to pull on as you integrate what you went through.
Research backs this up too. In a prospective study of people who were about to take a psychedelic, having a clear intention was associated with more positive experiences. It is part of what is known as set, your inner state before the trip. We explain it in set and setting: what they are and why they matter.
How to set your intention in five steps
1. Write without a filter
Take a sheet of paper and spend ten minutes answering these questions, without correcting anything:
- Why do I want to do this now?
- What part of my life is asking for attention?
- What am I avoiding looking at?
- What would I like to be different six months from now?
- What am I afraid of?
2. Look for what repeats
Read what you have written and underline the words or themes that appear more than once. There are usually one or two underlying issues: a relationship, a loss, a sense of being stuck, a way of treating yourself.
3. Turn it into a sentence
Sum up that theme in a single sentence, in the first person and in the present tense. The shorter it is, the easier it will be to remember in the middle of the experience. If you need a paragraph to explain it, it is not ready yet.
4. Open it up
Check whether your sentence demands a result. If it starts with “I want to achieve” or “I need”, try more open verbs: understand, explore, listen, move closer, allow myself, learn.
5. Let it go
This step is the hardest. Once it is formulated, the intention is left in the background. You can say it out loud at the start and then not chase it. Often the experience answers a different question, one you did not know you had.
Examples of intentions
They serve as a starting point. Yours has to sound like you.
For self-knowledge:
- “I want to know myself more honestly.”
- “I am open to seeing what I need to see.”
- “I want to understand why I repeat this pattern.”
For emotions:
- “I want to allow myself to feel what I have been avoiding for a long time.”
- “I want to move closer to my sadness without running away.”
- “I want to learn to treat myself more kindly.”
For relationships:
- “I want to understand my part in this relationship.”
- “I want to explore what stops me from trusting.”
- “I want to look at what I feel toward my father.”
For grief or a change:
- “I want to say goodbye to what is no longer here.”
- “I want to listen to what I need at this stage.”
For connection and meaning:
- “I want to feel more present in my life.”
- “I want to remember what is important to me.”
And one that works when nothing else fits: “I want to be with whatever comes up.”
Common mistakes
- Too many intentions. A seven-point list scatters your attention. Choose one, two at most.
- Intentions that are orders. “I want to quit smoking tomorrow” puts pressure on the experience.
- Intentions about other people. You cannot change anyone from your trip. You can look at your part.
- Borrowed intentions. What worked for a friend or what you read on a forum is not necessarily yours.
- Clinging. Spending the trip checking whether the intention is being fulfilled is another way of not being present.
What to do with the intention on the day of the experience
Write it on a piece of paper and leave it in sight. Before starting, read it out loud or share it with whoever is accompanying you. During the trip, if you feel overwhelmed, you can return to it as an anchor, together with your breathing.
If the experience takes a different course, do not force it. Trusting the process does not mean that anything goes, but it does mean accepting that you do not control the content.
And afterward
Keep the piece of paper. In the days that follow, read the intention again and ask yourself what has happened with it. Sometimes the answer is direct. Other times it comes weeks later, in a conversation or in an everyday gesture. That work of making sense is called integration, and you can start with how to process and apply your experiences safely.
The intention is only one part of preparation. The rest of the steps are in the guide to preparing for a psychedelic experience.
Working on your intention in company
Sometimes it is hard to see clearly what moves us. Talking it over with someone who listens without judging helps to find the real question. At RILOFU we support that process before and after the experience. We do not sell or supply substances.