The Art of Set & Setting

[Starman]

I'm really curious about how the environment around you influences the flavor of the trip. I know there is a wealth of psychedelic experience among the members on this forum, so I want to ask you all if you have learned things over time that positively influence your trips from a set (maybe pre-trip rituals) and setting perspective. Perhaps things that have become routine for you for each trip now.

My thinking is that this thread could be an evolving log of all of the best tips to create the most magical experiences and so that we can all learn from each other's developed routines.

For example, one such routine would be Timothy Leary's theory of setting an intention before each trip to help ground the experience in a purpose.

You could also share music or visuals, really anything that you find enriches the psychedelic experience.

 

[Varallo]

This document was originally put together by members of the Nexus, and brings together a lot of the thoughts and questions you’re raising now in a really clear and coherent way.

It’s written a bit like a dive guide, which makes it surprisingly easy to follow. Starting from the top gives you the full picture, but if you’re mostly interested in the setting, jump to Chapter 2 on page 25 from there it goes all the way through to the sections on troubleshooting and dealing with tricky situations.

For me, this captures a lot of how I think about this topic. It’s worth giving it a look yourself.

Edit: as @Transform said it’s already on the nexus

Publication - OHT

Welcome to the Open Hyperspace Traveler Course. If you are reading this, you presumably have an interest in entheogenic drugs - psychoactive compounds found in plants and fungi -often referred to as psychedelics or simply entheogens. In this...

forum.dmt-nexus.me

 

[Pumpy]

This document was originally put together by members of the Nexus, and brings together a lot of the thoughts and questions you’re raising now in a really clear and coherent way.

It’s written a bit like a dive guide, which makes it surprisingly easy to follow. Starting from the top gives you the full picture, but if you’re mostly interested in the setting, jump to Chapter 2 on page 25 from there it goes all the way through to the sections on troubleshooting and dealing with tricky situations.

For me, this captures a lot of how I think about this topic. It’s worth giving it a look yourself.

Wow this is a whole book !

 

[Pumpy]

I was going to say something about light levels

 

[Transform]

dive guide

This could be interpreted in several different ways

Each sensory and psychosocial aspect could have its own book, although I'm particularly thinking of scents and aromas, as well as possibly choice of music, if any.

OHT is already included in our resources section, probably unnecessary to reattach it here.

Publication - OHT

Welcome to the Open Hyperspace Traveler Course. If you are reading this, you presumably have an interest in entheogenic drugs - psychoactive compounds found in plants and fungi -often referred to as psychedelics or simply entheogens. In this...

forum.dmt-nexus.me

 

[Jamie01]

A big thing for me is I live in a pretty rural spot surrounded by dense rainforest…quick trail from across the road to the ocean.

For years I lived and tripped in cities. Compared to that I feel like I’m living in a scene out of true hallucinations or something when I take mushrooms in my yard. I set up a hammock spot with a tarp in the trees out back and hung a lantern and stuff so it’s my own rainforest trip spot.

No matter what intentions I have, simply walking out into the forest is often enough to cause a positive shift.

 

[TheGreenPhantom]

I always prefer alone at home. Better if no one's around if I'm diving deep. No one but me needs to witness a possible emotional purge.

 

[northape]

I used to live in a city, and making a ceremony there was never optimal. No matter my efforts, the city's vibe and noise pollution were always present.

My last experience there, neighbors started a fight behind the wall, and I became a part of the argument. At some point, I even thought that they were arguing about me and what to do - call the police or deal with me themselves. You get the idea. It was a hard journey of sublime misery with a clear message to get away from a dysfunctional living situation. On the other hand, I had the most mystical experience of my life alone in a flat. That spot was on the edge of the city, a five-minute walk from a forest. So go figure...

Now I live in a semi-rural village near a lake. I can see the forest from my window. The only downside is that the railroad is quite near, and the war in Europe has contributed to a lot of traffic. I can see firsthand what they make and send from my porch. Locals try to be polite and don't run many trains on weekends. So that's my only time slot for any medicine work. It's not ideal, but it works. Strangely enough, during my deepest journeys, there was no noise at all - all the traffic and the noise simply died out. I don't know how this works. It's like some higher power orchestrates these things. It only happened a couple of times (usually on a full moon), but it always leaves me speechless. I know where I live and what to expect. When things don't go according to the usual scheme, it's quite obvious.

Set and setting are very personal. You start with general advice and common sense. Later, just tweak it to your own preferences. I like to be alone and undisturbed. Set a small altar as a focal point of your ceremony, and play some appropriate music or make some music yourself. I feel like it's a big part of a well-conducted ceremony. Working with silence is much more advanced and implies that you have a lot of experience. Given some time and confidence in your ability to work with plants, you'll find a style that suits you the best. For the last two years, I've sung kirtan (chants) in my ceremonies. This was totally brought in by the plants. One day I got an idea to download a long kirtan track for my playlist. In the next ceremony, the idea to play that particular track just came to me, seemingly from nowhere. I was plainly not satisfied with anything else. Singing along produced so much magic that I've been a believer ever since.

You can always ask some specific questions here on Nexus.
There are a lot of approaches, and most likely someone would be able to give you advice.
Have a safe journey

 

[new_science]

I have found that as one gets older and knowledge of their own consciousness and its familiar patterns increases, intuition regarding set becomes much simpler and self enacting or automatic. Determination of setting is a little bit more involved, as it can require some experimentation and guess-and-check processes over the years in regard to what works best and why. Some settings will always feel perfect and some are more apt to be choice (to borrow a word from the culinary world) on certain days or nights. One of my best settings was a solitary amble under a bright moon, through a leafless deciduous forest next to a large lake in the dead of winter. I don't love the cold, in fact I'm very much predisposed to a mild climate. Yet on that occasion it fit the bill quite supremely due to my preparation and intention.

I set up a hammock spot with a tarp in the trees out back and hung a lantern and stuff so it’s my own rainforest trip spot.

This sounds just sublime to me. I cannot wait to return to that part of the world