Preparation Guide
The concept of set and setting, first developed by Timothy Leary in 1960s America, holds that the effects of psychedelic drugs are dependent first and foremost upon set (personality, preparation, expectation, and intention of the person having the experience) and setting (the physical, social, and cultural environment in which the experience takes place). Syntara Retreats are based around these well evidenced theories, aiming to provide safe and optimised experiences. This guide offers some ways in which you can best prepare for your retreat.
Intention (set)
Exploring your motivations and intentions can help you prepare.
It is worth taking some time to consider and maybe write down your intentions: what has brought you to this point? What are your hopes and fears around this journey, and what would you like to experience, or what would you like to change in yourself or your life? What are you curious about, what would you like to understand more and learn about? Another useful reflection is gratitude. What are you grateful for? What is good and fruitful in yourself and your life? This combination of acceptance and change is very helpful to setting intentions.
Setting
Syntara facilitators have considerable experience in creating a setting that feels safe, contained, creative and enhancing in order to allow your intentions space to flourish and emerge.
How to develop and recognise intentions
There are some techniques that can help with this process. These will be different for everyone, and are not prescriptive, but, rather, some suggestions.
Cultivating presence
If you have a meditation or mindfulness practice, this will be helpful in preparing for the retreat. If you aren’t yet familiar with mindfulness practices, consider downloading a guided meditation app such as Headspace, Waking Up, or Insight Timer. If this is not of interest, taking some time every day just to be with yourself,: to sit with and observe your thoughts and feelings is a useful preparation for whatever might come up during a psychedelic experience. Practice staying present with whatever arises, without expectations or judgement. 10-20 minutes a day is good, but if that is a challenge, 5 or even 3 minutes is better than nothing.
Reflecting on conflicts
Gaining some clarity and perspective on parts of your life and yourself that create stress, conflict and tension can be useful before this retreat. Of course, it is not possible to resolve and sort everything, but the aim is to put conflict to rest temporarily so it occupies slightly less of your head and heart. If there is anything in particular going on for you that you are worried might preoccupy you during the retreat and you want to inquire into it more deeply, you are welcome to book a 1:1 preparation session with us. There’ll also be the opportunity to have a check-in with a facilitator on the retreat.
Self-care
In the run-up to the retreat, it’s always worthwhile to place a little more focus on getting good sleep, reducing stress, eating wholesome food, and reducing your intake of sugar, alcohol and caffeine to a minimum. This is part of the ritual, and part of the development of thoughtful, focused intention.
Background and research
It may be of interest to do some background reading and watching before your retreat, to help inform your process of setting intentions and preparing. However, we don’t recommend getting too involved in online content around the subject, as you may end up quite overwhelmed and confused. Facilitators are available to answer any questions and help with any preparation. Below are some recommendations from organisations experienced in running psychedelic retreats
Reading
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Religion for the non-religious by WaitButWhy
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Can Magic Mushrooms Unlock Depression?
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'How To Change Your Mind' by Michael Pollan
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'The Book' by Alan Watts
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'The Four Agreements' by Don Miguel Ruiz
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'Radical Self-Acceptance' by Tara Brach
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'The Body Keeps The Score: Mind, brain & body in the transformation of trauma' by Bessel Van Der Kolk
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'The Wild Edge of Sorrow' by Francis Weller
Watching
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