Elicit and formulate positive intentions

The manuals converge on the idea that intention setting is a preparatory part of the work, used to orient the participant before dosing or ceremony. Across the extracts, intentions are described as something to be clarified in advance, with support for making them personally meaningful, concise, and easy to return to during the session. They also agree that intentions are not meant to function as rigid controls over the experience, but as a guide that can coexist with flexibility and, in the 5-MeO-DMT manual, surrender. The sources also align in preferring intentions that are active and positively framed. The psilocybin trial manual explicitly recommends goals focused on what the patient wants to change, gain, or do, and warns against passive or negation-based wording. The Yale manual similarly links intentions to values and meaningful life change rather than symptom control alone, while the 5-MeO-DMT manual recommends a clear personal or group intention that can be written succinctly if helpful. The main differences are in emphasis and process. The Yale manual places more weight on revisiting and refining intentions over time, including between preparation and later dosing sessions, and describes intention as a compass during challenging or expansive experiences. The psilocybin trial manual is more explicit about wording, recommending one to three sentences that can be read aloud before administration and using open-ended questioning to refine understanding.