Set & setting: Getting the most out of your psychedelic experience

Setting 

Setting includes physical components, like the space you’re in or the music playing, social factors, such as the people around you and their behaviors, and even cultural influences which aren’t necessarily visible. A setting that is calming, natural and inspiring can help point the journey in a direction of positive transformation, just like a guide who is grounded and compassionate and fully present can provide a stable energy field, helping you feel centered and safe. In our clinics, we’re using a ‘biophilic design’ approach, that draws on the beauty of nature, and the interplay of light and neutral colors. 

Set 

Set, in my opinion, is probably the most important factor in the equation. As the medicine opens the door to the unconscious, there are vast spectrums of possibilities of the experience that emerge, and how one steers through the journey depends in large part on our set (i.e. the contents of our personal unconscious). For example, if there are strong walls of conditioning, this may influence how freely you can move through the various vistas of the journey. Similarly, your values, attitudes, hopes and dreams will influence the direction of attention and play into how you deal with all that subconscious material you encounter. It’s also key to assess the state of your nervous system while going into the experience because psychedelics very often act as amplifiers of that subconscious material and mental processes.  

Long-lasting changes 

Psychedelics, while not for everyone, can be powerful therapy accelerators and “way-showers”. In other words, they can help us see past those heavy walls of conditioning, the ego defenses, the past wounds, and the illusion of separation that keeps our surface mind from the core of our being and our real Self. However, though psychedelics show the way forward, old habits and traits can rapidly snap back into place unless one is committed to doing the work. There is a grace period following profound psychedelic experiences—a window of neuroplasticity opens up and changes can be made more easily. If no efforts are made afterwards to change undesirable patterns, sooner or later, habits of the past tend to reassert themselves, and you might find yourself sliding back into your old self. In fact, it can even at times feel worse than before, because after you’ve seen the way things can be better, you might feel disappointed to once again stumble around in the same old muck. All that being said, when used responsibly and with good intention, skill, integrity and support, psychedelics can contribute in a major way to easing the pain and suffering in the world by giving us access to more wisdom, compassion and spiritual development.