Intention Setting

Intention setting is the spiritual practice of clarifying and dedicating the purpose behind one's participation in ceremony. It is a sincere, prayerful naming of what a participant seeks from their encounter with the sacred medicine — healing in a relationship, clarity about a life direction, deeper connection to the divine, or release of a spiritual burden.

At Earth Connection Community, intention setting typically begins in the days before a retreat, often alongside preparatory prayer and fasting, and is refined during the retreat itself — sometimes shared aloud with a facilitator, sometimes held privately. Facilitators may invite participants to write their intention down or speak it during the opening prayer of ceremony.

An intention is not a request that guarantees a particular outcome; ceremony is approached as an encounter with the sacred that unfolds according to its own spiritual logic. Intention setting instead orients the heart, giving ceremony a sincere spiritual direction rather than treating it as an open-ended experience.