How to use scent to show up with intention—before meetings, moments, and meaningful connections
Before a meeting.
Before dinner with friends.
Before walking into a conversation that matters.
There’s always a moment right before—and how you enter that moment shapes everything that follows.
The Set the Tone Ritual is a simple, scent-based practice designed to help you choose how you want to show up—calm, grounded, present—before the moment begins.
Because when you set the tone intentionally, you’re less reactive, more connected, and fully in the moment.
What is the Set the Tone Ritual?
The Set the Tone Ritual is a brief scent and breath practice that helps you anchor an intention—how you want to feel, how you want others to feel, and how you want the moment to unfold.
It takes less than a minute, but its impact can last for hours.
This ritual is especially helpful before:
-
Meetings (in person or virtual)
-
Presentations
-
Social gatherings
-
Important conversations
-
Leaving the house when emotions feel heightened
Why scent is powerful for setting intention
Scent has a unique relationship with the brain. Unlike other senses, it reaches emotional and memory centers quickly—before logical thinking takes over.
That means scent can:
-
Shift your emotional baseline
-
Bring you into the present moment
-
Reduce reactivity
-
Help your body settle before engagement begins
When scent is paired with intention—what psychologists often call anchoring—the brain begins to associate that scent with a specific way of being.
Over time, the scent itself becomes a cue:
This is how I show up.
Why Adirondack Chair is ideal for this ritual
Adirondack Chair is grounding, steady, and calming.
It’s not energizing.
It’s not distracting.
It’s the scent equivalent of:
-
feet on the ground
-
shoulders relaxed
-
breath slowed
-
mind clear
That grounded feeling is exactly what allows you to be present, listen deeply, and respond with intention—rather than reacting on autopilot.
The Set the Tone Ritual (simple and repeatable)
Step 1: Spray
Spray Adirondack Chair into the air in front of you (1–2 sprays).
Pause.
Step 2: Breathe
Close your eyes and take three slow, deep breaths, breathing in the scent.
Let your shoulders drop.
Let your jaw soften.
Step 3: Set the tone
As you breathe, quietly ask yourself:
-
How do I want to feel in this moment?
-
How do I want others to feel around me?
-
What is the ideal outcome?
There’s no need to force answers. Let them arise naturally.
Step 4: Anchor
Choose a simple word, phrase, or feeling to pair with the scent.
Examples:
-
Calm and clear
-
Grounded and open
-
Present and kind
Use the same phrase each time.
Then step into the moment.
How this ritual changes how you show up
Instead of walking into moments rushed or distracted, you arrive:
-
more grounded
-
more present
-
more intentional
-
less reactive
You’re no longer letting the meeting—or the moment—set the tone for you.
You’ve already set it.
A small ritual with a lasting impact
The most meaningful shifts don’t come from doing more.
They come from pausing—just long enough—to choose how you want to be.
The Set the Tone Ritual is a reminder that presence is a practice, not a personality trait. And scent can be one of the simplest ways to return to it.
One breath.
One intention.
One grounded moment at a time.
Leave a comment