Hello Nexians!
Since many of the people in this section are new, some preparatory advice and discussion seem to be in order!
I am relatively new to DMT but my experiences lead me to believe that there are many ways to ease into the right set:

Teas or beverages - Any herbal teas, green tea, and hot cocoa. Blue lotus, Kava, Valerian root, and Poppy teas seem interesting too.

Relaxing or playful music or binaural beats - Good start. I enjoy classical, minimal/ambient/chillout electronic. Personally nothing beats super chill liquid or atmospheric dnb. Naibu is great, so is Seba. I find this type of music good because it gets you hyped and relaxed at the same time. Then again I've been listening to it for over 10 years so I may be biased.

Methods of meditation/mindfulness - Learning how to be an observer to thoughts and visions instead of being dragged into negative thought patterns or loops.

I'd love to hear any of your special methods so that we may all go forth (or up) into hyperspace with receptive minds. Feel free to include drinks, foods, media, music, oils for aromatherapy diffusion (lemon & lavender are nice), etc. Do you guys enjoy a little alcohol before to loosen up?
I'm especially interested in how you guys meditate since I've always just tried to clear my mind.

My preparation ritual is still in the works & has been growing with each use of brew recently. So far, what I do is as follows:

Clean the room up before hand, lay out all my items for the trip on a table next to the bed. Plate of sliced fruit, bottled water, ash tray, smokes, trash can on the floor in reach.

After that, a hot shower seems to do well to help feel clean & relaxed going in. Meditate & clear the mind for 25-30 minutes.
Smudge with Palo santo & burn incense.

Once the harmalas have been ingested, meditate for 30 minutes, the harmalas & previous meditation work well to induce a deeper meditative state, allowing for one to detach from thought cycles & establish a rhythmic breathing pattern. What works for me is to visualize a pearl in the center of a river. There is trash flowing through the river around the pearl, this is thought cycles, as you get deeper, your center (the pearl) becomes clearer & clearer of the flow of trash, almost as if a protective barrier is expanding outwards, keeping a larger & larger area free of trash.

Next the light containing brew is ingested at 30 min from harmalas, meditation is resumed & from there things get deeper & deeper as time passes, you can feel as the first subtle signs of the light begin to work & see the effect on the mind. Meditation practice continues for the duration of the experience.

Meditating really works--and praying to hyperspace for a positive experience helped immensely for me. I was really afraid the first time I smoked DMT so I prayed to the beings to meet me halfway...I smoked one or two hits and stopped--then a jester popped into view (I actually saw him zipping in from far away like he was coming from hyperspace to see me) and told me to smile.

The entities I met definitely appreciated the positive attitude and showed me a lot of love in return.

I clean house.

I like to smoke some pot before.. some may not like the combo but for me marijuana is a welcome friend on my journey.

I hydrate before.. sucks having a thirsty feeling when in hyperspace. I have some pillow and blankets near for comfort and warmth. Put on some chill music I am in the mood for.

I meditate for as long as it takes to feel calm and ready for the journey.

Thanks for the input so far!
I got myself some of that smudge and it smells amazing.
Glad to see the meditation love. I've been practicing daily, that's some deep visualization though concombres - I'll have to try it.

Haha wow, a jester? That sounds scary nina, but I bet you could sense it had a positive vibe. I haven't tried praying to hyperspace but I'll add it to my list .

I personally can't smoke pot before dmnstr8. It makes me get really anxious and paranoid. In fact, I've been taking a little break from the spice since the combo made me have a really bad trip last time.
Curious about other combinations, though, I think a couple beers could help pre-flight anxiety.

oh man, careful with those beers eugene....I've had too many confusing and overwhelmingly scary journeys due to beer and DMT. I don't like weed and DMT either but to each their own I guess...

I get that one or two can calm the nerves, but some of those entities hate alcohol, at least in my experience. Just don't go in drunk, it is not worth it, trust me....do what you will though, this is just a friendly reminder that a clear mind usually produces the best results.

I find (mind)set prior to blasting off has relatively little effect on the overall experience - it just takes you where it wants to. (I do however cherish that hour post vape and set it aside for meditation.)

Setting on the other hand I find is pretty important. Just make sure you have the right space where no one's going to interrupt, ring you, walk in on you. Wear comfortable clothes, be at a comfortable temperature and find a comfortable place to put yourself.

I never combine DMT and alcohol. Each to their own.

I would highly recommend LSD+DMT combo. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I seemed to retain and recall much more, IMHO.