I'd love to ask for your insight wonderful dwellers of the Dharma Overground!

Do you label your intentions when on the cushion? 

For example I've seen people say on here: 'I'm aiming for stream entry on this retreat'

But then wouldn't this intention would be colouring our behaviour and thoughts?

Compared to entering into meditation with no intention at all but to practice meditation. Would that be a more streamlined effective meditation?

Or does it all come down to whatever we have as our intention for the meditation basically becomes what we get from it?

e.g As you wanted less stress you'll get less stress. You were looking for stream entry you got stream entry.


Please discuss

At least once a day, usually my first sitting or I might do it on every sit I do the following.

1. Picture my goal (Im simply aiming for Becoming a Buddha) - It is a reminder and motivator to sit.
2. State my mission statement for the sitting. Set my intention to Sense every start and ending of both in and out breath, Set my intention to label every districation that takes over most of my focus(or all of it).. etc.. like this. (this is basically my intention just to practice)
3. Expectations - remind myself that it often is pretty pointless to expect something in a sitting. I might expect a shitty sitting and its great, or the inverse. So remind myself that it is doing 2. that is important.
4. Dilligence - remind myself that to always revert to the breath and remember 2.
5. Monkey - what stuff in life can cause additional disturbances?
6. Style - adjust one final time how i Sit.

This by the way is how Culadasa describes a nice entry to every sitting. I like it so do it

Imho: At least from a noobs perspective as I am, every sitting will have an intention to it, I set my goal far ahead, so every sitting will not be a dissapointment as such and every step forward a motivation, that intention should be how you practice and to do that well. The goal will however hopefully remind me in the future that stuff like Jhanas are nothing but a tool to forther progress .

All disclamers added. There are way more advanced people here

@OP:  Ideally there is a solid separation between intentional methods and Vipassana.  One sets an intention and then consciously releases it before practice, and then does choiceless awareness of all arising (including intention) during practice.  When done in this order, noticing the coloring of intention during practice is actually part of the magick set by that intention before practice.