Fascinazione Frazionata — Metodo di Otello Ghigi/en
| ID | tec_fascinazione_frazionata_ghigi
|
|---|---|
| Categoria | fascinazione |
| Prima comparsa | 2016 |
| Corsi | Master IT, Mesmerismus®, Advanced, Ibiuna |
The Fractionated Fascination — Otello Ghigi Method (or Ghigi-Paret method in the international nomenclature) is a hypnotic induction technique by fractionation, derived from the tradition of the Italian fascinator Otello Ghigi, integrated into the Method Paret starting around 2016.
The central principle is the reinduction by alternation of states: the subject is repeatedly brought from passive consciousness (state of hypnotic stretta) to self-awareness (autopensante) and back into the hypnotic state. Each cycle deepens the response level and consolidates the operator-subject rapport.
The Key: Subconsciousness and Unique Relationship
To understand Ghigi's fractionated technique, one must start from his definition of hypnotic sleep:
- "In summary, sleep is the loss of consciousness, a state of subconsciousness, an interruption of nervous and psychic activities, a total or partial relaxation of the functions of relation."
- — Otello Ghigi, Guardami negli occhi
The key word is in the last part: the functions of relation. The hypnotic state is not a total absence: it is the suspension of relations with the external world except with the hypnotist. In the room, before the audience, all steps go in the direction of building this unique and absorbing relationship through the eyes between subject and operator. The subject is not asleep: they are focused.
The Fixation and the Fall: The First Stun
Entry into the state occurs through fixation with the V-shaped fingers:
- "With the fingers, index and middle, of the right hand held in a 'V' shape, the practitioner ensures that the visual cross remains in constant contact and insists on this fixation until the participant, the passive subject, is taken by the first stun and falls like a skittle forward or backward at the practitioner's discretion, who always guides the action with the fingers held in a 'V' shape."
- — Otello Ghigi, Guardami negli occhi
The fall — forward or backward, guided by the operator — is the first visible physical sign of the stretta: the subject has lost their anchor in the external world and falls into the operator's field.
Ghigi's Terminology: Stretta and Autopensante
Ghigi distinguishes two fundamental states that alternate in the technique:
- Stretta: the subject operates under the hypnotist's will. It is the state of passive consciousness, the functions of relation are concentrated on the operator.
- Autopensante: the subject returns to appearing awake, in self-awareness. The mind becomes active and autonomous again, but autosuggestion is not removed.
- "We will call stretta when the subjects operate by the hypnotist's will, autopensante when they return to appearing awake."
- — Otello Ghigi, Guardami negli occhi
The transition from one state to the other and back again is the core of the fractionated technique. As Ghigi warns regarding the risk of losing the subject during the autopensante period:
- "One must carefully keep in mind not to neglect the subjects because, if abandoned, for complex reasons they may have a facilitated conscious recovery."
- — Otello Ghigi, Guardami negli occhi
The autopensante subject is apparently awake but remains in the operator's orbit. The unique relationship is not interrupted: it is momentarily loosened.
The Reinduction Cycle
- Construction of the unique relationship — fixation, exclusive eye contact
- First stun and fall — forward or backward, guided by the operator
- Entry into the stretta — the subject is in passive consciousness
- Actions in the stretta state — responds to suggestions and tests
- Reinduction towards the autopensante — appears awake, responds with their own voice
- Resumption with fixation — re-enter the stretta
- Repetition of the cycle — each cycle deepens and consolidates
Relationship with the Elman Method
The technique presents formal similarities with the famous induction-reduction method of Dave Elman (repeated open/close eyes sequence that generates progressive fatigue of the ocular muscle and rapid induction), but the origin is completely different.
Ghigi comes from the European magnetic tradition: a Venetian fascinator of the early twentieth century, his technique is rooted in Mesmerismus® and continental magnetology, not in American clinical hypnosis. The principle of fractionation unites them operationally. The why and the where from are opposite.
Sources: Otello Ghigi, Stretta Ipnotica; M. Paret, Primi passi nell’ipnomentalismo, 2022.
Adaptation in the Paret Method
In the Paret method, the Ghigi reinduction is adapted to the clinical and didactic context. The awakening with slaps on the cheeks, characteristic of Ghigi's theater, is replaced by more discreet techniques. The principle remains: alternate passive consciousness and self-awareness multiple times to deepen and consolidate the operator-subject rapport.
For developments of the Paret method that go beyond Ghigi — the response to intentions, the primitive mind, communication beyond words — see the article Fascinazione Frazionata — Risposta alle Intenzioni (Metodo Paret).
Courses Where It Is Taught
- Master IT (advanced inductions module)
- Mesmerismus® (rapid techniques week)
- Advanced (day 4: Different Masters: Di Pisa — Lafontaine — Ghigi)
- Ibiuna Advanced (Brazil, simplified Ghigi-Paret version)
Sources
- Otello Ghigi, Guardami negli occhi. Giochidimagia Editore, ISBN 9788897922049. OCR archive ISI-CNV
- Program and Synthesis of the Advanced Course done in Ibiuna (ISI-CNV archive)
- M. Paret, Primi passi nell’ipnomentalismo e nell’ipnofascinazione, 2022