Igor: Would you like one more, it’s one of my favorites?
Students: Yes.
Igor: Again, it’s not for the technique but to understand how dissociation can work with the person and how it changes the nature of attention. Do you want to play again? Let’s say this idea of the shield this area on your back and so on, this time I’m going to dissociate it by pulling it away, doing something with it. We’re going to do something slightly different.
What I’d like you to do is called fractioning pain. So you have the sensation in the back, what I want you to do is mentally divide those into two halves.
It’s still the same pain it’s just in two different portions and size. Focus on just one of those for a moment and let the other one drift off wherever.
Now notice the casual suggestion. Did you miss it?
Let’s start again, so you have the shield sensation. Divide it in half, it’s still the same pain it’s just in two different halves. Comforting is minor at that point. I want you to focus on half of that for a moment and let the other one drift wherever it wants to go it doesn’t matter right now. Do you have it?
Student: Got it.
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Hypnotic Pain Control ©Street Hypnosis All Rights Reserved Igor: Do you notice it now? Now, divide that in half again. It’s still that same halfjust in two little bits. Place your attention on one of them and forget about the other one for now. Divide that in half again. Focus on one of those pieces and let the other one go. Divide it again and let it go. Divide it again and let it go, until you’re left with one tiny little piece.
It may be a little tricky to keep the attention but I realize you can do it. I want you to move it from your back all the way to your right shoulder can you do that for me? What has he just done? He’s accepted the fact that we can change the pain, hasn’t he? Now move your shoulder to your elbow and for the next bit just for demonstration purposes, say you can’t do it just so they can see a variation with this.
From your elbow I’d like you to move it to your hand.
Student: It’s not moving.
Igor: No, it’s still in your elbow right? Try this, it’s fun and you’ll enjoy it. Focus on your elbow, you feel that little sensation of discomfort there, focus on your hand and it’s not there yet right? Do you see the method to my madness? Focus on your elbow, focus on your hand; elbow, hand, elbow, hand and there you go. How do you do that?
Student: I don’t know.
Igor: You really don’t know, you know the roles and so on. This will invariably happen because of the presuppositions involved and so on. Here’s the strangest part. You will love this. I would like for you to now, take that piece of sensation whatever you have and move it about six feet out in front of you, wherever you think would be a good place for it to rest.
Leave it there for now.
How’s your shoulder feeling?
Student: It’s gone.
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Hypnotic Pain Control ©Street Hypnosis All Rights Reserved Igor: So there’s another form of dissociation. By fractioning the pain smaller andsmaller, their attention is getting more curious about this whole strained experience. We’re shifting it which is really him accepting the fact that the can shift the pain and move it around his body to prove it to himself that he can move it outside of his body because it’s only a small amount anyway. If he can move that small amount then he can move the whole amount out because it’s not part of him anymore.
You see I’ve dissociated the pain by leaving it on the floor over here. It’s your choice, do you want it back?
Student: I’ll leave it there.
Igor: I think so and that’s exactly what clients will say. It’s a crazy thing to say isn’t it? But that’s exactly how clients respond. Have you ever used this sort of approach?
Student: Yes.
Igor: Would it be fair to say that that’s exactly how clients respond, they pretend that it’s just as real as you pretended it to be?
Student: Yes. I actually have a box that I put the pain into and then I close the box.
Igor: There you go.
Student: That’s how I test is I give them back the box and ask if they want it.
Igor: What do you think they’re communicating at the unconscious level when you say do you want it back and they pull away saying no? They’re telling you that it’s worked. Do you see where we’re going with this? It’s pure dissociation, just another way of getting to that point.