Self Hypnosis – The Subtle Secret of Fractionation

One of the least applied secrets of self hypnosis is the principle of fractionation.

What is fractionation?

Fractionation is the process of moving in and out of an experience in order to go deeper into the experience.

Most physical trainers know to have their students go into a stretch, then come back out, then go into the stretch a little bit deeper. In many classes (karate, yoga, etc.), this is done a minimum of 3 times to help the student sink deeper into the stretch.

Stretching your mind and your emotions works in a similar way, but in this realm you do not have to be concerned with physical limitations. You can use fractionation to mentally and emotionally stretch yourself as far as you want to go.

Why learn fractionation?

If you want to increase relaxation, focus, emotional intelligence, or any trait, belief, attitude, etc. that is based off your mind or your emotions… one of the quickest, easiest, and safest ways is with fractionation.

If you really want to open up and expand your range of experience, fractionation is one of the best ways to do it.

How can you start to practice fractionation right now?

Fractionation can be done with virtually any emotion or mind-body state, but it is easy (and highly useful) to start with relaxation. Deep relaxation feels good and it brings a powerful level of clarity as well.

1. Find a quiet place where you can sit and relax peacefully.
2. Close your eyes… take deep, slow breaths… and focus in on the relaxation throughout your body. Gently pour all your awareness into the feelings of relaxation. Enjoy the relaxation. State to yourself: “Every time I go into a state of relaxation, I can go even deeper than I went the last time.”
3. Now open your eyes and imagine stepping out of the state for a moment… imagine yourself stepping back from that deep relaxation… imagine yourself observing the deep relaxation and noticing just how deep it is from a 3rd person perspective.
4. Now close your eyes again and step back into the relaxation even deeper, as you breathe deeply and slowly. Notice how much deeper you can now go as opposed to the first time. Remind yourself that every time you go into a state of relaxation, you can go even deeper than you went before.
5. Repeat this as many times as you like. You can spend just a few seconds, or several minutes sinking into relaxation every time you go in, come back out, then go back in a little bit deeper.

There are almost endless ways in which you can practice fractionation everyday. All you have to do is identify the state of mind (or belief, attitude, emotion, etc.) that you want to be able to experience more deeply, then practice stepping in and out of it. As you do, notice how you go a little deeper every time.