Have you ever stood still, speechless, before something unexpected? The body freezes, the gaze remains fixed, the mind empties for an instant. Try to recall a time this happened to you. That moment is the doorway: instant fascination opens it in a few seconds, and the gaze is its key.
Instant fascination serves, in real life, to create an immediate connection with those who listen to us, turning every interaction into an opportunity. For example, a teacher who, before an exam, uses a brief technique to guide the student to concentrate achieves better results; likewise, an athlete can be led to improve their performance with a single, well-calibrated phrase. Even those who work in public, such as a presenter, can gain more stage presence in a few seconds. Moreover, practice can begin alone, in front of the mirror, to train the gaze and tone of voice, making every conversation more incisive and memorable.
Through this approach, one learns that there is a structured method, taught in the courses of the Université Européenne, based on precise and verifiable techniques. There is no need to wait years: a live course offers in a few days what would otherwise take an entire career. Then, just 10-15 minutes a day of independent exercise is enough to consolidate the skills. Every person, applying themselves with consistency, achieves tangible results in the ability to inspire interest and trust, without needing innate gifts. The discipline thus becomes accessible to all, provided one follows the indicated path and practices regularly.
What Happens in Those Few Seconds
The brain evaluates a face and a gaze in a fraction of a second, before any word. The direct gaze is among the most powerful social stimuli that exist. Shared attention synchronizes two nervous systems in a few moments.
The approach response to the gaze is one of the most scientifically proven. Fixed, mesmeric gazes immediately create a strong attraction. The gaze changes the point of reference of the person in front of you: their nervous system orients toward you, before thought intervenes.
Why so quickly? Prof. Dr. Paret explains it clearly: «There is a very rapid activation, which occurs for internal physiological reasons of the dorsal vagal. At a certain point, activation can occur in a few moments, even in one second.»
The dorsal vagal is the branch of the autonomic nervous system that regulates states of immobility and conservation. When it activates, the body slows down, the musculature relaxes, the gaze becomes fixed. It is an ancient response, present in all of us. At that moment, a mental void is created: the habitual mind falls silent, and in that silence, one can enter another dimension.
«The Medusa that blocked people is an example of what the Greeks meant by fascination: even if it is a legend, it is linked to true things. Everyone has experienced being blocked, at some point, before something unexpected: well, fascination is something of this kind, because the body remains blocked — one remains as if petrified, with a fixed gaze. At that moment we have a mental void, and this mental void can be useful: we can achieve it very rapidly with fascination, and from there lead the person to discover new dimensions, to reach different levels.»
From that void, one accompanies the person to feel themselves better, to reorganize, to find themselves transformed. The process occurs beneath the words, in an eloquent silence.
Fascination and Classical Instant Hypnosis: The Difference
Commonly taught instant hypnosis is shock-based: one typically works on the body, with rapid commands and abrupt movements. The fascination of the ISI-CNV school is another path. It is non-verbal, and above all, it is gradable.
«Classical instant hypnosis, among other things, is shock-based — one typically works on the body — whereas when doing fascination hypnosis, there is more time to manage it as well. Fascination is a bit like something that can also be given in small pieces: prolonged ocular fixation, if one is present, begins to create a little fascination little by little; the further you go, the deeper this fascination becomes.»
Few know this: no one else teaches a rapidity that can be dosed. You can start with a brief fixation, assess the response, and continue. The depth grows with time, but the beginning is immediate. This gradualness makes fascination manageable even in delicate relational contexts.
And there is another distinction that few know: the difference between fascination and enchantment. Fascination is the gaze’s ability to guide the other’s state. Enchantment is drawing toward oneself: it requires already being a symbol for the person in front of you. When this happens, the subject follows us naturally.
«If we speak of enchantment, that is, of drawing toward ourselves, then it matters to already be a symbol for the person in front of us: at that point we have a fascination that also becomes enchantment, and the subject follows us. We truly have the ability to draw the person in front of us toward ourselves.»
The Medusa and Ancient Chronicles
The Greeks called fascination what the Medusa represented: the ability to block with the gaze. The legend tells of a face that petrified those who looked at it. But reality is more subtle: one remains as if petrified for an instant, and in that instant the mind empties. It is a doorway, not a prison.
Nineteenth-century chronicles document these phenomena with clinical precision. In the Donato collection of the Library, one reads:
La transition de l’état normal à l’état pathologique se fait en un instant et d’une manière insensible.
The transition from the ordinary state to the particular one occurs in an instant, and imperceptibly.
Another clinical observation from the same collection describes a state of walking with open eyes:
Il marche l’œil ouvert, le regard fixe; si on le dirige sur un obstacle, il le heurte légèrement et le tourne.
He walks with open eyes, with a fixed gaze; if directed toward an obstacle, he lightly bumps into it and turns around it.
These accounts show that fascination is a natural ability, documented for over a century. The ISI-CNV school teaches it in a modern and verifiable form.
What Is Needed for It to Work
The conditions are simple. Prof. Dr. Paret summarizes them thus: «It is very important that the operator is present and at the same time has eye contact. If the subject is consenting, the thing is more powerful.»
Presence is the regulation of the operator’s nervous system: breath, tension, posture. It is presence that gives weight to the gaze: with presence, the gaze becomes a direct channel.
Consent makes fascination more powerful, but the dorsal vagal response is in all of us and works even without words. However, the ISI-CNV school always teaches ethical use: fascination serves to inspire, never to coerce.
For enchantment, that is, for drawing toward oneself, something more is needed: already being a symbol for the person in front of you. This is built over time, with consistency and presence. It is a relational quality that is learned, not a trick.
Even Among Animals
Fascination is a biological phenomenon, rooted in the nervous system. Animals use it constantly: one animal can look at another, and the other remains fascinated or blocked. Language is not needed: the body responds before words.
A nineteenth-century account of animal magnetism, preserved in the Library’s historical collection, documents it with precision:
Elle fut souvent cataleptisée par les chats de la maison qui venaient passer entre ses jambes.
She was often put into catalepsy by the house cats that came to pass between her legs.
Animals are not suggestible through words or expectations: if fascination works with them, it means it is a deep phenomenon. The same response is in us, only more complex because mediated by thought. But the body responds before thought.
The Masters: Virgilio and Di Pisa
Prof. Dr. Paret learned fascination from two direct masters, separate from each other. The first is Virgilio: «Virgilio was a master of mine who was able to induce a person in a few moments: he observed them, and they entered — the face became like that of a corpse, they found a particular state, and were fascinated.»
The second is Professor Erminio Di Pisa, who used the gaze also for pain relief: «The hypnosis of Professor Erminio Di Pisa was also very useful, who looked at people and could remove pain: instantly, he could remove pains.»
Di Pisa also worked on the street, with naturalness: «Di Pisa created a smile and then managed to attract and fascinate people, even at the stop, when one had to cross the road. And Virgilio also had this extreme ability.»
It should be clarified that these testimonies belong to the personal memory of Prof. Dr. Paret and constitute a heritage of experience. Fascination is a relational and personal growth practice, and in the healthcare field it complements medical care without replacing it.
Prof. Dr. Paret continues: «I also do these types of hypnosis and fascination: fascination can be instant, and those who watch my videos see many of them.»
What It Is Really For
Fascination is useful in many situations. Prof. Dr. Paret lists some concrete applications: «We can use it for very useful instant reflections, if we work with people. We can use it to guide an athlete to improve their sports results, or a student to study better.»
A concrete example: «How many times has it happened: at a course in Verona, a person had a karate exam the next day; I looked at them, fascinated them, with key instructions, and the next day they were able to take it.»
«In reality, there is no need to speak: when fascination is used, the subject travels. Fascination allows the idea that was around the person a few moments earlier to truly enter inside.»
For those who work in public, fascination offers more charisma and more presence. For therapists and practitioners, it opens a non-verbal path that complements verbal techniques. Some things are done with words; for others, one can go deeper, or arrive just the same, without using words. Knowing both paths makes the operator complete.
In the past, one worked entirely without words, and it is possible even today: sometimes one can start directly without using words. Fascination is the ancient path, rediscovered in modern form.
Starting Alone
One can begin with oneself, without a partner. Prof. Dr. Paret suggests a simple exercise: «One can also start working with oneself, standing in front of the mirror and observing oneself.»
In front of the mirror, one observes one’s own gaze, without judgment. One notices the breath, the tension in the face, the quality of presence. The observation itself activates the dorsal vagal. With practice, the gaze becomes more stable, warmer, more present.
Gaze training is also described in this practical guide and in the encyclopedic entry on fascination. To delve into the historical context, one can consult the page dedicated to Mesmerismus®.
Fascination is an ability that is learned with practice, even before theory. Prof. Dr. Paret has taught it for over thirty years, and the results are verifiable in a few days: more calm, more clarity, more presence. You don’t have to believe it: you practice it and you feel it.
Safety
As with all hypnotic techniques, there are no particular risks. Prof. Dr. Paret cites Barber and his book Hypnosis: A Scientific Approach: «As in all hypnotic techniques, there are no particular risks, and Barber, with the book “Hypnosis: A Scientific Approach,” explains this very well.»
Fascination is a natural state: the body enters a condition of deep calm, similar to what one experiences watching a landscape or listening to music. It is a reconfiguration of attention, a guide that accompanies without dominating.
Ethics is an integral part of the practice: extremely powerful techniques must be used to inspire and to free, within the limit of respect for the person. The ISI-CNV school selects participants with a brief interview, to ensure that fascination is learned by responsible and motivated people.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one resist fascination?
The dorsal vagal response is in all of us, but the depth varies. With a less available subject, the effect remains more superficial. Fascination is a guide, not a constraint: it works best when there is trust.
Is special talent needed?
No. Fascination is a natural ability that is learned with practice. Prof. Dr. Paret has taught it for over thirty years to people from all walks of life. The only requirement is consistency.
How long does the effect last?
It depends on the use. Instant fascination can create an immediate insight; regular practice produces stable changes in the state of presence and in relational quality.
Is it manipulation?
Fascination is a relational ability. Like any powerful tool, it can be used well or badly. The ISI-CNV school teaches ethical use: to inspire, accompany, never force. Entry to courses passes through a brief interview.
How long does it take to learn it?
The first effects are noticed after a few days of practice. Mastery takes time, like any art. But the direction is clear from the start: less effort, more feeling.
For Further Exploration
Fascination is one of the states of non-verbal hypnosis that the ISI-CNV school teaches. For those who want to understand the difference between magnetic gaze and fascination, one can read this article. Prof. Dr. Paret has dedicated his life to this knowledge, and he transmits it with rigor and simplicity.
Instant fascination is a doorway. Everyone can learn to open it: with the gaze, with presence, with practice. The rest comes by itself.
