Although a hypnotized subject seems to take on the features of a person sleeping, they are in fact very alert. Hypnosis is exceedingly tricky to describe, as nobody essentially knows what is going on inside the mind of a subject put under hypnosis. What we do know is that while in trance state the hypnotic subject becomes very suggestible. A subject`s attention, whilst they are going into hypnosis, is narrowed down steadily. Firstly, the sense of sight is lost as the subject is told to close their eyes. After some time it is not unusual for the hypnotic subject to lose absolute awareness of their body. Even though one by one the senses are bit by bit slipping away, one sense is significantly amplified by the process of induction. This is the sense of hearing. A subject under hypnosis can repeatedly hear faraway sounds that they wouldn`t be able to hear in the typical waking state. This, certainly, means that through the whole process the subject can easily hear all the things that the hypnotist might suggest. When you begin to induce hypnosis in people you will often find that upon awakening the subject, they will believe they could not have been hypnotized as they could still hear your voice. The delusion that they will not be able to hear your voice frequently comes from those people who suppose hypnosis to be like sleep.

A person in the trance state is extremely suggestible. One of the reasons for this is that, whilst in the hypnotic state, you are only able to concentrate on just one thing at a time. For instance, if I were to tell you that you are a delicate ballerina, you would instantly compare this suggestion with what you already know to be authentic, and, unless of course you are a ballerina, you would tell me I am talking nonsense. The hypnotised subject then again is not able to entertain the thought that they may not be what I have suggested, as their restricted awareness is taken up by the thought that they are actually a pretty ballerina. The effect, as desired, ends in the subject leaping to their feet to carry out a series of pirouettes across the stage.

The human mind is split into two truly different areas. The conscious mind, which is responsible for all our conscious thoughts and decisions, and the subconscious mind, which organizes our autonomous activity. The mind can be best called a computer, the subconscious as the processor and the conscious as the monitor and keyboard. Our subconscious mind is a sort of keeper; it watches over our body and helps us to persist.

Though our subconscious can do voluminoustasks that consciously might be impossible, it also has one astonishingly rudimentary characteristic. Somewhere between our two minds is what we call the critical factor. This is most likely best described as a door, at which is a guardian. Our subconscious mind will process anything that enters it no matter how weird. So, as long as you can push a suggestion through the door it will be accepted. This is exactly why hypnosis works. The guardian's door can be thoughtlessly opened while we are under hypnosis.

Milos Pesic is a professional hypnotist who runs a highly popular and comprehensive
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Tags: sleep, suggestion, sense of sight, senses, induction, hypnosis, hypnotist, hypnotic state, delusion, trance state, bit by bit