Hypnosis in a Nutshell

The definition of hypnosis is different depending on who you ask, even among skilled hypnotists. The reasons for this is legion, but I think I've found a way to explain hypnosis in a way that anyone can understand.

The main problem with hypnosis is the confusion between the hypnotic process and what is generally thought of as the 'hypnotic state.'


The so-called hypnotic state is just a state where the hypnotic process can be the most effective. It's like that position martial arts experts contrive to get someone into so they can demonstrate their 'talent' -- any 'off-balance' state will do, but the cliche is to get a volunteer to thrust a knife at them, which not only gets the job done in getting them off balance but the outstretched arm also gives the martial art 'expert' an easy handle to use.

The way this position is similar to the hypnotic state is that anyone can throw anyone once they have their opponent in this convenient off-balance position ( which I'm told never happens in a real fight ). Similarly, the hypnotic state it's easy for hypnotists to do what they do, but it's a state that almost never happens in real life except in very specific circumstances.

The hypnotic state is a deep state of suggestibility in which the critical mind has been shut off. It's very similar to a dreaming state where no matter what happens, no matter how strange, you just go along with it; if you are dreaming that you're at home, walk through a door, and suddenly find yourself in a movie theater, well, that's just normal.

What makes the hypnotic state so useful to hypnotists are three things --

1) the subject is passive

2) the subject's critical mind is shut off

3) the subject's imagination is on overdrive

With a subject in this state all a hypnotist has to do is speak a narrative which the subject can passively follow along with.
All forms of experience which require someone to become passive to it are naturally hypnotic. Most forms of entertainment these days are hypnotic in this way -- movies and television are the most hypnotic for the masses, reading books is the most hypnotic -- you probably won't believe it -- for those that make the best hypnotic subjects.

In the days before mass media, the rhythmic beating of a drum and the swaying of movement worked well. The swaying of dance and the swaying of a boat along the waves are equally as hypnotic.
Believe it or not, a roller coaster is a hypnotic device -- it requires it's riders to become passive to it and go along for the ride. 'Keep your hands in the coaster' and 'you must be this tall to take this ride' part of it's induction method.

So, there's the hypnotic state and the process of hypnosis. With the hypnotic state defined as I've defined it here, the hypnotic process is the process of directing someone's experience, and that's about all it really is.