Though a subject under hypnosis does appear to take on the characteristics of somebody sleeping, they are in reality quite aware. Hypnosis is pretty hard to define, as nobody actually knows what is taking place inside the mind of a subject put under hypnosis. What we do know is that while in hypnosis the subject becomes truly suggestible. A subject`s attention, whilst they are going into trance state, is narrowed down slowly. Firstly, the sense of sight is lost as the hypnotic subject is requested to close their eyes. After a little while it is not unusual for the subject to lose total awareness of their body. Even though one by one the senses are gradually slipping away, one sense is seriously enhanced by the process of induction. This is the sense of hearing. A hypnotized subject can repeatedly hear isolated sounds that they would not be able to hear in the typical waking state. This, certainly, means that through the whole process the subject is able to hear all that the hypnotist may say. When you begin inducing hypnosis in people you will often find that after awakening the hypnotic subject, they will think they could not have been hypnotized as they could still hear your voice. The mistaken belief that they won`t be able to hear your voice regularly comes from those persons who consider hypnosis to be similar to sleep.

A person in the trance state is so susceptible to suggestion. One of the main reasons for this is that, whilst in the trance, you are only able to focus on only one thing at a time. For instance, if I were to tell you that you are a pretty ballerina, you would straightaway compare this suggestion with what you already know to be authentic, and, lest of course you are a ballerina, you would tell me I am talking nonsense. The hypnotised subject though is not able to entertain the thought that they might not be what I have suggested, as their limited attention is taken up by the thought that they are in fact a graceful ballerina. The result, as desired, ends in the subject leaping to their feet to execute a series of pirouettes across the stage.

The human mind is divided into two exceedingly diverse areas. The conscious mind, which is responsible for all our conscious thoughts and decisions, and the subconscious mind, which controls 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 form of protector; it looks after our body and helps us to persist.

Even though our subconscious can do numeroustasks that consciously might be unviable, it also has one astonishingly rudimentary feature. Somewhere between our two minds is what we call the critical factor. This is undoubtedly best described as a door, at which is a keeper. Our subconscious mind will process anything that enters it no matter how odd. So, as long as you can push a suggestion through the door it will be obeyed. This is indeed the reason why hypnosis works. The guardian's door can be thoughtlessly opened while we are under hypnosis.