Though a subject under hypnosis appears to take on the peculiarity of somebody asleep, they are in reality very alert. Hypnosis is extremely hard to illustrate, as nobody truly knows what is happening inside the mind of a subject put under hypnosis. What we do know is that whilst in hypnosis the subject becomes truly suggestible. A subject`s attention, while they are going into trance state, is narrowed down bit by bit. Firstly, the sense of sight is lost as the hypnotic subject is required to close their eyes. After a while it is not surprising for the subject to lose full awareness of their body. Though one by one the senses are gradually slipping away, one sense is to a great extent amplified by the process of induction. This is the sense of hearing. A hypnotized subject can regularly hear obscure sounds that they wouldn`t be able to hear in the natural waking state. This, evidently, means that during the course of the whole process the subject is able to hear all the things that the hypnotist might suggest. When you initiate to induce trance state in people you will frequently find that after awakening the hypnotic subject, they will consider they could not have been hypnotized as they could still hear your voice. The misapprehension that they won`t be able to hear your voice often comes from those people who think hypnosis to be similar to sleep.

A person in the hypnosis state is exceedingly suggestible. One of the main reasons for this is that, whilst in the hypnotic state, you are only able to concentrate on just one thing at a time. For example, if I were to tell you that you are a pretty ballerina, you would instantaneously compare this hypnotic suggestion with what you already know to be genuine, and, lest 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 concentration is taken up by the thought that they are actually a graceful ballerina. The result, as desired, ends in the subject jumping to their feet to carry out a series of pirouettes across the stage.

The human mind is split into two so different areas. The conscious mind, which is responsible for all our conscious thoughts and decisions, and the subconscious mind, which monitors our autonomous activity. The mind can be best thought of as a computer, the subconscious as the processor and the conscious as the monitor and keyboard. Our subconscious mind is a kind of protector; it secures our body and helps us to stay alive.

Although our subconscious can do a lot oftasks that consciously may be impossible, it also has one astonishingly plain feature. Somewhere between our two minds is what we call the critical factor. This is most likely best depicted as a door, at which is a keeper. Our subconscious mind will process anything that enters it no matter how peculiar. So, as long as you can push a suggestion through the door it will be adhered to. This is exactly why hypnosis works. The guardian's door can be thoughtlessly opened while we are under hypnosis.