Freely printed from: https://learn.nimja.com/basics/what_is_hypnosis
Because there is a lot of disagreement on what hypnosis exactly is from a scientific perspective, there is no clear answer yet. While we can prove its existence, effects and a lot of how it works, the mechanics behind it are more unclear.
As such, this site will use a definition more related to learning about it rather than a pure definition of what it is.
In short:
With your help we can fill this with more references of what hypnosis is.
A very common state where you have focused attention, reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.
Most people go in and out of trance multiple times throughout the day, a few common examples are:
During trance you are more open to suggestion. This allows you to really absorb yourself into a movie or book, or allows your imagination to accept possibilities more readily.
Imagine being able to play with the infinite possibilities of the human imagination!
A trance is a state of awareness, not sleep. You are still able to process information and respond to outside stimuli to some degree.
However, like sleep, don't do trance/hypnosis while driving or other moments where you need to pay attention to many things.
The process we go through to put someone in a trance. It's sometimes helpful to separate a trance happening on its own from doing it with intent.
Hypnosis comes in many forms. Meditation (for example) is a very common form of self-hypnosis.
Guiding someone through this process can be considered intimate, since they are allowing you to direct a part of their mind. As such, it is very important to cover Informed Consent.