Hypnosis is a state of focused concentration.  When you are relaxed and your concentration is so intense that you are not distracted by outside noises or other stimuli, you are in a light state of hypnosis.  Most of us enter hypnotic states every day, for example, when we are absorbed in a good book or movie, when we have driven our car the last few blocks home without realizing how we got there and whenever we have been on "automatic pilot."

All hypnosis is really self-hypnosis in that the client is in control of the process.  The therapist is merely a guide.  One goal of hypnosis, as well as meditation, is to access the subconscious.  This is the part of our mind that lays beneath ordinary consciousness, beneath the constant bombardment of thoughts, feelings, outside stimuli, and other assaults on our awareness.  The subconscious mind functions at a level deeper than our usual level of awareness.  We experience moments of intuition, wisdom, creativity and insight when these subconscious processes flash into our conscious awareness.  Hypnosis accesses the wisdom of the subconscious in a focused way in order to achieve healing.

We are in hypnosis whenever the usual relationship between the conscious and subconscious mind is reconfigured so that the subconscious plays a more dominant role. Hypnosis can be used to: help release and help heal past trauma; for deep relaxation and stress management; and to help engrain new more productive patterns of behavior.  There is a broad spectrum of hypnotic techniques.  They are designed to tap into various hypnotic states, from light to deep levels.  Examples of hypnotic techniques include:  regression therapy; guided imagery; re-scripting and meditation. RE: Through Time into Healing, by Brian Weiss.