It's a strange and common feeling: you’re looking right at someone, but you see something else entirely. Your eyes are open, but the movie playing in your mind is more vivid than the world in front of you. This is the essence of a trance, a state of perception we all enter and exit countless times a day. It is the mental equivalent of tuning a radio, shifting our focus from one signal to another.

Our brains process information in two fundamental ways. The first is through our senses: we see, hear, and feel the world around us. These external signals are sent to our brain’s analyzer. But the brain can also produce its own information—memories, daydreams, and worries—and send that to the analyzer instead. Think of it like a camera; you can look through the eyepiece to see what the lens is pointed at, or you can hit playback and watch what’s stored on the memory card. A trance occurs when the internal playback becomes brighter and more compelling than the live feed.

The Inner Screen and the Outer World

Consider this: you're sitting in a lecture, your eyes fixed on the speaker. But where is your mind? Suddenly, it's not in the room at all. It's replaying an unpleasant memory from the morning commute. Your eyes see the lecturer, but your mind’s eye sees something else entirely. The internal process has become brighter than the external one. This is a visual trance.

Or perhaps you’re at home, watching television, when a news report on the kitchen radio catches your attention. Though the TV is much louder, your brain selectively tunes into the quieter sound, filtering everything else out. This is an auditory trance, where your mind’s ear is listening to an internal priority, not simply the loudest noise.

These states can also be kinesthetic. Imagine carrying a heavy bag, its handle digging into your hand. Then, a friend begins to tell you a captivating story. In that moment, the discomfort from the bag fades. The bag isn’t any lighter, but your brain is no longer analyzing the sensation of pain; it is engrossed in the narrative. You have disconnected from the physical feeling.

When these states—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—converge, and a person’s inner experience almost completely overrides the signals from their senses, we enter a state of hypnosis.

The Power of Suggestion

This focused state is not just for daydreams. It is a powerful tool for change because it allows us to bypass the constant chatter of our critical, analytical mind. Normally, when presented with a new idea, especially one that challenges our habits, our conscious mind acts as a lazy gatekeeper. It finds reasons not to change, to preserve energy and stick with what is familiar.

In a state of hypnosis, however, this critical faculty is inhibited. The associative areas of the brain that would normally argue, debate, and dismiss new information are quieted. A new idea, a helpful suggestion, is no longer a fleeting note that can be erased by our internal critic. Instead, it becomes like a stone slab laid directly into the foundation of our thinking, where it can form a new belief.

The influence of this state can even persist after the trance has ended. This phenomenon is known as a post-hypnotic suggestion. A person can be instructed during a session to perform a simple, harmless action afterward. It is fascinating to watch the logical mind then work backward, constructing elaborate and perfectly reasonable justifications for an action whose true motive lies much deeper, in a suggestion it no longer consciously remembers.

Healing and Reframing the Past

This deep focus is incredibly effective in therapy, especially when dealing with experiences the conscious mind has walled off. In cases of amnesia following a traumatic event, for example, the person unconsciously believes it is dangerous to remember. Hypnosis can create a safe and focused channel to access and process that information without the overwhelming fear.

It is also a key to resolving psychosomatic issues, where unconscious attitudes and past traumas manifest as physical ailments. By working with those memories and the emotional connections we've formed, we can untangle the knots that tie a past event to a present-day physical reaction.

This is why, when a couple on the brink of divorce only sees the negative in each other, a therapist might guide them back to their earliest memories together. In their current trance of negativity, they have forgotten the good. By prompting them to remember what brought them together, a shift occurs. Suddenly, they recall the feelings they thought were lost because, for a moment, they are freed from the trance of conflict and see what they once saw. They remember what they chose to forget.

A Parent's Gentle Influence

Perhaps the most natural and profound example of this state occurs every night in homes around the world. When a parent reads a fairytale to a child who is drifting off to sleep, a unique channel of connection—a rapport—is formed. The child’s analytical mind is resting, and the parent’s voice is the primary signal being received.

This is a precious opportunity. As the story ends and the child sleeps, the parent can continue speaking, offering gentle, positive suggestions. Phrases like, “You are confident and strong,” “You learn things easily,” “You are kind,” and “You will wake up feeling rested and happy,” enter the child's mind without resistance. They are not subjected to doubt or discussion. They are planted in the fertile ground of the subconscious, where they can powerfully influence the child’s development, confidence, and well-being. The only rule is to avoid negatives; instead of saying, “You won’t be afraid,” one might say, “You are brave and can handle any challenge.”

The power of these states is a testament to a fundamental truth: we do not see the world as it is; we see it as we are. Our perception is a creative act, and by understanding the mechanics of our own focus, we gain the ability to consciously direct it toward a better, healthier inner reality.

References

• Oakley, D. A., & Halligan, P. W. (2008). Hypnosis and the Brain. In M. R. Nash & A. J. Barnier (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 437–460). Oxford University Press.
  This chapter explores the neurological underpinnings of hypnosis, discussing how brain activity changes during a hypnotic state. It provides a scientific basis for the article's discussion of how the brain can 'disconnect' from external stimuli and focus inward, particularly regarding the role of focused attention and the blocking of critical analysis.
• Rosen, S. (Ed.). (1982). My Voice Will Go with You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson. W. W. Norton & Company.
  This collection of teaching tales from the renowned hypnotherapist Milton H. Erickson illustrates the power of indirect suggestion, metaphor, and storytelling in a therapeutic context. It directly supports the article's emphasis on narrative—such as the parent's fairytale—as a powerful vehicle for implanting positive suggestions and facilitating profound psychological change, bypassing the conscious critical faculty.