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How Does Hypnosis Work? Whatever definition they may prefer, most authorities agree that "all hypnosis is self-hypnosis". If all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, the person we call the hypnotist might more accurately be called a "hypnotic guide" - one who guides the client into the state called hypnosis, and who then teaches the client to use natural abilities (that we all possess) to change the way he or she feels, thinks, or behaves, in order to resolve normal problems of living. In this context, the way hypnosis functions can be described as a temporary change in the relationship between our conscious and our subconscious minds. Our conscious minds are very concerned with reason and logic, and what we think of as "reality". That's an important job, and normally we depend on it. Our subconscious minds are concerned with perceptions, and feelings, and imagination. This too is an important job, one that goes on all the time, even while we're sound asleep. Our conscious minds are usually in charge - in the driver's seat, so to speak. While we are in hypnosis, our subconscious minds are in charge. Our conscious minds don't go to sleep - they simply take a back seat and suspend their usual tasks of judging and criticizing. Your subconscious mind is amazingly powerful. When you are in hypnosis, your imagination is no longer restricted by your conscious mind's ideas about reality - you'll be able to look at things in new ways. Some very desirable positive changes that you sincerely want to make in you life, that might have seemed difficult or impossible, now seem possible and achievable. And you retain those positive feelings when you come out of hypnosis.