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HYPNOSIS
Ever since Anton Mesmer (1775) stumbled upon a way to put people into an altered state of consciousness, the mystery of what it is and how it is accomplished has fascinated people. So many myths exist about this simple technique that people have come to believe it is akin to turning people into either will-less zombies who would, at someone's command, do harm or turn someone into a clucking chicken. It's time to begin to set the record straight. Mesmer (thus the word "mesmerize) wasn't the only one who believed that by simple eye and/or environment manipulation you could achieve a state of relaxation and willingness on the part of a patient/subject.
Along with Mesmer were such famous names as Charcot (who taught Freud hypnosis), his associate Janet and in the United States one of the most famous practitioners was Dr. Milton Erickson (YouTube - Dr. Milton Erickson Master Hypnotist). Erickson, who had been paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, decided that he would learn to move his fingers and gradually try to increase this ability to include his hands and arms. His method, one of the most interesting, depends on stories that are created specifically for the person. There are no hypnodisks, no swinging watches or even touching of the person. It's a handsfree, totally mental activity and anyone can use it, anytime they wish. There's no loss of control, no unconscious trance state and it's something anyone can do and it is totally subject to their will, not anyone else's. Of course, people who want to believe as well as children, who are highly impressionable, may exhibit something akin to a trance state. Freud, it's said, gave up hypnosis when one of his female patients suddenly showed a more-than-patientlike interest in him and he found hypnosis too "dangerous" for him to continue with it. Want to hear Freud talk about his work? Try this link: http://www.freud-museum.at/freud/media/video-e.htm or listen to him at http://vodpod.com/watch/44656-sigmund-freud-on-the-bbc-1938-brief-audio-clip?pod=pompeuorg. Here's another: http://vodpod.com/watch/1467687-sigmund-freud (51 minutes, so it's long). Unfortunately, they don't have anything where he talks about his beliefs regarding hypnosis, but it's interesting to see the actual man and hear some of his thoughts on his work.
Question: Have you ever been hypnotized? Yes, you have whether you know it or not and it happens, I will bet, almost every day of your life. Ever drop off into a daydreaming state? Do you take the same car or bus or train route someplace each day? Ever notice how all you remember is getting on the train and suddenly you're at your destination? Hypnosis. Over-the-road truck drivers have this problem because of the white line on the road in front of them. The monotony of the ride can lead to a lulling into a dreamlike state and that's when accidents happen. For that reason, it's especially important to keep some sort of stimulation going like a radio station that plays news or weather.
The mind craves stimulation and when you don't provide it, it will react in the only way it knows; daydreaming to provide some stimulation that excludes the external environment.