Hypnosis is not a closely held secret mastered by Las Vegas stage shows. Hypnosis is a simple state of mind that you make use of every day. After reading the next few paragraphs, I think you'll see what I mean.

Hypnosis is NOT a secret power. It's NOT a special Jedi mind state. It's just the method your mind uses to access your emotions, memories, and learned behaviors. It generally feels relaxing, mellow and focused. But, can also feel distracting, angry, stressed, and depressed. That depends on your current mental state.

Hypnosis is used on most of us very effectively by politicians, and advertising executives. And used poorly by most "pre-owned" car salesman. And yes, it's used on you by friends and family. And yes, you use it on them too.

When you first meet someone you like and smile at them, that is you attempting to manipulate a smile from them. Maybe your response to the previous sentence is "I smile because I'm happy". You smile because you're happy and want others to respond by being happy. And if someone doesn't smile back, aren't you slightly offended or put-off? Probably. A smile helps increase the odds that the other person will remember you with good emotions attached to the memory. Sounds complicated until you start seeing how common it is.

The popular cola drink advertisement shows video that stimulates feelings of happiness, satisfaction, and companionship. People want to feel good and this ad's emotion combined with repetitive exposure to the images will tend to make you think of that brand with good feelings. When you next see that brand of cola in the store, how do you immediately feel? Below the surface of your thinking? It may only be a subtle feeling, but it's there. That's emotional association at work.

This is evident in all aspects of your life. Your mind began collecting these associations soon after you were born. It is the same for all of us. Of course, it is common sense, but we don't always realize how powerfully it influences our behaviors and choices.

The stronger the emotion is, the stronger the association. The stronger the association is, the more vivid the memory. The more vivid the memory, the more real it is to your mind and more influence it has on your behavior. Your mind does not have a real concept of time passing. What it sees in your imagination, or memory, it believes. At least, most of the time.

So, take this concept and apply it to someone with PTSD, or depression. Apply it to that person you know that can't quite quit smoking or has a favorite comfort food. Apply it to your driving habits, your eating habits, and your stress level. At the risk of being boring, I'll stop the examples and assume you get it.

Seeing this process in action and understanding the concept can give you a big step forward in changing your habits. Sometimes you can do it on your own. Sometimes it's easier to use help. Find a professional hypnotist you can trust and use them. That's their job.