Hypnosis is defined as a state of mind where the body is more reactive to suggestions than in normal conditions. When under hypnosis, one narrows his or her attention to one subject or object. Everyone in the world has experienced hypnosis many times. Some examples are daydreaming and not realizing other events happening, being engrossed in a book or a movie, or getting lost in thoughts while driving and missing an exit (Alman 7). One also experiences hypnosis just before falling asleep at night and again before becoming fully awake in the morning (Basic Information 1).

Even though everyone experiences hypnosis at least twice daily, it is not a highly understood subject by most. To fully understand how hypnosis works, one has to understand the four different activity levels of the human mind. The first level is called beta. In beta the mind is in complete consciousness. Approxi

Throughout the 1900's hypnotism has taken great strides and has become better known to the public. Interest especially increased after World War I and World War II when doctors found out that it was useful for treating soldiers with repressed memories of traumatic battle situations. By using hypnosis, the soldiers could recall various tragic situations in their minds, relive them, and slowly improve. In the United States, the Society of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis was founded in 1949. It included scientists and physicians that were interested in researching hypnosis. In 1958 the Medical Association and the American Dental Association finally decided that hypnotism was an acceptable form of treatment (Phelps 4). Since then it has been taught in medical school, and it has been used as a treatment for all psychosomatic illnesses. Use of hypnotism in surgery has also increased so that less or no anesthetic has to be administered (Guyonnaud 22).

There are many ways in which hypnosis can be used in the classroom. Hypnosis helps to speed up the learning process, and it can stabilize an emotionally insecure student. As with prison inmates, hypnosis can help students gain self-confidence and learn more sufficiently. There is a three step process of how hypnosis can be used to help teach that is described in Rachel Copelan's How to Hypnotize Yourself and Others. In the first step, the material is read, and the teacher answers any questions about it. Next the students are put under a light hypnotic trance and read the material again. They then are brought out of hypnosis, and the third step is to have the students recall major points of the material. Hypnosis can also be used with students that have learning disabilities, speech problems, and with students that have low self-esteem (Copelan 195-203).

No one knows the exact time hypnosis developed, but it is believed that it was first used by religious leaders, witch doctors, medicine men, and shamans. People in ancient Egypt and Greece used it for healing and curing disease (Goldberg 10). One of the first known people to experiment with hypnosis was Father Gassner, a clergyman in the early 1770's. In those days the belief was that if someone was ill, they were possessed by devils. To become well again, the devils would have to be cast out of the body. When a patient was ill, they would be placed in the center of a room to wait for Father Gassner. He would suddenly appear in a black flowing cape, holding a gold crucifix up in the air. He would then tell the patient that when he or she was touched by the crucifix, they would fall to the floor and "die." During the time the patient was on the floor, Father Gassner would cast the devils out of their body, and they would awaken in normal health. Father Gassner was responsible for introducing hypnosis to the medical profession (Bryan 2-3).

Another important question about hypnosis concerns who can be hypnotized. It used to be thought that people who were feeble-minded or mentally ill were the only ones able to be hypnotized. But studies over the years have shown that hypnotizablity (the ability to experience hypnosis) is not related to intelligence or mental health. Hypnotizablity seems to be correlated with "the capacity for imaginative absorption and the capacity for dissociation" (Barber 4). People who are extremely imaginative and able to block out their surroundings are the most susceptible to hypnosis, but exceptions do occur. Even people who believe that they cannot be hypnotized can be brought under the hypnotic trance if there is appropriate motivation (Barber 5). The following formula can be used to describe hypnosis: belief + misdirected attention + expectation = hypnosis (Goldberg 19).

Other myths about hypnosis are that a person can get stuck in a hypnotic trance, that a person will not remember what happened during hypnosis, or that a person will do or reveal anything suggested w

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