Understand hypnosis.
Experience trance.
Practice the art.

Absolutely. I’ve watched people experience things under hypnosis that often surprise them once they become aware of what they’ve done or how much time has passed. It isn’t magic or mind control, but the effects can be very real.

The truth is, everyone experiences trance differently.  Some people feel deeply relaxed and heavy, while others feel like they are floating. Some people don’t feel  much at all, but that is sometimes because they aren’t really aware of what’s happening or don’t understand it. The only way for you to really know how it feels, is to experience it for yourself.

The way I like to think of it is this… you aren’t giving up control (as you might expect from most hollywood movies), but rather shifting control and from the conscious mind to the subconscious.  All that means is… we are allowing the part of our mind that’s in control when we are dreaming to come forward, while our normal consciousness gets to lean back and take a break for a bit.

No. Even in a deep trance, you still maintain a level of control over yourself. No one can simply make you do something you truly don’t want to do even when deeply Hypnotized. Our minds are instinctually very good at protecting us when something feels wrong, unsafe, or goes against our boundaries. That ability to remain in control of your own choices, even in hypnosis, is part of a concept called Agency.

In my experience, people are often very easily hypnotized, as long as they want to be. The biggest mistake I see beginners make is trying to understand what is going on while it is happening.  This usually causes the brain to split its focus between listening to the hypnotist and analyzing everything going on.  This often becomes too distracting and dropping into trance starts to feel impossible.  Hypnosis is one of the few things in life where less effort makes it easier.