Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness where both the conscious and subconscious levels of the mind can be communicated with together and focused on achieving the same goals.
What this means in simpler terms is that hypnosis is a state of mind that allows a person to make changes in the way their unconscious mind thinks. This is useful for breaking bad habits, changing ineffective behaviour patterns and rapid learning.
The sub-conscious is the part of your mind that works behind the scenes to perform automatic tasks like breathing, digestion, sleep. This part of your mind also works to protect you from real or PERCEIVED harm.
When you are in danger (real or imaginary) your sub-conscious produces adrenalin and pushes you towards actions. The main purposes of the sub-conscious mind are to protect you from harm, and accomplish the tasks you set for it.
Ultimately, your subconscious mind is your reactive mind. Any time you are reacting to a situation your subconscious mind is providing the responses.
Your subconscious mind is similiar to a computer that has been programmed by the events in your life. When you are awake and alert, your conscious mind filters events, situations and concepts and decides what is true or real and what is false or wrong. This filter is called the Critical factor.
During times of great emotional or physical trauma, the conscious minds critical factor is lowered. When this happens, your sub-conscious mind absorbs everything that is going on around you as truth. This is further complicated by the rules of the subconscious mind.
The subconscious mind takes everything literally. When the critical factor is lowered seemingly harmless phrases become imbedded in the subconscious mind as beliefs or instructions. Hypnosis is a very effective technique for finding and removing beliefs based on poor or insufficient information.