Definitive Definition

In researching Ellie's Favorite Five, I end up spending a great amount of time on my fellow hypnotists web sites. It is a rather enjoyable occupation, if you ask me. I love exploring how we all define the hypnotic experience, so I thought periodically I would share some of these definitions with you.

This first one is not from a hypnosis site, actually. It is from The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Dictionary of Medical Terms (I was there for other research needs).

Hypnosis:

A trance-like state in which a person becomes more aware and focused and is more open to suggestion.

I find this particularly interesting because of the usage of the word "trance-like." This is a historical (I actually mistyped that as hysterical, whoops) debate among those practicing hypnosis - is there such a thing as trance? I guess using the word "trance-like" allows room for either.

As always, your opinion is appreciated.

Click here to view my definition.