Hypnosis may prove to be of far greater consequence than many people -- even many hypnotists -- yet appreciate.
The great physicist (and father of the hydrogen bomb) Edward Teller, in his autobiography Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics, reports a conversation - one which has become iconic among physicists -- he had with Niels Bohr, founder of quantum physics (arguably the greatest scientific breakthrough of the 20th century and perhaps of all time):

"If someone talks about [quantum principles] and does not feel a little dizzy, clearly he does not know what he is talking about," said Bohrs, recalls Teller, who goes on to say "From my first acquaintance with Bohr, I had recognized that there was something unique about him. He described at least part of his unique nature as being 'dizzy,' but his associates agreed that he was 'dizzy' in a particularly ingenious manner." Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics by Edward Teller and Judith Schoolery, Basic Books, 2001. Available from Barnes and Noble and other fine bookstores.

A hallmark of the hypnotic state is its ability to induce the perception of paradoxical phenomena. A classic example of this is when a stage hypnotist tells a subject that he is going to show him the first "square circle" and then allowing the audience the pleasure of watching the subject show profound astonishment at witnessing this breakthrough.

But there's more here, so to speak, than meets the eye. While a stage hypnotist -- or an optical illusion -- may present the sensation of paradoxical reality, science has established that reality, at its utterly foundational level, is founded on paradox. (This is not an April fool. That issue's almost 3 weeks away. This is real. Whatever 'real' means.)
Consider the information contained in a 2005 press release from Your Government:

"BOULDER, Colo. - Scientists at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have coaxed six atoms into spinning together in two opposite directions at the same time, a so-called Schrödinger "cat" state that obeys the unusual laws of quantum physics.

NIST scientists entangled six beryllium ions (charged atoms) so that their nuclei were collectively spinning clockwise and counterclockwise at the same time. Entanglement, which Albert Einstein called 'spooky action at a distance,' occurs when the quantum properties of two or more particles are correlated.***"
Pnosis sends a kudo to the repeatedly amazing NIST team led by led by Dietrich Leibfried in Boulder, CO who achieved this. The tax money spent on him is so well spent he, and his team, alone, almost makes up for the misspent trillions. (Kind of like DARPA's creation of the Internet.) Anyway, if it takes a few billion dollars wasted elsewhere to keep Dr. Leibfried in business, Pnosis is all for it. ($1 billion is $3.33 per American.) Trillions, though? Pnosis has to think about that one.
Quantum physics has proven, repeatedly and for as sure as we can be, that - at the quantum level - it is the act of observation itself that 'produces' 'reality.' (Einstein hated this. So if you hate it too, you're in excellent company.)
Physics has not addressed, because it has not yet found a way to address, the nature of consciousness that it holds as a critical component of reality. Pnosis highly recommends what may be the definitive book on this fascinating subject: Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness by Bruce Roseblum and Fred Kuttner, Oxford University Press, 2006.

But hypnosis, just emerging from its origins as a "pulp medium," is very much about the exploration of consciousness. It's not the only discipline addressing this straight on. But it's an important one. And one of the most scientific ones.
And that is one reason, yet maybe the most important reason, why hypnosis may prove to have profound significance.
(But it's OK with Pnosis if all it is to you is a way to help people quit smoking.)
Feeling a little dizzy,
Us@Pnosis.com
PS, A slightly expanded version of this article is filed in Pnosis's The Eye. If you have friends who like their minds boggled or challenged even more than by Sodoku, please forward this email issue to them and invite them to come subscribe for free! Pnosis loves getting so many visitors and especially new subscribers

BREAKING HYPNOSIS WORLD NEWS . . .

January 9, 2008: Pnosis debuts a new RSS news syndication feature with greater depth of breaking news.

Pnosis debuts a new social network feature to create a "Facebook" like community for Hypnotists. These are in addition to the Cluster Map showing visitor locations, and the new Directory.

Pnosis.com is proud to feature Wendi Friensen.

Wendi Friesen has mastered Hypnotic Internet Marketing her website (Pnosis link tab "The Masters") attracts, according to authoratative website rating sources (www.alexa.com; www.snapshot.com,www.quantcast.com) routinely between 30,000 and 50,000 unique visitors per month. This makes her the 68,000th most active site out of the 20 million websites out there. (OK, 20,000,001 now that Pnosis is up and running.) She brings in maybe 10X as many visitors as any other nonclinical hypnosis site. And her visitors keep coming back.
Wendi Friesen's http://www.wendi.com attracts, according to authoratative website rating sources (www.alexa.com; www.snapshot.com, www.quantcast.com) routinely between 30,000 and 50,000 unique visitors per month. This makes her the 68,000th most active site out of the 20 million websites out there. (OK, 20,000,001 now that Pnosis is up and running.) She brings in maybe 10X as many visitors as any other nonclinical hypnosis site. And her visitors keep coming back.

It is obvious why Friesen's work is so popular. Wendi offers the most playful, friendly, entertaining (yes, even flirtatious) hypnotic site on the web. She is a fountain of information and presents it all as if she is having more fun with it than anyone else.