Hypnosis -- Is it for real?

The shiny pocket watch swings back and forth in front of your eyes.

Forget all that. Real therapy-based hypnosis is nothing like the TV version. In fact, chances are, almost all of us have been very close to our own hypnotic state, without ever seeing a hypnotist.

Have you ever been driving, only to realize that you don't have any recollection of the last 20 miles? Yet you were awake and alert enough to change lanes and stop at intersections.

Or have you ever been reading a book, only to get so completely lost in the...