Altered States of Consciousness (the alteration of one's subjective experience as a whole), is a matter of degree and under some circumstances of deeply profound Hypnosis, deeply profound changes take place. When profound and significant changes occur, they lead to such descriptive expressions as timelessness, and pure being, and ecstasy. These alterations are prominent in the discussions of human potential and consciousness expansion. In the more usual behavior of the Hypnotized person however, the changes in experience that occur are more often very moderate ones. 
Some altered, (Hypnotic-like), states occur spontaneously.
Among those occurring naturally are the Hypnagogic (Greek - Hypno for sleep, and gogic, to enter into) and Hypnopompic States - which occur just before falling asleep and just before awakening, respectively. During these periods the individual experiences episodes of auditory, visual, and/or tactile hallucinations. While these occur naturally, others are induced by various psychological maneuvers or by pharmacological agents. These states are periods in which associations flow more freely and thinking takes on more pictorial forms.
There Are Three Forms Of Consciousness :
Autonoetic, Noetic, and Anoetic.
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Autonoetic Consciousness:
"Self-Knowning"
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This conscious experience is related to Episodic Memory that recognized events as belonging to one's personal history or past! 
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Noetic Consciousness:
"Knowing"
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This is the type of consciousness represented in thinking about objects and events (or relationships among them) in their absence; hence implies Semantic Memory!
Anoetic Consciousness:
"Non-Knowing"
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This is still consciousness because it permits appropriate behavioral responses to relevant aspects of the environment!
Primary Process Thinking
In accordance with psychoanalytic theory; Primary Process Thinking consists of those mental processes which are directly related to functions of the primitive life forces associated with the Id, and is characteristic of unconscious mental activity; marked by unorganized, non-logical thinking and by the tendency to seek immediate discharge and gratification of instinctual urges.
Secondary Process Thinking
In accordance with psychoanalytic theory; Secondary Process Thinking consists of those mental processes which are directly related to learned and acquired functions of the Ego, and is characteristic of conscious and preconscious mental activity; marked by logical thinking and by the tendency to delay gratification by regulation of the discharge of instinctual demands.
Cognitive modes and organizations range in a continuum from the drive-dominated, prelogical, preverbal, imaginative thinking of Primary Process to that of the reality oriented, goal-directed, logically ordered, rational, concrete and/or abstract conceptual thinking of Secondary Process.
In the progression from waking conscious thought to daydreaming, hypnagogic hallucination and dreaming, there is a gradual increase in visual imagery, in multiple implicit connotations, and in the use of mechanisms of condensation, symbolization and displacement. At the same time verbal, rational, reality-oriented secondary process type thinking diminishes, as does reflective awareness (awareness of self) and one's ability to extend effort, that is, to willfully act.
In the Hypnagogic State, while lying on a bed or couch, the ego activity of the muscular as well as the perceptual apparati are diminished. One lies quiet, still, with eyes closed in a dark and quiet room, thus there are few perceptual stimuli or motor tasks to interact with.
As time passes, a shift begins to occur in the cognative apparatus. From the Secondary process, reality-oriented, mostly logical thinking; one drifts to thinking mainly in the fleeting pictures mode; pictorial, prelogical, imagenative thinking. Primary process thinking takes over. Hence associations flow more freely than they do in the normal waking state.
There are some types of altered states in which there is increased alertness, and a heightened ability to work with preconscious and unconscious processes rather than with just pure conscious logic. While in these states, one can understand problems by allowing more of one's unconscious to float into awareness (- though not necessarily into consciousness -) by allowing the pieces of the intellectual puzzel to come together in new and different ways. This is characteristic of the inspirational phase of the creative process as well as the Trance State of Hypnosis.
While the Ego is in an active mode, the individual is fully capable of, and intent upon, manipulating the environment. He demonstrates a relatively high level of attention with well defined perceptual boundaries, cognative activity, reality orientation, reason and logic.
The Ego while in the receptive mode however, is organized around the intake of the enviornment, in contrast to its manipulation of it. In such a state one allows things to happen. In this state the barriers between conscious awareness and that of the unconscious and preconscious are lowered. This in turn leads to greater availability of unconscious processes.
Some such states are those of profound cognitive relaxation as seen in mystical transcendental revelatory states attained through meditation, and the Deep Trance States of Hypnosis. This state also occurs spontaneously in daydreaming, hypnagogic or hypnopompic reverie and states of free association.
The acceptibility of central controls, in the form of monitoring and executive functions, does not mean that all behavior and experience must be referred to them. What takes place is that once an activity is under way, it becomes relatively self-sustained (as with, for example, Attitudes). Hence, any activity once aroused may generate its own drive, and motives may lose connections with their origins and become functionally autonomous in sustaining behavior.
One must begin to think in terms of two levels of volitional control when considering Hypnosis. The first level refers to the ideas and motives that are within the bounds of consciousness and are thus consciously directive. The second level refers to the ideas and motives that are beyond the bounds of consciousness and are thus Non-Consciously Directive.
The Non-conscious ideas and motives are kept out of awareness by active forces of Dissociation. The extent of dissociation is a matter of degree and selectivity, and not all or nothing. It should be noted here that we have spoken of Non-conscious and dissociation, rather than of Unconscious and repression.
The disruption of memory is very important in the total process of Hypnotic induction. It is the continuity of memories that is basic to one's awareness of self. When consciousness is interrupted by sleep or in other ways, the sense of self is restored by reorientation through memory.
In the introduction to Hypnotic Trance, the hypnotist provides a training ground for the cooperative subject to learn what it is like to experience what he can of hypnotic behavior when he says, "Think only of my words;" the implication being that everything familiar will be set aside.
When the need to plan is diminished, the memory function is weakened. With the weakening of memory, critical abilities are also lost, for reality judgments are made by bringing memory to bear on the present to decide whether the present conforms to previously experienced reality. With critical abilities reduced, imagination readily becomes hallucination.
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as an Altered State of Consciousness; it is important not to ignore the fact that we manifest the alteration of our control systems more often in Trance, than any profound alteration or change in our subjective experience. The transition from Waking Consciousness to the Trance State of Hypnosis may not feel anything like the change from Waking Consciousness to Sleep, or from sobriety to alcohol intoxication.
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