Some call it flow.

Athletes call it “being in the zone.”

And if you’re a writer, particularly one by the name of Stephen King, you might even call it trance or self-hypnosis.

Yep, there’s something somewhat magical about being so absorbed by an activity that it silences the conscious mind – allowing you to access all the good stuff in the unconscious.

For example, greater levels of creativity, enhanced focus and the handy “off” switch to the sometimes menacing conscious mind.

In the short video above, international best-selling author Stephen King explains why he finds writing to be a form self-hypnosis.

And given he’s sold 350 million books worldwide, this form of “self-hypnosis” appears to be a pretty powerful one, wouldn’t you say?