How to Receive God's Holy Spirit

After baptism in water, the Bible shows that God's ministers put their hands on the new convert and prayed for the person to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit and how can we use this gift to transform our lives?
The story of the new Christians baptized by Philip in Samaria illustrates the importance of the ceremony of laying on of hands in the giving of the Holy Spirit.
After the martyrdom of Stephen, most of the Christians in Jerusalem fled the city in fear of Saul (who later became the apostle Paul).

"But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to what he had to say because of the miracles he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city...
"But now the people believed Philip's message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized...
"When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:4-8, 12, 14-17, New Living Translation).