Automatic writing is the process, or product, of writing
material that does not come from the conscious thoughts
of the writer. The writer's hand forms the message, and
the person is unaware of what will be written. It is sometimes
done in a trance state. Other times the writer is aware
(not in a trance) of their surroundings but not of the actions
of their writing hand.
Automatic writing is used in Spiritualism, Spiritism and
the New Age movement as a form of channeling. One of the
best-known automatic writers was Hélène Smith, an early
20th-century psychic who felt that her automatic writing
was the attempt of Martians to communicate with Earth. She
claimed she could translate their Martian language into
French.
Another well-known author, Neale Donald Walsch, wrote the
book series Conversations with God, claiming to have used
automatic writing to speak with God. The Brazilian medium
Chico Xavier was probably the most prolific medium in the
20th Century and possiblly of all time, with more than 400
books written by him
Automatic writing is essentially writing that is done in
an altered state of consciousness that is attributed to
spirits of the dead. It is believed by some that the spirits
literally manipulate the writing utensil in the hands of
the medium to communicate, as the writer is often unaware
of what is being written and often even scrawls out text
in handwriting that is markedly different than his own.
Others believe that perhaps the spirits may also communicate
by forming messages in the mind of the medium, which reproduce
on the page. Most likely though, the medium is writing unconsciously
and messages are formed from material in the subconscious
mind or from a secondary personality that is gifted with
extrasensory perception
