Automatic writing is a simple, safe, and powerful way to connect with your Soul.
But don’t be intimidated by the “writing” part!
Automatic writing can be practiced by anyone, from beginners who have just begun their spiritual journey, to seasoned travelers on the inward path.
You don’t have to be a “good writer” or bother about spelling and grammar at all – none of that matters!
Automatic writing is totally intuitive, so the only thing that matters is your heart and underlying intention.
In this article, I want to share with you how to hone this magical skill, even if you have zero experience!
Table of contents
What is Automatic Writing?
Automatic writing, also known as psychography, is the practice of tapping into a deep source of wisdom within you outside of conscious awareness – also known as the Soul.
This intuitive writing practice is usually done in a trance-like or altered state of consciousness.
Psychologists and spiritualists have varying beliefs about the origin of automatic writing, with some arguing that it is sourced from the unconscious mind, and others claiming that it originates from supernatural forces such as spirit guides and angels.
My personal belief is that automatic writing is sourced from the unconscious mind which is a doorway into the Soul or Higher Self. This makes automatic writing a wonderful way to gain profound and accurate life guidance!
The Benefits of Automatic Writing
As you slowly and steadily learn the art and craft of automatic writing, you’ll see just how deeply it can transform your life.
Here are the main benefits of this wondrous practice:
- Calming and centering effect on the mind and body
- Gaining direct spiritual guidance from your Soul/Higher Self
- More inner clarity and birds-eye-view understanding
- Improved ability to make wise decisions
- Healing/balancing the third eye chakra and throat chakra
- Increased heart connection
- Intuitive abilities are sharpened, honed, and developed
- Feeling more supported and deeply understood by life
- Improved ability to trust your primal gut instincts
- Understanding what your path and purpose is in this life
There are many other benefits of automatic writing and that is part of the wondrous joy of this practice – you never know precisely how it’s going to enrich your life next!
Gradually you’ll discover that different parts of yourself and your life have undergone some kind of spiritual alchemy in the most subtle yet profound way.
Automatic Writing and Spiritual Awakening
Many people who have undergone a spiritual awakening often find themselves drawn instinctually to automatic writing.
There’s something about the mystery and magic inherent in this practice that makes it humbling, revealing, and healing – qualities that every spiritual seeker needs.
Automatic writing is also a spiritual practice just as relevant and beneficial as yoga or meditation as it opens a gateway to experiences of self-realization and spiritual Oneness.
Such sublime tastes of these Divine revelations can offer tremendous guidance, direction, and insight for the Soul in search of its true Home.
How to Channel Your Soul Through Automatic Writing
Essentially, automatic writing, when broken down into simple steps, is quite straightforward. It involves:
- Getting a pen and paper/opening a notepad or word document
- Thinking of a question to ask
- Writing down the question
- Relaxing your body and mind
- Allowing the writing to flow spontaneously
However, entering the flow needed for automatic writing can be fairly tricky without some kind of guidance (unless you have a natural gift for it).
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You might also find, like many people, that the first time you try automatic writing it goes really well. But after that, you struggle a lot!
The reason this happens is that when we first try something new, our minds are often empty of belief and expectation (also known as the ‘Beginner’s Mind’).
However, afterward, we begin to accumulate mental baggage and expectations which tend to block the process of spontaneous revelation.
Don’t worry if this happens.
What you’ll need to learn is how to empty the mind.
I’ll share some tips below about how to do that – along with the basic process of automatic writing, from start to finish:
1. Set aside a time and space
Before starting an automatic writing session, it’s important that you give yourself as much time as needed to express what needs to be expressed.
One surefire way to hinder the flow of information is time pressure and the expectation that it “should” take a certain amount of time.
In my experience, automatic writing can take a couple of minutes anywhere up to half an hour or more.
Basically, create a space in which you can relax as much as possible mentally.
You may benefit from reserving time in the afternoons when you can’t be disturbed or any time when you can’t be interrupted for at least an hour.
Remember, you deserve this time to yourself! Automatic writing is an inner work practice that nourishes and revitalizes your deeper self. Treat this practice as sacred and know that you’re worthy of experiencing this!
If, for some reason, you need to keep the session short, set a timer so you don’t have to worry about checking the time frequently.
2. Think of a question that you want guidance for
The whole purpose of automatic writing is to access guidance from your Soul, especially if you struggle to hear it in daily life.
Start each session with a clear question, and write it down in your journal or word document.
Choose a question that has really been pulling at your heart or eating you up inside. The more emotionally charged the question is, the clearer your response will be. This step is also known as setting an intention.
It’s also important that you address your question to someone or something in particular such as your Soul, a Spirit Guide, or your unconscious mind.
For example, your question could be “Dear Soul, why do I keep sabotaging my happiness?”
Try to keep your questions simple.
If you have many questions, break them up into different sessions of writing — this will make the process easier for you. Choose only one central question at a time.
3. Relax your mind
Learning how to relax your mind is the most important part of automatic writing.
When your mind is still and empty of thoughts, writing spontaneously becomes much easier.
Examples of possible ways you can relax your mind include:
- Meditation
- Breathwork techniques
- Mindfulness
- Visualisation
- Aromatherapy
- Sitting in nature
- Yoga
If you live in a country that permits plant medicines like marijuana (and if you feel comfortable using it), you may also like to make responsible use of this natural resource.
Do whatever suits you and relaxes you the most.
4. Enter a gentle trance
As humans, we have the capacity to enter trance-like states very easily. The most popular trance state we enter into is while watching TV!
A trance-like state is a form of altered consciousness in which your normal thinking brain relaxes.
For automatic writing, entering a trance state is very useful because it facilitates the spontaneous flow of information.
Common ways to enter into a gentle trance include listening to music, yogic/holotropic breathing, mantras, repetitive tasks, guided meditations, self-hypnosis, and many others.
Choose whatever works best for you, and don’t be shy with experimenting. I personally like listening to calming music, sitting outdoors in nature, and blending that with mindfulness or meditation.
You might also like to read our article on inducing trance states for more guidance and inspiration.
5. Allow the flow of information
Once you feel ready you can begin to write.
Don’t worry if at first, the words are gobbledygook or if you can’t follow the stream of information.
In fact, if you’re completely unaware of what you’re writing, that’s actually a very good thing! It means that you’re tapping into something that is far greater than your thinking mind.
It’s also very common during this stage to find yourself judging what you write and analyzing it with skepticism. This is quite normal.
If you find your mind getting too involved, gently bring yourself back towards whatever practice you used before to enter a trance state.
For example, if you were rhythmically breathing, go back to that. You’ll likely have to repeat this step a number of times.
I prefer to look away when I’m writing so that I’m not easily drawn into judging what I’m writing. But other people prefer looking. Experiment and see what suits you.
If you’re not used to writing, you’ll probably carry a bit of inhibition at first, which is natural. With practice, you’ll get into “the flow” of it, meaning that you’ll find automatic writing increasingly easier and easier to do without conscious thought.
Remember: don’t judge what you’ve written just yet.
Focus on entering a trance state, let your mind be soft and unfocused, and write!
6. Interpret the information
At a certain point, you’ll intuitively sense that your automatic writing session is coming to an end.
Perhaps you’ll feel like you’ve energetically “run dry” or your mind becomes sharper again. Through time, you’ll learn what this signal feels like.
Other times, you might abruptly stop writing and no more information comes.
Whatever the case, once you’ve stopped, it’s time to review what you’ve written.
$3Try looking firstly for coherent sentences or keywords that may pop out. Perhaps the vast majority of it sounds like gibberish, but every now and then there’s a legible sentence – focus on that.
Sometimes you’ll also find patterns, and in some situations, even words from different languages emerging in your journaling.
Other forms of automatic writing may include mantras, symbols, and even images.
Be prepared to do a little self-reflection as oftentimes what comes through is metaphorical or symbolic.
Also, if you’re confused about what has been written, you can always use that as a question to ask in your next automatic writing session.
When I’m confused, I like to wait and ruminate on what has been written for a while. If I haven’t figured out what the message is after a week (which is rare), I use that as another question for my automatic writing sessions.
Read: How to Trust Your Intuition & Find Total Clarity (9 Tips) »
How to Know Whether You’re Really Channeling Your Soul
The best way to know for sure that you’re receiving guidance from your Soul is how you feel while writing.
Do you feel a sense of inner spaciousness, lightness, and other good “vibes”? Or do you feel heavy, emotionally charged, and mentally frantic?
In my experience, I know for sure that I’m connecting with Soul/Spirit when I enter a state of no-mind in which I am completely present, calm, and at peace.
However, when writing becomes frantic and heavy, it is usually coming from the mental or emotional energy “body” – also known as the conscious self or ego.
Another way to tell whether you’re really channeling your Soul is by reviewing what is written.
Are the words authoritative, clear, and wise? Or are the words closer to what your mind sounds like (disjointed, critical, or vague)?
Words from your Soul will always sound and feel crystal clear.
***
I hope this advice helps you out and inspires you to begin practicing automatic writing.
If you’d like to learn more about journaling in general, see my article entitled How to Journal: 19 Beginner Tips For Modern Mystics!
What are your experiences with this magical practice? I’d love to hear below!
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I am very impressed with your site. I will still look here. Best wishes
Automatic writing! Wow ! I can’t wait to try! I have been asking for guidance for finding ways to Serve. I am a recovering addict and the best Sober tool and reward I have found is by sharing something that helps someone else. I have never consciously tried writing like this but have entered into trans like states when I write to Spirit ! This article kind of validates it for me and I am very excited and looking forward to this! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you so much!! Peace Love and Light!
My friends tried to automic write, but didnt get far. She got stuck after opening her first chakra. Now she is dealing with some annoying pain on her elbow and wrist,sometiems her whole arm.
She didnt connect with her spirit guide yet, what should she do?
Ps: she is not possesed neither being attacked.
Just checking in… and I needed to send a message because sometime yesterday I noticed a web page mentioning something virtually the same.The synchronicity wasfascinating I admit.
I’m scared a bit because my writings contained information that I didn’t have prior knowledge of. The writings called out the song writer of country Rutherford and said tell your mamma Sammy is going to get a grammy then it said comeback!. I looked it and I had no prior knowledge prior to this thes artists works prior to thes channeling. I have been awake almost a week batteling bed bugs omg and writing country and blue grass lyrics I wrote 17 original songs in 1 night when I noticed something odd about the writings i dont remenber writing ti George Strait about his sad song and hit “the cowbay rides away. The letter was weird. He is married and there were lines in it. Like “I want to be you Teen Queen and it was titled “George how do you feel about lunch? I am amazed at my writings because all of the song turned out really good as in quality works and I had never written country at all. I thought I heard howling and lite human voice chatter while I was writing so I’m concerned about anything evil being around me.
I was introduced to this type of “channeling” as a child. (I am now 62 yrs old). I actually did this kind of writing on my own, it was kind of my little secret. When I was about 12, I showed my secret writings to a relative who was visiting, who got very excited and called a friend of hers who was “a psychic”. She called it “AutoNOMIC Writing”. I heard it called that for many years after, but it seems to have changed to AutoMATIC Writing. I guess it makes no difference. A lot of words have been invented, changed, no longer used, meanings moved, etc in the last 50 yrs. We no longer write in Olde English anymore. *smiles* We write in text: R U ? lmao etc. Autonomic Writing is a term that makes more sense to me, when I consider the autonomic nervous system and what it does…the psycho-spiritual meaning is clearer. (I absolutely love that you bring the psychology in with the spiritual in with the shamanism etc.) At any rate, I enjoyed this article immensely! Perhaps I will try this kind of writing again. I have always done it when the urge hit very… Read more »
Hi,
I was introduced to automatic writing 30 years ago. I always end up with the spirit saying remember me…you are mine…sometimes Mommy. This isn’t my subconscious…could it be a spirit from a past life?
I’ve done automatic writing for a few years now. Sometimes I review but mostly I just release myself. When I neglect it, I can feel the pressure closing in. Much nicer, more peaceful, and evolving to keep writing. Thank you for this article.
also, why do I seem to sense several ‘presences’ in the house – one that feels like a female ‘watcher’ in the attic that shifts to the bathroom mirror, one ‘animalistic male’ presence by the cupboard under the stairs in the kitchen that feels like it sits on the corner of the stairs, and two or three in my bedroom that seem to be ‘dark, protective morphing’ entities that guard and yet terrify me, alongside the one ‘male, demonic’ presence in my sister’s bedroom (she no longer sleeps there since she played Ouija and broke the mirror in there, saying that it feels ‘nasty’ to spend more than a minute in there)
I have often found that while I’m writing stories – which for some reason are always dark and somewhat twisted with a focus on splitting the narrative; though I never manage to get past the first few pages if I’m lucky – I seem to enter a state of mindlessness just as you’ve described and the words just seem to flow forth until they no longer do so. Although it seems unrelated, is it possible that my Asperger’s syndrome plays a role? I always feel as though my emotions are somehow ‘false’ or dulled to the point of non-existence and I think of myself more as a void than a true ‘human’ with emotions and such. In the past, I’ve been spiritual and have sensed things; like imagining the net curtain that was in the toilet window was my grandmother’s skirts flapping in the breeze. However, I had a bad experience wherein I had several nightmares and slammed up imaginary ‘shields’ blocking everything out. Since then, I’ve not been able to imagine anything, nor do I dream (and I know when I do, as it sticks with me as a vague feeling of ‘oh, I had a dream last night,… Read more »