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
