Automatic Writing: Writing From The Inside Out

Today we look at a way we can get at our inner knowing without meditation, or any special techniques or tricks. It is based on that fact that we are gifted beings, whether we are aware of it or not. We have just masked our gifts to varying degrees through our reactions to experiences. This happens because, over time, our rational minds have become our primary vehicle for expression. It's thoughts are what we are aware of and come to view it as the "only" us. Yes, it is a part of us; however, it is not "us", this is an illusion. To access our natural gifts or expand on them we must learn to see through the illusion. There are many ways to bypass the order and structure our illusion is rooted in, something we do regularly though we are typically unaware of it as I have touched on before.

How or when do we do this? We bypass our rational mind whenever we have an intuitive "thought" or know something that we have no reason to.  What occurs in such a situation is that we become conscious of an awareness that is present in our non-conscious mind because for the moment it is unhindered. Hindrances include:

• Busy pre-occupied rational mind
• Strong masking emotions
• Stressful situations
• Restrictive beliefs
• Physical issues

There are many ways to get around these, with the most direct being meditation. It is not the only way, besides meditation is not the be all and end all of accessing our awareness. After all, what real value would it have for us or what good would it do if the only time we could get past our rational minds was when we are still and motionless?

One method of doing this is through automatic writing. The key to this or any other method of bypassing a rational mind that is active, besides knowing how to access the "off switch", is to distract it, confuse it, lull it into passivity or to fool it. One way we do this is by indulging in an activity that is in one way familiar and adding in a new element, a new wrinkle to the equation. That new element is, getting our rational mind to  become preoccupied by the doing of "something" rather than on the content of the doing. It's a subtle point that you may need to contemplate for a moment...

Automatic writing is almost like a form of self-hypnosis. The process is actually quite simple and even more so if you understand it. The results we get are mostly dependent on our state of mind and how we approach it.

We do automatic writing only when not feeling forced, overly distracted or pressured. These are awareness killers of the first order! Notice I did not suggest we shouldn't do this when we are feeling strong emotions. Emotions are only a hindrance to this process if we are in denial of them and do not let them speak.  We also want to have time set aside for this so that there are no constraints, these tend to run like clocks in the back of our minds preventing us from allowing the free flow from within to without. Another factor is that we should avoid doing it with any expectations of a particular outcome. Whatever comes out of it is what we need to have at that moment, no more no less. It may not be what we wanted, expected or hoped for, though you should realize that these are needs of the rational mind, the very thing we want to avoid.

I remember the first time I did channelling of any kind, and it was when I attended a group that regularly met so people could work on this skill. I was there out of a sense of curiosity more than anything as a friend had spoken very highly of the teacher or as he saw himself, the facilitator. At the time I was becoming known for a number of reasons, most noticeably my energy work, and there I was not even sure if I believe in channelling. This meant I brought some skepticism along with me.

The gentleman leading the session did not ask me until after several people had followed his directions but were unable to do anything. I think he felt a little frustrated and turned to me perhaps hoping I could get something going. Now, those that had been unsuccessful seemed quite fine with it and I felt no pressure even though all eyes turned to me. The reason I felt no pressure was that I was not at all concerned with their expectations of me. I simply did as he suggested which was to relax, put my hands on my legs and to close my eyes and let my head fall forward. The suggestion was to simply try to let words come out of my mouth but not force them. To clear my mind  and start to talk about the first thing that came to mind and to try to just let words flow out.

I remember being uncertain of what would happen or how I would know if something was coming through, nonetheless I started to talk about the developing one's awareness, something I thought everyone there would enjoy regardless of whether I channelled or not. Also, I feel energy naturally and was also was thinking about it when I started. I did my best to not to think about and just talk, almost babble. It was only a few seconds in that I noticed a sensation at the back of my neck, like some was lightly pinching at the bottom on both sides. Some would liken this to the short hairs on the back of their neck standing up. Rather than my head staying down it seemed determined to raise up, which I went with and then tilted back. When I did that it seemed to close the loop.

Words started to come out and continued to come out of my mouth, though they were not my words, or at least I was not consciously directing my mouth to speak. I found that if I just focused on the sensation in my neck that I lost all concern with what was coming out and the language I used started to change. The words came of their own accord. I was still talking about energy but in a new way, one I'd not considered directly myself. In addition, the tone of my voice was different nor were the phrasing of words and their pace at all like mine. All I did from them was keep my mind focus on the sensations in my neck and not on what was coming out of my mouth.

I was aware of what I was saying and understood it without thinking about it; however, while I felt the words clearly my perspective on it was as if I was listening to myself in the third person. It lasted for over forty five minutes, though for me it seemed both hours longer and but a moment at the same time. The last thing I remember was the sensation abating and then my head fell forward. I looked up after about thirty seconds or so and everyone in the room was focused solely on me with eyes wide open. I think I smiled shyly and looked around not uncertainty about their reactions to what had occurred because I was still feeling the shift of energy in my body and really was not "back to reality". I was savouring the last breathes of the what had occured. Interestingly enough, a sizeable portion of the foundation elements for the Twin Powers material came through in that one unanticipated session though not in the form in which I have transcribed them into several essays.

How does my little story relate to automatic writing? Remember where I mentioned that I started to talk and then let the talking go and turned my attention to the sensation in my neck? The former is the process of the channelling and the later was source of the content of the doing. I also could have focused on the sensations speaking made in my mouth and throat. In automatic writing, we start writing about whatever is on our minds, yet the focus is not on what we are writing it is on the act of writing. This means that we are trying to write, not write anything in particular. This is like a child scribbling on a piece of paper, not knowing what it is doing it is not concerned with results, just with the act of scribbling.

The process is simple:

1. Get a pen and a pad of paper (I recommend keeping a separate journal to track your journey)
2. Sit down in a comfortable position for writing
3. Roll your shoulders and head a little, it helps to relax the body
4. Tell yourself that whatever comes out will be in your best and highest interest
5. Put the pen to paper and start writing the first thoughts that come to mind

What comes out doesn't have to be spelled properly, make grammatical sense, or any other kind of sense, the words don't even have to be connected to one another, so do not be concerned if this is the case. Remember, we are distracting our rational mind with the doing of writing and not the substance or content of it. It does not matter if what comes out seems to be based on strong emotions such as hurt, anger or sorrow. If you can continue focusing on the act of writing the last step is, unless you notice a shift in which case just go with it, to have a "seed" thought in your mind, and not a word or a saying, just a notion unconstructed. It is more like a feeling than a word. Allpw that feeling to become stronger, all while you continue to write.

You may notice an unusual sensation in your throat, forehead or somewhere else in your body accompany the shift I referred to above, though it is not a requirement that you feel or perceive this. The real key is to have your hand writing and focus your mind on the act of writing while you shift to a state of mind without words. If I were to liken this to anything it would those moments when we are searching for a word, someone's name perhaps and draw a blank. We can almost feel the word right there on the tip of our tongue, but cannot seem to translate the feeling into a word. The source of what comes out is not relevant, you will not be channelling anything dangerous if you reinforced Step 4 above. If you are doing this is a more meditative posture then you should ground, clear and center yourself just as you should in every meditation.

How long you continue to write depends on whether you are able to just let go and how long your are able to keep from thinking about what you are writing. Thinking about what you are writing brings the content of what you are writing back together with the act and this means you are giving back control to your rational mind.

If you should find yourself slipping out of the automatic state you can either distract your mind again or stop and try to start again either now or at a later date. It does not matter if you actually get out any useful information to start with. What is most important is that you try.

Do not read what you write as soon as you are done, wait a few minutes. This will help keep expectations to a minimum as the purpose ought not to be to see what comes out. Until you are comfortable that you can do this, the purpose ought to be the act of trying to decouple your inner mind from your rational mind.

The more you try it the easier it will be to do. When you do look at what you have written take a look at your writing style. When I do automatic writing the angle of my letters goes from forward to reverse or to straight up, letters become smaller or larger, or the pressure applied goes from normal pressure to harder or very light. This is a good sign that you were shifting as you went along. Read it as you wrote it, without spending a lot of time trying to analyze it, that is not generally necessary unless what came through was very figurative and seems to have no bearing on anything,. When this happens it is likely that either the meaning of what was written was not important as the doing or it is meant to be a puzzle for you to consider.

I encourage you to give it a try. You need not share the results here unless you are comfortable doing so as they are for you and you alone. Try not to be hesitate because of uncertainty for if you never try you will never know, nor let concern for what might come out cause you to pause. Whatever comes out will be for your highest good, and you likely already know it and perhaps have not allowed yourself to become consciously aware of it. Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

© 2011 Allan Beveridge