Automatic Writing: Fun, Entertaining or Dangerous ? with Will Baron former New Age Priest

Beginning in the mid-1800s, a new movement known as “Spiritualism” brought connecting with the spiritual realm to the forefront of the general public. One popular activity used by mediums at the time was automatic writing. Automatic writing is also referred to as spirit writing or psychography. In basic terms, automatic writing is the act of allowing a spirit or an entity to give a message in written form using the hand of a human.

Uses in Religion

Automatic writing is not exclusive to the spiritualist movement. Christians, Jews, Mormons and Muslims learn through their religious teachings that the Bible, the Torah, the Book of Mormon, and the Koran were written directly from the word of their Abrahamic god. From Moses and Jesus’ disciples to Joseph Smith and Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, it is said that the Abrahamic god spoke directly to them. In turn, they wrote down what was said or revealed to them. The way in which these religious holy books were written is just one form of how automatic writing is said to work.

Mental Health Benefits

Putting spiritualism and religion aside, automatic writing is also used today by mental health practitioners. Therapists use automatic writing to help their clients understand what is in their unconscious mind. Psychology Dictionary defines automatic writing as “the act of writing while one’s attention is not focused – for example, writing without conscious awareness. This occurs during a hypnotic trance. Unconscious writing may be utilized in hypnotherapy to provide the therapist with access to the unconscious material from the client.”

There is a growing number of mental health practitioners who believe that the art of writing does have a positive therapeutic benefit. This includes having their clients use different types of writing techniques, such as journaling, poetry, fictional, autobiographical, as well as automatic writing.

Warnings of Danger

Automatic writing may seem innocent to certain groups, it is the exact opposite. As with spirit boards, specifically the Ouija Board, automatic writing doesn’t come without dire warnings.