Automatic Writing/Drawing/
Painting/Doodling
Do you doodle? Consciously or unconsciously? To doodle consciously is to be thinking about what you are doing (though probably not with all of your concentration, since you usually doodle when on the phone or talking to someone). For example, you might scribble the outline of a flower, then go on to add petals, and then more flowers, and then to make it into a bouquet . . . that sort of thing. But to doodle unconsciously is when you are caught up in your conversation, or whatever the activity, to the point that you are scribbling on a piece of paper without looking at it and have no idea what you are drawing until you finally look down when the conversation ends. It’s this unconscious doodling that ties in with spirit communication, and is frequently guided by spirit.
When you find that you have doodled without thinking about it, closely examine the scribbling. Turn the paper around and view it from all directions. See if you can make out any letters, numbers, or symbols. Occasionally, even though you have not been paying attention to what your hand was writing, you will find that you have written someone’s name, a number or series of numbers, or have drawn a recognizable sign or symbol. If you know you are going to doodle, it’s a good idea to have a large piece of paper available so that—as can happen—if spirit has a long message to deliver to you, then there is the opportunity to do so. Yes, what starts as a doodle can develop (again unconsciously) into a lengthy message from spirit.
The problem is that when you become aware of the fact that your hand is doodling, is scribbling on the paper, then it is human nature to look and see what you are producing. Fight this temptation. If you suddenly become aware that you are doodling, then keep your focus on the conversation, or whatever, and make a point of not looking or trying to sense what your hand is doing.
Spirit frequently wants to make contact with you. One of the most satisfactory methods is with the written word. Spirit will take control of your hand and arm and will direct them to produce a written “letter” to you. A more formalized version of this is done with automatic writing, which we will look at in a moment.
The doodle is the most basic form of automatic writing and drawing. In itself, it can be a wonderful way of communicating with spirit. At least it can be a great introduction to the more detailed automatic writing and/or drawing.
If you are going to set out to do automatic writing, then prepare ahead of time by getting as large a piece of paper as possible. It’s possible to work with just a simple writing pad, but most automatic writing becomes extensive and if you can keep from having to turn pages, you will be better able to preserve the flow of the communication. I often suggest getting an old roll of wallpaper and using the back of it. It’s also possible to get leftover cutoffs from printing runs at newspaper offices. Even large rolls of wrapping paper will suffice.
Sit comfortably at a table, which may be in front of you or to one side. Hold a pen or pencil in your hand and let your hand rest lightly on the paper. Then focus your attention on something else. That “something else” can be reading a book, talking on the phone, watching television, talking to a friend who is with you, or anything similar—anything that will hold your attention for a period of time so that you don’t have to look down at what your hand is doing on the paper.
Beforehand, as with other exercises given in this book, you can invite spirit to make contact. Go through your meditation and white-light building, ending with an invitation to spirit to make contact. Then forget all about automatic writing and get into your conversation, reading, or television watching. Ignore your hand. But after a relatively short while, you may notice that your hand starts to move of its own volition. It will feel like a nervous movement; your hand will start to scribble rapidly on the paper. Continue to ignore it, and it will continue scribbling.
What happens is that the scribbling slowly changes from a rapid (and it can be extremely rapid) up and down movement into a swirling: the making of loops and circles. This, in turn, will gradually give way to loops and swirls similar to writing. Then again, in turn, this will become actual writing: actual letters formed and written very, very fast. When this has been going on for some considerable time, take the opportunity to break your attention and focus and look at the paper. You will be surprised to find that your hand has written words. They may not be easy to make out at first, but the more you continue with the experiment, the clearer will the writing become.
Usually the writing is nothing like your own handwriting. You may possibly recognize it as the hand of a deceased loved one—the spirit making contact. There are even records of the writing coming through in a foreign language, one with which the writer was not familiar. There have also been records of an automatic writer producing two different documents at the same time, in two different handwritings: one from the left hand and one from the right. It’s unlikely that you’ll do that in the early stages of experimenting, though don’t rule out anything!
It can also be that, rather than producing writing, spirit comes through to draw or even paint (if you have the materials available). Some communicators who could never draw anything, by their own admission, have produced wonderful drawings and paintings directed by spirit.
Automatic writing is one of the more immediate forms of spirit communication, in that, once it has been established—in other words, once you have accepted that spirit is in command and it is not you who are controlling what is written—you can begin to have a “conversation” with spirit, asking questions and receiving the written answers. Long conversations and discussions have been recorded in this way.
In the past, Jane Roberts received many of the teachings of “Seth” through automatic writing. Also, the majority of the multi-volume works of Patience Worth were received by Pearl Curran through automatic writing. There were approximately 2,500 poems, short stories, plays, and allegories, as well as six full-length novels, authored by that spirit!