Automatic writing is writing allegedly directed by a spirit or by the unconscious mind. It is sometimes called "trance" writing because it is done quickly and without judgment, writing whatever comes to mind, "without consciousness," as if in a trance. It is believed that this allows one to tap into the subconscious mind, where "the true self" dwells. Uninhibited by the conscious mind, deep and mystical thoughts can be accessed. Trance writing is also used by some psychotherapists who think it is a quick way to release repressed memories. There is no scientific evidence that trance writing has any therapeutic value.
Since the early days of Spiritualism, automatic writing has been accepted as a way for trance mediums, and sometimes ordinary people, to receive communications from the spirit world. Man has always longed to communicate with the spirits and thanks to the founding of the Spiritualist movement, he now had a method of doing so. The original communications, like those of the Fox Sisters in Hydesville, were little more than knocks and raps that spelled out long and elaborate methods. Most became frustrated by such slow methods of communication and began looking for something faster -- and much more direct. Not long after, the art of "automatic writing" was born.
