On automatic writing, the subconscious & week 49 of 52

lifting the egoic veil

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” —Roald Dahl

We worry over finding the right words or waiting for the right time, but it’s often only when we are able to let go that right words find us.

Overthinking is often a sign of a well-intentioned person who doesn’t want to cause discomfort by voicing an opinion, a creative who wants to get everything right, or the result of a moral quandary. While we may see a barrage of thoughtless decisions being made by leadership in our lives, most of us are not so cavalier.

We take our time, we don’t trust every whim that strikes us or think we’re “chosen” to do things. But where’s the middle ground between radical and unwavering self-trust and analysis paralysis?

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." —Lao Zhu

For those of us who err on the side of overthinking, the idea of finding a method for truly letting go when practicing what we love means finding what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined as “flow,” a phenomenon wherein one forgets self and has a feeling of effortless absorption in an act (such as writing).

That’s not always easy when conditions are not optimal or, worse, repressive, and we feel at a loss for what informed step to next take.

Automatic writing, while not scientifically backed, refers to the process of channeling spirits or ancestors to write messages through the vessel of our human form. Arthur Conan Doyle, Sylvia Plath, and William Butler Yeats all claimed to have leveraged a process of channeling to write.

Victoria Woodhull used the practice of automatic writing, along with trance, to contact the spirit of Greek orator Demosthenes who told her she would do big things in the world. Woodhull, whose life circumstances had done anything but set her up for greatness, ended up being the first woman to run for President of the United States in 1872. She, like many forward-thinking women of her time, found solace in Spiritualism.

Referred to as Fu-Ji (扶乩), a similar practice is associated with inviting wisdom to answer human quandaries in Chinese folk religions. Fu-ji is seen as a means of engaging with the spirit world, where priests used the technique to speak with celestial beings and ancestors to receive divine guidance.

If speaking to spirit isn’t your jam, here’s a reframe: Psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung associated the practice of automatic writing with an ability to tap the collective unconscious and considered it a deep meditation.

There are many meditative processes, such as Natalie Goldberg’s famous and long-enduring advice to keep the pen on the page and moving, no matter what, until the writing itself takes over. She advises this as a way of pushing past the temptation to overthink.

Not making sense? No worries, keep the pen moving. Not sure what to say? Repeat the same word again and again until a new words comes.

I share all these examples to share the value of finding a perspective that works for you. The phenomenon of releasing one’s self to the work at hand seems to offer not only a release but also unexpected wisdom.

Biographer Barbara Goldsmith said women of Victoria Woodhull’s time relieved the burdens imposed upon their gender by finding solace in spirits. At the time, many at the forefront of women’s rights were Spiritualists and would seek guidance from what they couldn’t see because what was in front of them would not suffice. To lean on something unseen gave them strength.

Whether mining unexcavated parts of the mind in psychological self study or contacting spirits and guides, the practice itself shows up the same way. It means letting go of our precious egos and goals and identity, seeing what happens when we become one with the work, immersed and free.

What does the concept of “flow” means to you? Connect it to nature. Listen to the sound of waves, or sit near moving water and simply allow yourself to release into the sensation of steady and unhurried movement, allowing what comes through to come. Try one of the techniques above, either asking for guidance from the spirit world or simply keep the pen moving until your egoic filter seems to dissipate.

If this feels too impossible (fist bump to my fellow overthinkers), here are some other methods.

Option 1: Keep a dream journal this week. A notebook by the bed and a few lines before you get up.

Option 2: Do what clears your mind—meditation, dancing, walking, etc… then write without stopping. After a few minutes of writing (longhand ideally), close your eyes and keep writing. Don’t worry about whether it’s legible, but play. See what arrives.