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Originally Posted by Philemon  "Automatic Writing" verges on "stream of consciousness writing"; you simply dismiss your logical mind and write down whatever comes through. Determining the origin of that information (your consciousness or an outside entity) that would take some time.
There are many successful writers--Jack Keauroac and Virginia Woolf to name two--who adopted stream of consciousness writing. I would start there and then maybe move into automatic writing.
I suppose what really matters are your intentions. Are you pursuing automatic writing for creative purposes, to learn about yourself, to learn something about the world. Depending on your intentions, you may choose one approach or the other. |
That's one of the best descriptions of automatic writing that I've read. I wouldn't necessarily differentiate stream of consciousness writing from automatic writing, unless you're perhaps talking about people who enter into a "trance" where something other than their conscious mind is aiding the movement of their hands while they write or type (for me, it's always been a conscious process--I can always stop, or edit and alter things as I'm doing it).
This has been my experience of automatic writing: you have something flow to you, and you, as the unique being that you are, translate that "stream" (or "download"; whatever you might like to call it... the terms aren't literal descriptions, but instead, are pointers) using the abilities, knowledge, understanding, intentions/goals/focus, and way of being that is unique to you.
You might translate this energy "stream" using writing, or by speaking, or by just getting the thoughts and not expressing them (and then maybe later expressing, in your own words, the thoughts you see). You could also draw, paint, and much, much more depending on you--your preferences, your current abilities, your intention/goal/focus, etc.
For example, my father used to be a mechanic and, if I recall correctly, he said he would just "know" what area or part of the car he was working on needed repair or attention. (Some people might refer to this as claircognizance, and I wouldn't disagree, but I think the clairs aren't the most effective way to describe the experience people have. I think they can validate a lot when you first learn about them, but once you become more aware of your own experience, I feel a more personal description is useful).
He was doing the same thing as what people were doing when they automatic write (or automatic paint, etc)--translating.