So he sat down to write this bitter letter and tell God “What for!” As he wrote and poured out his anger, he said something to the effect of, “If there is something I can do to improve my life, I sure as hell would like to know.” Then apparently the impossible happened. His hand began writing, as if on its own, the following response… “You’re sure as hell about a lot of things, but wouldn’t you like to be sure as Heaven?”

Walsch claims that God responded to him by moving his pen for him while he held it in his hand, or rather, as if he were taking dictation from God Godself. And thus he began a conversation that was to last for years and might even be going on to this day.

I’ll tell you something that might surprise you… what Walsch did with his pen was nothing new. People have engaged in the act of automatic writing for centuries, and this is exactly what Walsch was doing.

Was he talking to God, to his spirit guide, to his higher self? We may never know in this life, but it doesn’t really matter. Automatic writing is a very good way to learn a lot about our lives. I have been doing it since 2002 on a fairly regular basis and have learned a great deal about my life, my problems, and the solutions to those problems. Sometimes when I sit down to have my own “conversation with God,” I find that my problems don’t really exist, that the answer is often found not in solving the problem but in viewing it in a different way.

I don’t feel qualified to give a complete reference on how to do automatic writing here, but I will give you some basic ideas that will get you started, and there are also plenty of resources on the Internet. Just do a Google search for automatic writing, and you will find a lot of good material.

I think when you start automatic writing, it’s a good idea to come to the pad and pen with a question, something going on in your life that you would like to know more about or some problem that you would like to solve. I would caution you not to ask about future events because the future is not yet written and cannot truly be predicted. (When people claim to predict the future, I believe they are actually consulting spirits that are so well versed in human behavior that they can make very accurate guesses about the future, much like a good Chess player can see how he will win a game.) Instead, think of a problem or scenario in your own life that you would like to resolve.

When you sit down to write, don’t worry about tapping into the spirit world just yet; that will come later. First, start by writing everything you know about the problem. This can include facts, history of the problem, your opinions about it, others’ opinions about it, and your feelings about it. Write everything you can think of, even if you have to fill pages to do it. And write your questions about it, even if they seem whiny or trivial. The Great Creator can help with those questions too, for the Great Creator is here to guide us, not to judge us.

After a few minutes of writing, you will find that your mind is so fixed on the problem at hand that new ideas about it will start coming to you. Write those down as soon as they come to you. As you write, even more ideas will come to you. These ideas may not seem like something that you would write yourself, and that is because you have tapped into a higher energy that is guiding you. Again, whether you call that energy God, the Great Creator, your spirit guide, or your higher self is irrelevant. Trust that energy and write it down.

A word of caution is this - sometimes what you’re writing may seem counterintuitive. Don’t worry about that at the moment. Just write everything down. Once you’re finished, you can go back, read what you have written, and meditate on the wisdom that you have been given. But while you’re writing, allow yourself to engage in the spiritual experience.

You will learn to let your ego go. You will learn not to sweat the small stuff. You will learn that the problems you are worried about often do not exist once you view them in another light. And most importantly, over time as you do these automatic writing exercises, your outlook will shift so that you can see the beauty of life and the goodness of the world, the perfection of the universe and the love of god.

These are exciting things to learn. They can honestly change your life. But know this - no one can teach you how to do automatic writing. It is something you must learn on your own, but with practice and faith I believe anyone can do it, for the gifts of God are for everyone, not just a chosen few.