This is suitable where an individual person desires to ascertain whether he or she is endowed with any psychic powers. By sitting in some place quite alone and free from interruption, and by adopting a mental attitude of passive receptivity and expectancy, the soul becomes ready to perceive and be affected by any spirits that may be in its vicinity and that may attempt to open up communications. A Quakers’ meeting--though not a case of solitary individuals--is a good illustration of the method of expectancy in actual practice. No one is supposed to speak without being “moved thereto by the Spirit”; and it is by no means an uncommon event for the meeting to begin, continue and end without a single word being said--the necessary vocal impulse being wanting, although various members of the congregation may be distinctly conscious, in a less definite way, of spiritual presence and thought-suggestion. The manifestations in the course of expectancy sittings may vary from thought-suggestion to positive physical phenomena, such as the sensation of being touched or gently blown upon, the movement of some inanimate object, the hearing of a voice or even the visual appearance of some supernormal object. All depends upon whether the sitter is or is not susceptible to psychical influence, and also upon whether the locality or the sitter personally is or is not haunted. This word “haunted” must not be understood as implying that the sitter--any more than the locality--is conscious of the proximity of spirits or is in any way inconvenienced thereby. It merely means that, as explained in a previous part of this book, discarnate spirits tend to remain near the places and persons with whom they were familiar during life--perhaps in the hope of being able to make their presence known. 2. AUTOMATIC WRITING It is very rarely that the results of “expectancy” go beyond thought-impression and subsidiary physical manifestations, neither of which can be regarded as in the nature of practical communications. For the giving of a message or the carrying-on of a conversation something more is required. Accordingly, when an enquirer sits alone it is customary to have at hand a pencil and paper or some apparatus--as, for example, a planchette--by means of which writing is possible. It is then frequently found that the sitter’s hand, without any conscious guidance by the sitter, will manipulate the pencil or the apparatus so as to produce a “script” on the paper. This is read and may be followed up by _vivâ voce_ comments and questions, and thus a regular verbal interview takes place. Automatic writing does not depend upon solitude. It may take place in the presence of any number of observers, and is frequently employed by mediums as being an expeditious method of communication. 3. TRANCE WRITING AND SPEAKING