Elsa Barker's Letters from a Living Dead Man (E. P. Dutton & Company, 1920) is a collection of letters that the author claims to have received through automatic writing from a person she refers to as "X."

In letters IV to VI, "X" compares automatic writing to a mirror or a receiver in a telegraph station, and discusses the influence that the recipient's thoughts have on communication. Subsequently, he promises to eventually convey knowledge gained after death, and explains about the power of "will" and concentration that guide people's potential.

Descriptions of paranormal phenomena, automatic writing, and life after death are claims and anecdotes from the original author and do not represent a certification of facts by the translator.

Letter IV — Clouds Above the Mirror

(The writing stopped abruptly in the middle of a sentence, and it was continued later.)

When you respond to my call, prepare your heart as a child learning new proverbs or examples from their teacher cleans a slate. Even your most fleeting personal thoughts and fantasies can blur the reflection, like clouds above a mirror.

You can receive a letter by this method. However, while you are writing, your mind may begin to work independently, and unless you interject questions.

This time, unlike before, you were not stopped by the entities that gathered around. You were stopped by your own curiosity about how a rare sentence would end. You suddenly became active instead of passive. It was as if a telegraph receiver had begun sending messages on its own.

Since coming here, I have learned the reasons for many paranormal phenomena that I previously could not understand. And if possible, I am determined to protect you from the dangers of the complex currents in this work.

One night, I called out to you, but you didn't let me in. Was that a kind thing to do?

However, I am not blaming you. Until my work is finished, I will come back again and again, as many times as necessary.

Soon, I will go to you in my dreams and show you many things.

Letter V - The Promise of Unspoken Things

Soon, I will share with you some knowledge that I have gained since coming here. Now, I am looking at the past as if through an open window. I can see the path I have walked on, and I can draw a map of the road I intend to take in the future.

Now, everything seems easy. I feel that I can do twice as much work as I am currently doing – I feel it so strongly.

I am still not settled anywhere, but I am moving around as my heart desires. This is something that I always dreamed of when I was in a physical body, but it was never possible to achieve.

Do not be afraid of death. However, stay on this earth as long as you can. Even though I am here with my companions, sometimes I regret that I could no longer connect with this world. But over there, regrets are also lighter, just like our bodies.

Everything is going well for me.

I am going to tell you something that has never been told to anyone before.

Letter VI — The Staff of Willpower

You still do not understand the complete mystery of "will." Within your unit of energy, it can change anything you choose. This is because within the human power unit, everything exists in either an active or potential form.

The difference between a painter and a musician, or the difference between a poet and a novelist, is not a difference in their inherent nature. This is because each discipline contains everything except "quantity," and therefore has the potential to develop in any direction chosen by its practitioner. That choice may have been made centuries ago. It often takes a long time, sometimes even multiple lifetimes, to cultivate the art and ability required for a specific type of work, more so than for other kinds of endeavors. Here as elsewhere, concentration is the secret of power.

Regarding how to use the power of will in current everyday problems, there are two ways to use willpower. One is to focus on a clear plan and, depending on the amount of power you have, either achieve it or not. The other is to will that the best, highest, and wisest possible plan be realized through your own subconscious mind and the subconscious minds of others. The latter involves controlling, or attempting to control, the entire environment for a specific purpose, rather than just part of it.

In this interaction between the external world and our inner realm, you who are in the external world tend to think that you know everything about what is happening in our world. You expect us to predict events like fortune tellers and continuously inform you of things happening on the other side of the Earth. Sometimes we can do that. But most of the time, we cannot.

After a while, I might be able to enter your mind and know all the preceding thoughts and plans that are there, just as my master does. However, I cannot do so at any time right now.

For example, one night, I searched for ---- everywhere, but couldn't find it. Perhaps you need to think about us more strongly. Then, the path will become easier.

I am continuously learning. My teacher is working very actively to help me.

Once you become completely certain that I am holding your hand securely, then I have a lot to talk about regarding my life.