Picking a handwriting Style/Graphotherapy

[Hunter]

 

"This exercise is called the Wave. It increases flexibility and creativity, encourages release of tension, anger and disappointment, and helps you to let go of what is no longer needed."

 

http://goddessbody.onsugar.com/Graphotherapy-Exercise-Creativity-Emotional-Release-8371101

 

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Handwriting-Can-Change-Life/dp/0684865416/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291561404&sr=1-2

 

Do you all think that spending the day writing in italic cursive, could be more stressful, than writing is a smoother style?

[regentrude]

I just read the product description in your link - and the passage I am copying below sounded really strange to me. No, I do not believe it.

 

I believe that my handwriting MAY reflect something about my personality (although I have seen student handwriting which did not seem to be in accord with their personality at all)- but I do not believe that changing letter shapes causes drastic life changes.

(And btw, how much handwriting does an average person do in a given day?)

 

Here is what they claim:

"When we purposefully change our handwriting, we introduce attitudes that can improve our relationships, give us the impetus to achieve and take risks, and simply bring out the best in us. This is because our handwriting is a reflection of our innermost thoughts and feelings. When we fall in love, survive a serious illness, or change careers, our view of life is dramatically altered and, as a result, our handwriting patterns change. Conversely, desired transformations can result from intentionally changing the way specific letters are written: * Stick to that diet by changing the letter T.

* Avoid being overlooked for that well-deserved promotion by changing the letter G.

* Reduce stress and cease juggling too many things at once by changing the letter S.

* Overcome shyness or stage fright by changing the letter A."

[Hunter]

No :-)

 

I'm NOT agreeing with everything at these links! :-)

 

I'm just asking if you think writing in a flowing style, reduces stress, much like the effects of yoga and Tai Chi, compared to spending the day using a cramped, tighter style.

[Hunter]

 

 

I do not think the "T" is an attractive letter, but does the act of making such a bold letter, over and over throughout the day, change how we feel, the same way say, as making a conscious effort to hold our head up and throwing our shoulders back, and looking someone in the eye?

[regentrude]

"but does the act of making such a bold letter, over and over throughout the day, change how we feel, the same way say, as making a conscious effort to hold our head up and throwing our shoulders back, and looking someone in the eye?"

 

No, I do not think so. How much time is an average person spending on handwriting in a given day? Who writes, by hand, "over and over throughout the day"? Simply because of this, I can not imagine it having an effect - writing for a few minutes daily, the letter shape can not possibly have an impact.

 

I don't know what would happen if you really wrote over and over, all day long... don't know any people that have a live like this.

[Greensa]

When I looked at the first link, she seems to be using graphotherapy as a form of meditation. If you're focusing on the forms you're making, yes, I think it can make a difference. Meditation in a wide variety of forms has a well established track record of making a difference.

 

As for changing your handwriting, I'd have to ask if you spend enough time writing that it will make a difference. When I think back over the last few days, I've signed my name (on checks & cc slips), made a shopping list, and marked up a couple of my daughter's papers (Nice Job! or We need to talk!), but other than that, I've pretty much done all my writing on the computer (like now). I don't journal, in any form, except as required. For me, changing my writing probably wouldn't do much.

 

If you spend enough time writing by hand, for whatever reason (budding writer? keep a personal or dialectic journal? taking a class and handwrite copious notes?) and you are making a conscious effort to make a change in your handwriting for the purpose of making a change in your life, then I'd say it's very much like consciously squaring your shoulders to make a change. You're making a deliberate change to provoke a chosen response. It brings the desired personal change to your mind every time you make the written change.

 

So how much time do you spend writing each day?

 

Sara

 

P.S. I also noticed that the book you linked to is not one of the books she recommends. Have you been looking into this for a while, that you've "chosen" your own book?

[Hunter]

I only learned about graphotherapy today. My links were pretty random, just trying to show people what I was stumbling onto.

 

I've been investigating options to change my handwriting for a month or two, but was not taking into account any meditative aspects linked to particular styles. I was more concerned about liking a style.

 

4 years ago I left an abusive marriage that followed an abusive childhood. I had never formed a sense of self and had no favorites of anything. I am constantly trying to figure out what I like and who I am.

 

As I child I was taught Palmer handwriting I think, and then when homeschooling my son I changed my handwriting to italic cursive at his request because it was easier for him to read, having no idea that I had the right to a handwriting style of MY choice, and that handwriting is often a reflection of self and something personal and chosen.

 

I've been doing morning pages The Artist's Way style and investigating forms of writing as meditation, but until today had not been introduced to the idea of the FONT playing a part in our MOOD. I have found the rhythm of handwriting quickly and steadily while free writing to be a very different experience than typing. I'm interested in the idea of how smooth the actual hand movements are, having an effect on my brainwaves.

 

I realize I'm linking to resources that are pushing the envelope of science and entering metaphysics, but I'm most interested in the science...but...then... maybe even some of the placebo affect :-0 Why not? But I'm certainly not trying to present placebo effects as having a scientific basis, or wanting to defend that part, or even engage in much discussion about that part.

 

I have learned that steadily knitting the garter stitch, and listening to humpback whale music, and hand drumming all affect the rate and regularity of my brainwaves. It fascinates me to think that the font I am using might make a difference in my brainwaves as well as mood. Would crossing the Ts high up when I sign my signature, make me feel more assertive, even though just a few letters? Would a flowing font make me feel less anxious, for a few letters, and if not, what about for a list?

Edited December 5, 2010 by Hunter

[regentrude]

I have learned that steadily knitting the garter stitch, and listening to humpback whale music, and hand drumming all affect the rate and regularity of my brainwaves.

 

As a scientist, I need to ask: how do you define "rate of brainwaves" and how do you measure their regularity?

[Greensa]

You know the things that influence you. You know that doing something smooth and rhythmatic affects your brain waves from personal experience. Give it a try and pay attention to how you feel when you do it. Frankly, if it is something that takes only a few minutes a day, and you're truly curious, this at least counts as a rabbit trail to follow.

 

Even if crossing your T's up high doesn't do anything, I'd bet learning a new skill (writing in a font you love, rather than settling on what you've been taught) will.

 

One other thought - as you're looking into this, what do you feel when you look at the writing samples in these books? Does one style of writing call to you? If so, look at what the authors say about the personality that uses such a font. After all, might as well choose characteristics you want to live with! (and you can see if the graphologists agree on the traits that are produced / indicated!:tongue_smilie:)

 

Sara

[Hunter]

I spend a huge amount of time skimming material that is given to me by my team, and that I find on my own, in an attempt to recover from severe post traumatic stress syndrome. I do not keep a bibliography of my studies. I'm ploughing through too much to log my sources. At the time of study I make an effort to evaluate the source and type of research involved, but then I just take what is useful to ME and discard the rest.

 

There is a HUGE amount of research that has been done on how brainwaves are affected by music and movements. Regentrude, I'm sure, if you are interested, you are capable of researching this topic in a much more efficient way on your own, than with my guidance :-)

 

I find it hard to even know what I like or want, as it was a feeling that I was taught to ignore since infancy. But I think I was already drawn to the smoother and fancier styles. I think my desire to drop the italic is more than wanting to do something new. I think I feel some revulsion for it's efficient crispness maybe, and want...something...I'm not sure what yet.

 

In everything, I'm finding myself drawn towards softer and lighter things.

 

Also...funner....what is the correct word for that? In art I much prefer modern styles of art to the realistic.

 

So softer, but not traditional, which sometimes is at odds.

 

I cannot believe I'm discovering a love of soft pink :-0 but...often don't like the rest of what goes along with the pink item :-0

 

The Vimala font doesn't seem to have an efficient form of learning it, like some fonts do, that are taught by similar strokes. This font has been endorsed by Waldorf schools though....so...it must not be too hard to learn. I like the G and the S. The T repulses and attracts me at the same time.

 

I'm finding it so hard to pick a font, but I think I've narrowed it down to one with smooth lines. And...I'd like it to be a little fun looking and light.

[Greensa]

I'd love to hear from you about what you have discovered once you've changed your style of writing. I'd be most interested in even just an anecdotal experience with it.

 

So, if you have nothing better to do in a couple of months:tongue_smilie:drop me a PM and let me know what you find.

 

Sara

[Hunter]

I plan on continuing to participate in handwriting threads here, so we will be in touch. I'm really fickle about finishing things, before I jump onto yet another and another new project...but this one...is going to be at least a reoccurring discussion.

 

I have already completely changed my handwriting once, so I know I can do it again. It really causes problems at banks :-( and when my signature no longer matches my license and charge cards or any legal documents :-( Sometimes it is more complicated than a name change.

 

And the bank tellers and cashiers just look at you in disbelief when you tell them you changed your handwriting, and say, "why?"

[Nan in Mass]

How many of us doodle while we are on the phone or in class or thinking about something?

How many of us as teens picked a handwriting style that we liked?

How many of us find controlled repetative motions soothing, like knitting or practising a phrase of music on an instrument slowly until we get better at it?

 

I do/did all those things. I find it calming to doodle. It does something to my brain that makes it easier for me stay still and listen, or to stay still and think in an underneath, subvocal sort of way (often more useful if I am trying to decide something). I find it soothing to write slowly and carefully, with nice rounded letters. The style I made up for myself in high school is very simple and round. I did it partly out of bordom, partly in imitation of people I admired, and partly so my own writing would look unique, the way my mother and my grandmothers' did. It has changed a little over the years, but not much. When I am stressed, it goes spikier and slantier and looks less like my own writing, which is disconcerting. At that point, I make an effort to round it back out and stand it back upright. I also find it soothing to practice classical pieces on guitar, deliberately moving my fingers slowly and precisely. If doing these things calms and sooths me, then I suspect they are also changing my life, since my mood definately affects how I view things and how I feel, and those in turn affect any decisions that I make. For years, I've doodled to help myself think. My drawing teacher said there is scientific evidence that says that when you are drawing, you are using a different part of your brain than the one that speaking uses, so it is sometimes hard for people to draw and speak at the same time. Doodling shuts off the voice in my head and lets me think about things without words, rather than working things out logically. The decisions I come up with are frustrating for other people because I can't explain them until a few days later when the reasons become clear, but they are inevitably better decisions in the long run. What about that book Drawing on the Left Side of the Brain? I think when you make that wave pattern, or deliberately alter your handwriting, you are drawing but without having to think about drawing a particular thing, in which case I suspect that doing so will change your life because it gives you another way to make decisions and another way of thinking about things.

 

I don't feel like I am explaining this very well.

 

I certainly don't see what harm it would do to try. If you were trying to sell this to other people, then I think it would behoove you to back up your claims with scientific evidence, but since it is just for yourself, I don't see why you can't simply try it and see if it works.

 

Didn't Waldorf originate in Germany? That might have affected their choice of handwriting style.

 

Have you seen French handwriting?

 

Here is a fun site:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/

 

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

You might like the threads on fountain pens. Those are fun.

[Hunter]

No I haven't seen French handwriting. I will have to google it.

 

Now, I've been researching Waldorf letter stories, and finding it quite interesting.

 

The letter "K", for instance, may be introduced by telling a fanciful story about a king. Then the teacher may draw a picture of the king standing in a pose that looks similar to the letter "K." This process hearkens back to the picture writing of early man, and gives our modern symbols real and living qualities to which children can relate.

 

I'm not trying to sell any this to people...just interested in their reactions to some of the ideas that people have been tossing around for decades, and longer, but that I'm just learning about now.

[Hunter]

I was just remembering, that in most/all ancient alphabets, each letter had a meaning. In Hebrew the 1st 2 letters are house and ox? The Celtic alphabet had trees assigned to each letter? The Germanic alphabet now known as runes started with a now extinct wild ox and the second letter domesticated cattle, and later on fire and ice?

 

I wonder if the Latin alphabet originally had meanings? I'm not sure I fully go along with even the placebo affect of some of these curricula, but it's a fun idea, to learn the letters as more than strokes. For each letter to have something truly individual about it, rather than just one piece of a large whole.

 

And the potential to turn the learning of each letter into a rich art experience, or time to doodle is an interesting idea. There was a Waldorf book that presented the letters x with a child having crossed his arms while playing the xylophone. They like to include body movements with each letter.

 

I've looked at Drawing on the Left Side of the Brain a few times and not been impressed, but sometimes I just am not ready for a book that will fascinate me later on, after something specific has caught my attention elsewhere.

 

The study of brainwaves is fascinating stuff, but unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation being handed around, mixed in the with the science, and lots of people wanting to make a profit off of vulnerable people. Some of the most trustworthy studies are those performed with cancer patients.

 

Nan, what am I looking for at that site?

 

Last night I was devouring Exploring Visual Design and am fascinated with how the elements and design principals of art are applicable to talking about a font as a whole, and each of the individual letters. A font is truly a work of art.

 

Using a fountain pen causes the letters to include even more art elements and principals, than those written where the lines are all of identical widths. I know I just want to use a pencil for now though.

 

I am fascinated by line. It is my favorite art element. I drive art teachers crazy with my total lack of interest in shadow. They try to get me to at least use width of line to produce a slight shadow affect, but i always resist. It fascinates me to try to represent depth with just a regular line. I guess it is no surprise that alphabets and fonts have now caught my attention.

[choirfarm]

So what does it mean if your handwriting constantly changes?? If you look in my journal, sometimes it slants left, sometimes right, sometimes big, sometimes small, sometimes gorgeous, sometimes chicken scratch. So what does that mean??

 

Christine

[Nan in Mass]

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/doc11/image.htm

 

This, for one.

 

It is a site which teaches you to read old handwriting styles, so it has lots of examples of fonts. It gave me a new word, too: palaeography.

 

I like line, too. My drawing prof had to forbid me to use the point of my pencil, only the side of my chunk of graphite, to get me to do value studies. She thought I didn't understand and labelled it a breakthrough. I did. Perfectly. I just didn't want to GRIN.

 

I like pencil best. We sharpen our pencils with our pocket knives, here. Since I grew up with pencils like this, I find pencil-sharpener sharpened pencils boring.

 

-Nan

[regentrude]

Using a fountain pen causes the letters to include even more art elements and principals, than those written where the lines are all of identical widths. I know I just want to use a pencil for now though.

 

I always found it strange that in the US children are not taught to write with a pen. Back home in Germany, students learn to write using a fountain pen in 1st grade. They are also taught cursive in 2nd grade and expected to write in cursive. In my experience, once the skill has been learned it allows them to write faster, with less effort, and it looks much prettier.

You might want to try writing with a fountain pen - if you are interested in the motoric effect, it is like night and day compared to pencil. So smooth and calming...

(I still write diary entries and letters with pen.)

[Hunter]

I went through a phase of sharpening my pencils with my pocket knife and then a retractable xacto knife, but people kept freaking out while I was in public...so I stopped.

 

I like drafting mechanical pencils with soft thin leads, and fine and ultra fine black pens.

 

I watched a couple YouTube videos on fountain pens and I got really anxious just watching them. The lines are too thick and the letters too big. I do a LOT of writing on cramped worksheets for group therapy, my 7 habits forms, calendars, and homework from the dietician and my therapist.

 

Today I realized, I absolutely do NOT want to write at slant!

 

Looking at fonts today, I learned about the Romany and the Apricot. They are very round fonts.

 

I also learned about ligatures. I think sometimes I am more interested in how my letters join, than in the letters themselves.

[regentrude]

I watched a couple YouTube videos on fountain pens and I got really anxious just watching them. The lines are too thick and the letters too big.

 

Oh, that does not have to be like this - it depends entirely on the pen you choose. There are some, mostly for calligraphy, that have a very broad tip (which is nice for using effects that play off the different line widths), and those don't lend themselves to writing small. OTOH, there are some very fine tips which produce fine lines and are conducive for very small writing.

So, not all pens are created equal.

Pelikan and Lamy are good inexpensive brands for a beginner, even children.

 

I like to use pen for consecutive text; letters, journal entries, morning pages. I do not use pen for more mundane writing ( filling out forms belongs in the latter category).

[Nan in Mass]

I insist that our in-public pocket knives be swiss army ones. They are less intimidating. It is a problem when walking. You really need them then, from everything from food prep to applying moleskin to blisters, but the police manning the metal detectors in public buildings in the city sometimes do not understand what use one would be other than for stabbing people. Usually they are very nice and just collect them up and then return them all to us later. It is much easier out of the city where pocket knives and utility knives are more common things to have in one's pocket.

 

I like mechanical pencils for math. I used them all through college. Doing the math the second time around now, I find that even little things like a knife-sharpened pencil help relieve the boredom.

 

Pen and I don't get along GRIN. I think in circles, write in circles, figure in circles... I need to be able to erase.

 

-Nan

[Hunter]

Well, I successfully changed my handwriting :-) I've been using StartWrite and the Modern Cursive font which I just found out recently is a generic version of the D nealian font. I still have a ways to go to perfect it, but my handwriting is no longer a crisp italic, but instead a softer loopy one.

 

This feels like a real step towards recovery to have done this. I picked my font this time, and this declaration of individuality is evident every time I use a pen or pencil.

 

I wrote my mom today who I have almost no contact with and smiled as I wrote out her address, wondering if she will notice the change.

[Teachin'Mine]

Congratulations! On both the handwriting and writing to your mom. :)

[Nan in Mass]

I've noticed my cursive (when I use it) getting more like my grandmother's. I am making a conscious effort to pull it back towards my mother's rounder, openner writing. It is a bit spooky. My printing is turning out to look more and more like my other grandmother's, but I am happy about that. A bit spooked, but happy. Don't the Zen monks spend time trying to draw a perfect circle? It feels a bit like that.

 

I bet your mother notices even if she doesn't realize she notices.

-Nan

[Hunter]

Nan, I noticed I didn't respond to your last post way back when this thread first started.

 

Many city buildings are so restrictive. I used to have such a problem getting into the social security building when I was homeless. I had to leave the shelter each morning with everything I was going to need for the day, and that included a knife, a thermos and all sorts of things that made the guards uncomfortable. If they took the knife they kept it :-( I used to have to find a place to hide it outside and hope it would still be there when I got back, or give it to a friend to hold.

 

At least all they would do to the thermos is make me open it and sniff it. After sniffing it one guard asked me if he could taste it, in the same tone that has always been used to ask to open and sniff. I surely didn't want him to, but I was so intimidated I said "yes" and then he yelled at me for not knowing he was joking :-( Sniff, taste, it all seems bizarre and invasive to me :-0

 

My life just got easier when I switched to mechanical pencils :-) I have to get proof of income statements every month for one agency or another. I HATE going there!

 

Teachinmine, yeh, I'm pretty happy about getting the letter written. I don't think my mom knows about my anorexia, so...it makes it hard to write her, cause...I'm not sure what I want to say and what I want to skip. It's just really hard :-( I want us BOTH to be okay and sometimes I don't know how to make that happen :-0 I realized last night I want to practice addressing envelopes to make sure they look nicer now.

 

Does anyone know of any good instructional workbooks for D Nealian cursive? Tracing and copywork with StartWrite is good, but I feel like I could use some hard core explanations for each letter and type of stroke.

 

This has really become something important to me and I want to finish with it. I want to stick with the font as it is, and then take a hard look and maybe individualize it a bit. I don't want to move onto that step too quickly though until I really have the basics mastered. I find tracing the words helps so much more than just copying them.

 

Soft and loopy, like the new me :-) No more sharp edged robot girl, is the goal.

 

And I know this is silly, but I love how my g, y, j all come back up to the line now instead of just ending in space. They feel finished and connected to the rest of the word. And there is a letter in my name that is so much rounded and it makes me smile whenever I write it.

[Nan in Mass]

I guess there is some advantage to walking into public buildings with bald people in bright orange robes glowing with self-confidence GRIN.

 

I would hate having to go in to fill out or submit forms. Every time I do it I seem to leave a trail of annoyed people behind me because I find their directions confusing.

 

The cursive book that my children used was a short one meant for older children for review. It was mostly empty lines with only a few tracables at the beginning. I wrote a lot of things out myself for them to trace. How new is your font? Are there any scanned-in older books that have lots of tracing in them? If your pad have a stylus (I seem to remember that it did), can you load some things written in the font and trace over them on the screen?

 

-Nan