A book titled "Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life"

[paulyf]

I just received this book from amazon and cant put it down.

 

"Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life" by Vimala Rodgers. is a book about improving your handwriting, but; it uses the ideals centered around graphology (handwriting analysis)to key in on certain personality traits that can be changed to improve one's life...

 

The book is a small paperback 8.5 X 5.5 inches ( 21.2 X 14 mm)at about 170 pages. The first half of the book starts you off by producing a writing sample of 1 page. Then, as you read you analyze your own writing. Not for signs that you are seriously disturbed but more for general traits like bieng outgoing vs reserved or if you have positive vision of your own future.

 

The book doesn't get very deep into the graphology since it is a book about improving hand writing.

 

The second half of the book is an introduction to the Vimala alphabet an alphabet Vimala Rodgers created from 30 years of handwriting study and analysis. The alphabet is introduced in groups of letters and not in alphabetical order. According to Vimala Rodgers each letter in the alphabet has it's own meaning to human expression and personal growth. The Alphabet is divided into sub groups or associated families. For instance the letters Ff, Rr, & Ss all belong to the family of creativity.

 

The second half of the book introduces you to these families one at a time each letter at a time. The meaning of the letter as it pertains to the human condition is explained followed by a set of instructions on the actual formation or writing of the letter.

 

For instance the lower case d reflects sensitivity. If you easily have your feelings hurt or find it hard to speek up for yourself, changing the letter d in your hand writing could change these traits for the better.

 

I the idea here is like looking at 2 groups of people. Group 1 people are all outgoing and not easily offended and they all create their lowers case d one way. Group 2 people are easily upset and shy away from otheres out of fear and they all create their lower case d another way. If you come along and write your lower case d like group 2 people, you can change and become more of a group 1 type by writing your lower case d like that of the group 1 people. This is the basic idea here as I see it anyway.

 

There are other writing changes that can be applied like word spacing, letter slant, letter zones like (upper, middle, and lower) and so on.

 

So after doing a analysis of my writing and my wifes writing, I can honestly say that the traits we each express in our lives were expressed in our writing according to the analysis. Now I have not been practicing any of the changes long enough to say that my life is impacted for the better or worse. I have had the book for a short time.

 

I like some of the letters in the Vimala Alphabet and some I don't care for. However the idea expressed in the book is to make small changes. The ones you want. Vimala Rodgers suggests making 3 formatting changes and 2 letter changes.

 

One formatting change I am making is my letter connection in my words. According to Vimala Rodgers words of 5 letters or more should be broken and not have all the letters connected. While this is not a rule and does not mean anything bad. Actually it indicates attention to detail and deep thought patterns. But by changing the letter connection, spontaneity and imagination will shine through.

 

One letter change I am making is my Capital A. The approach to this letter has roots tied to Abraham Lincoln. The starting stroke of the letter is called the Lincoln foot "It brings in the qualities of playfulness and warm humor, and reaffirms the desire to reach out to others in a sincerely altruistic manner."

 

So I'll keep writing and see where it takes me. I posted this review for those who are looking for reason in their handwriting improvments.

I have no connection with this book or Vimala Rodgers at all. I was just inspired.

 

Good day to you,

 

Paul Fort

Edited November 14, 2009 by paulyf

[Flourish]

Oh boy a new book to get sucked into!

 

As for the title "Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life" I guess that it's rather truthful as my handwriting sucks and so does my life!

[paulyf]

I forgot to add the author is a fountain pen lover

[PhotoJim]

It begs an interesting question. There's no doubt that there is some correlation between handwriting and personality. However, I'm not so sure I accept the premise that you can change your handwriting to change your personality.

 

Someone round up a few hundred volunteers and let's do some tests (And we need a control group too!)

[paulyf]

It begs an interesting question. There's no doubt that there is some correlation between handwriting and personality. However, I'm not so sure I accept the premise that you can change your handwriting to change your personality.

 

Someone round up a few hundred volunteers and let's do some tests (And we need a control group too!)

 

I agree and thought the same thing. But consider this, according to Vimala rodgers, our life experiences shaped and transformed out handwriting. So couldn't it be true in the reverse?

 

How many of us were taught the Palmer method in grade school? How many of the letters that we were taught did we change throughout our lives?

 

This book does ooze of intrigue.

Edited November 14, 2009 by paulyf

[PhotoJim]

I agree and thought the same thing. But consider this, according to Vimala rodgers, our life experiences shaped and transformed out handwriting. So couldn't it be true in the reverse?

 

The academic in me resists the idea that correlation works perfectly in both directions. Still, all I can fight you with is instinct.

 

It's an interesting premise, irrespective of my instincts.

[fixedintime]

I agree and thought the same thing. But consider this, according to Vimala rodgers, our life experiences shaped and transformed out handwriting. So couldn't it be true in the reverse?

 

The academic in me resists the idea that correlation works perfectly in both directions. Still, all I can fight you with is instinct.

 

It's an interesting premise, irrespective of my instincts.

 

 

It is basic logic that if A implies B that does not mean that B implies A.

And in statistics correlation only means association - and it works both ways, but it says nothing about cause and effect.

[FrankB]

paulyf wrote:

 

"How many of us were taught the Palmer method in grade school? How many of the letters that we were taught did we change throughout our lives?"

 

I was taught "Peterson Penmanship" which is all but a clone of the Palmer Method. I never got the hang of it and even into my 20's my handwriting looked like an eight year old's. I completely relearned how to write and took up cursive italic. My handwriting improved dramatically, but my life? I dunno.

 

Still, the book sounds interesting.

[PhotoJim]

It is basic logic that if A implies B that does not mean that B implies A.

And in statistics correlation only means association - and it works both ways, but it says nothing about cause and effect.

 

Good points.

 

Re: the correlation does not equal causation argument, that's absolutely true. My statistics textbook showed a very nice, tidily strong correlation coefficient between the popularity of golf in the US and the US national debt. The staggering (and of course intentionally wrong) conclusion was that you could ban golf to reduce the national debt.

[ZeissIkon]

So, the basic premise of the book is that the principles of (well debunked) graphology actually apply in reverse, and changing the way you write could change your personality? Pardon my skepticism, but as James Randi has often been quoted to say, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." I can't even think of a way to test that hypothesis, short of a multi-year study that couldn't be made double-blind (and hence is suspect from a psychological standpoint).

[FrankB]

After a little research, I have found that Vimala Rodgers is associated with the Waldorf Method of education. I have found the Waldorf Method to be very interesting, even insightful, yet frequently on the fringe and fairly rigidly associated with Anthroposophy. I will have to look into this book and Ms. Rodgers a little more. Maybe someone else here can add some insights.

Edited November 15, 2009 by FrankB

[paulyf]

Like I said intrigue...I have always admired the written word.

Edited November 15, 2009 by paulyf

[paulyf]

After a little research, I have found that Vimala Rodgers is associated with the Waldorf Method of education. I have found the Waldorf Method to be very interesting, even insightful, yet frequently on the fringe and fairly rigidly associated with Anthroposophy. I will have to look into this book and Ms. Rodgers a little more. Maybe someone else here can add some insights.

 

Have you read any works by Rudolf Steiner?? not me.. not because I feel any certain way but just because I am ignorant to his work.

Edited November 15, 2009 by paulyf

[Johnny Appleseed]

After a little research, I have found that Vimala Rodgers is associated with the Waldorf Method of education. I have found the Waldorf Method to be very interesting, even insightful, yet frequently on the fringe and fairly rigidly associated with Anthroposophy. I will have to look into this book and Ms. Rodgers a little more. Maybe someone else here can add some insights.

 

I have two children in a Waldorf school. I don't think that Vimala is from the Waldorf tradition, but I think that she has been embraced by many Waldorf teachers. My daughters teacher recently started to switch to using the Vimala cursive, rather than her own version of DeNealian (she had many years experience as a public school teacher prior to going to Waldorf).

 

As for Waldorf in general, I find it an incredibly solid, child-centered and developmentally appropriate educational system, despite the spiritual wackiness of the theory behind it. I think Stiener, or one of his followers, must have had a good sense of children and child development, because overall the educational approach is very sound and works with our modern neurological understand of child development (my wife is a child therapist and an expert in child development, so this is important to us).

 

Unfortunately, Steiner and Waldorf chose to interpret child development in the light of a metaphysical and spiritual beliefs about the soul, the intellect, the process of reincarnation, etc. so at times the reasoning behind the practise is very out-there. There are also some significant flaws in the core pedegogy (eg. need for stronger use of phonetical approach in reading, Eurocentricism in the core curriculum) though to an extent this is getting addressed in the ongoing evolution of Waldorf education (at least in the US), and the school my children attend seems to be better than many in that regard.

 

As for the Vimalla alphabet in general, I do find it has some interesting solutions to some of the letters - particularly the "s" and "g". The way it maintains a more upright cursive and handles some of the joins is interesting, if I fell it still has a few too many loops. My daughter, who has significant issues with neuro-muscular coordination and finds writing extremely difficult, likes the Vimalla cursive and finds it easier to use than other styles. The graphology behind it is bogus, but that does not mean it is not a decent alphabet.

 

John

[HDoug]

So, the basic premise of the book is that the principles of (well debunked) graphology actually apply in reverse, and changing the way you write could change your personality? Pardon my skepticism, but as James Randi has often been quoted to say, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." I can't even think of a way to test that hypothesis, short of a multi-year study that couldn't be made double-blind (and hence is suspect from a psychological standpoint).

 

I understand the objections you present, and even to me it seems a bit "astrological" -- as in the widget I have that says things like, "Embrace the glitches, Mercury in retrograde." But on reflection, there may be something to this. I was looking back a few years in my journals when I started trying to reform my handwriting and see the big, loopy, ungainly, and illegible handwriting that I was trying to reform. And although I'm still working on it, there is a marked improvement in my current hand. Sometimes, when I'm faced with implementing some other "reform" I think that it may be like my handwriting, that if I am persistent I can make that change. In other words, the ability to change my handwriting has contributed to my ability to change my self in other ways.

 

We think we "have" a certain kind of handwriting like we have a certain kind of nose or face or whatever, and we can't change any of that. But we can change our handwriting, and if we can change our handwriting, we can change other things about ourselves (not our nose, though). So maybe that's how the benefit of approaches like Rodgers' works. Just a speculation, of course, and offered here for contemplation. And I don't need Mercury in retrograde to embrace the glitches, I could be totally wrong about this.

 

Doug

[oldstoat]

Sounds like retrophrenology to me.

 

(Retrophrenology

From Discworld & Pratchett Wiki

 

 

A peculiar and painful fad in literal-minded Ankh-Morpork.

 

The reasoning runs: phrenology insists there is an inter-relationship between the outer shape of a person's skull, and those areas of the brain lying directly underneath. Thus, if there is a noticeable bump in the front of the skull, this is directly over the area of the brain thought responsible for intellect and should be evidence for an abnormal amount of brain development and activity directly underneath - ie, the intellectual personality.

 

Ankh-Morpork takes this a step further. What if a series of carefully measured blows on the head with carefully graded hammers could adjust the shape of the skull, thus modifying personality accordingly? Unfortunately, the leading practitioner is Zorgo the Retro Phrenologist, a troll, to whom sublety is one of dem word fings in dat dict-ee-o-nary fing.

 

You can go into a shop in Ankh-Morpork and order an artistic temperament with a tendency to introspection. What you actually get is hit on the head with a large hammer, but it keeps the money in circulation and gives people something to do. )

[paulyf]

Review update.....the more I read the more I question...

 

 

The more I consider this and discuss it, the more I am convinced that any personality changes that my manifest in the process are purely due to self suggestion. If you believe the changes will produce a certain result then they may just do that. Or I think a better name would be the placebo effect.

 

Im not fond of the lower case letter t in the vimala alphabet. the t is crossed at the top for both lower and upper case t's. Personally I think it has a juvenile appearance.

 

So there may be some good points to this book, but I think the basic material could be covered in a single page!!!!