The book asks the reader to write a page of text on unlined paper and then you get to analyse what your writing says about your character and how you might want to make changes in the way that you write which in turn should slowly begin to allow you to change the way you think (and therefore act). For example, the left hand side of the page corresponds to the past and the right hand side the future, so if you're the kind of person who lives in the past you probably don't leave much space on the left hand side. If you're always dreaming about the future rather than living for today then you probably write very close to the right-hand side of the page. The distance you leave at the top of a page corresponds to your feelings on authority - the less space the less you tolerate authority figures. Apparently Julius Caesar never left any space at the top of each page - go figure! Lots of other things reflect your character - the slope of your letters, the slope of each line of writing, spacing between words etc etc.
The second part of the book discusses the letters of our alphabet and how they relate to the way that we think. Some letters are associated with our ability to communicate, others relate to how we analyse things, others to creativity and how we express ourselves etc etc. It teaches an 'ideal' alphabet, which is supposed to aid the reader in getting over various problems, so at the ripe old age of 33 I have begun relearning to write. Oddly enough it's the 'easy' changes that are the most difficult to make. For example it suggest that one should write an o in a clockwise direction (thus ending towards the right which is supposed to be more positive than pointing backwards to the left). It's so easy to do a clockwise o, but I've found that I often accidentally revert to the anti-clockwise o when I'm not thinking about my writing. The capital H she suggests seemed odd to me, but having been doing some family history research today I just found the same H written on the 1881 census. They knew what they were doing back then!
I have completely different handwriting depenent on many things including the type of pen and nib I'm using, the mood I'm in, the reason I am writing and even to whom I am writing. I have a feeling that my life will not last long enough for me to change or, even if I did, for me to benefit significantlly from the effort involved.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued GB - do you change the shape of individual letters or just your overall writing style (size, slope etc)?
DeleteMy whole style including the letters and everything else changes even down to the colour of the ink. I always use large margins though on both sides and I tend to lay out letters traditionally. I use black ink with my Parker with the oblique/italic nib that I've had since I was 9. Otherwise I tend to use brown ink but sometimes use South Sea Blue.
DeleteThat's impressive GB - I don't know how your brain can switch between different ways of writing letters.
DeleteProbably Helen because it always has done. I've always had different styles of writing. Presumably (because it's not a subject I've ever given any thought to) when I write in a style I form my letters in a way for that style and then treat a different style as though they were different letters. If you see what I mean.
DeleteI find it fascinating that you can do that.
DeleteI loved your comment - "the writing of my parent's generation is so much prettier". I have had my handwriting criticised by prep school teachers, grammar school teachers, university lecturers (it is a university now but wasn't when I went there; it started a a college of commerce and when I left it was a Polytechnic!) and finally copy typists and my beloved P.A.. Over the last year or so I have tried very hard to improve and change it for the benefit of my postcrossing friends. It is bad enough expecting them to all read English but when it is badly written it is most unfair. So far I have been unsuccessful. But I am trying. It would help if I could find a 'style', the principal reason for my handwriting being poor is that it is inconsistent and effectively is lacking in a style.
ReplyDeleteIf you do an image search for "Vimala alphabet" you'll see the style I'm aiming for.
DeleteAre you trying to change individual letters, spacing or what?
Mainly my letters - not only are they inconsistent but I even use different styles within the same sentence - for example an ordinary s and the s that is an upward diagonal and then a curve back in. That must really confuse those whose normal language uses different characters. I am not so concerned about reflecting or changing my character (the Vimala one would be too complex for writing as plainly as possible). I would be happy to lose character and simply have it legible. Perhaps I would then end up like GB with different styles for different purposes.
DeleteI wonder from where or from whom CJ and I got this trait of different writing which apparently comes as naturally to us as it does unnaturally to you Helen.
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