Further Reading

Saturday, 20 September 2008

Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life

Source: DailyOM

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.

Handwriting
Our handwriting is far more than a succession of words put together to create a means of communication. It is a map of our attitude toward life, a labyrinthine pathway to long-forgotten hiding places inside, a diagram of our unconscious mind. In simple terms, our writing patterns are clear indicators of how we feel about ourselves. They are a measure of our self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-reliance; they indicate our fears as well as our unique abilities. Self-image is the lens through which we see life, and handwriting patterns mirror the components of the prescription in that lens.

Although the hand -- or teeth or toes -- holds the pen, it is the brain that causes it to move as it does. When we write, each movement of the pen not only reflects the attitudes we have about ourselves, it reinforces them. Each time we press the pen to the paper to create a letter formation, connect letters, or shape a margin, we are declaring, "This is who I am." The more often we write in a specific manner, the more deeply that attitude is ingrained in our psyche.

Most of us have seen handwriting that caused us to gasp, laugh, or feel a certain way. Signatures especially. At one time or another you may have shown an unknown writer's handwriting or signature to someone and said, "Look at this!" You don't have to be a handwriting expert to gain insights about people through their writing. Essentially, handwriting is a graphic representation of our interpretation of life, indicating how we feel about ourselves and how this feeling affects our view of those around us.

Graphology
Graphology, also called handwriting analysis, is the science that correlates handwriting patterns with personality traits. Professional graphologists are trained in the interpretation of handwriting patterns and their relationship to the personality. Their expertise lies in drawing up a list of personality traits based on a thorough study of a handwriting sample.

Graphotherapy
Graphotherapy is the behavioral science that invites the writer to take pen in hand and change self-defeating aspects of the personality by altering specific strokes in the handwriting. Graphotherapists are trained in graphology and have additional training in psychology. Their expertise is to guide the client in altering handwriting patterns as a means of removing negative thought habits and replacing them with positive, self-supportive ones. By changing writing patterns we simultaneously reconfigure the neuropathways in the brain that record our self image.