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. Included is an enlightening assessment test that identifies those personality traits requiring attention. Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life profoundly reveals that the key to making dreams come true is as simple as putting pen to paper.
As I began studying neuroscience the summer, I found that handwriting clearly shows certain things and personality traits occurring in your brain. So, one thesis I had begun developing as I was studying handwriting analysis and neuroscience was that the neural plasticity of your brain changes, and when it does, so does your handwriting. And vice a versa, as you change your handwriting you can affect the plasticity of your brain. This book supports that thesis and offers tips to change your handwriting to make various changes and your personality.
Amazing book! I am on day 4 of doing the writing exercises - they feel curious, profound, intriguing and joyful! A close and dear friend told me that this book has changed her life in wonderful ways.
While a great idea, graphotherapy must be used in conjunction with positive thinking & cannot occur without the true desire to change a negative behaviour or pattern/habit. Still, a highly interesting read.
A lot of my friends have told me this is hokey bullshit and they should start writing books. And maybe it is, but it's really fascinating bullshit, and even if it doesn't work, hopefully my handwriting will improve. Anyone who's seen me write knows that can't be a bad thing. I have 36 more days for my first three letter changes, but maybe I'll remember to update this.
My handwriting has become continuously worse over the past decades. It’s to do with typing most of the time and with frantically scribbling the rest of the time, I guess. And so I’ve made it this year’s summer/autumn project to improve my handwriting, to practice properly shaping the letters and hopefully turning my chickenscratch back to what once was, well, not really pretty, but perfectly legible and not all that unpleasant. It’s not my intention to learn a whole new handwriting; I’d rather take what’s already there and turn it into something less messy and more enjoyable to look at (and write!).
I did some googling and stumbled across Rosemary Sassoon’s ‘Improve your handwriting’ and this one. I bought both books, read them and started practising. I quickly found out the Vimala alphabet is not for me. As in, not at all. I ended up stealing a couple of letters I liked and that will do nicely in my own handwriting, got rid of the book and focussed on ‘Improve your Handwriting’.
At first I quite liked the Vimala alphabet and thought it was a great tool but when the book arrived I soon learned that this alphabet is not meant to be a tool at all. It’s to become your new handwriting. After all, the creator has developed these letters after years of research and has poured a number of philosophical-psychological-esoteric-whatever insights into them.
Well. Not what I had expected but I thought, give it a try. And so I tried, and found the alphabet to be oddly disharmonic. There’s frilly, curly cursives sitting next to no-nonsense printed letters and that--in my humble opinion--makes a written text look strange and the individual words at odds with each other. After only a few days of practising I thought, nope, I don’t want to write like this! Plus, I seriously doubt that writing a curly ‘f’ and a small capital ‘t’ (with the ‘crossguard’ stroke sitting on top of the letter instead of in the middle) will make my social life buzz and my career skyrocket.
It's is not my intention to judge or ridicule Ms Rodgers' fans. I've read lots of enthusiastic and happy reviews and blog entries and it would seem that the author has done a lot of good to a lot of people. So, to each their own, but I found that the Vimala alphabet is not for me.
As for the book, I’m missing exercises. How do I join these optimised letters? (I found the Vimala ligatures on the internet but these only join 2-3 letters.) How can I practise so my hand will get accustomed to the frilly letters? How do I join a curly letter with a straight one? I’m supposed to practise for a period of 40 days, writing pages of words beginning with today’s letter, so to speak, but how do I shape the words so they look like an adult’s handwriting instead of a child’s drawings? A couple of exercises would have been very helpful.
One way or the other, it’s not for me. But please, do give it a try! Just because I don’t like this way of writing doesn’t mean you shouldn’t like it, either. It might be just the thing you’ve been waiting for, who knows.
What I did learn from this book that my own handwriting isn’t really all that bad. All it needs is some TLC and practise. I will never be able to write as quickly as I type and if I remember that and slow down, I’m certain I’ll have moved from chickenscratch back to a legible hand in a few weeks’ time.
2 of 5 stars plus the advice to look for secondhand editions of this book first. Try it before you jump ahead and buy the whole set. I’m glad I only bought the book and not the whole set with CDs.
I wouldn't have considered reading this book just by reading the title. I was trying to learn how to write in cursive since my writing style is Print style. I wanted to do something with my free time and my interest in learning about handwriting and calligraphy grew so rapidly that I was searching for things online. Tutorials, videos, websites, and books. I then found this book being mentioned somewhere and I thought why not. Although I initially had doubts (like with many others books, lol) that it may be some hocus pocus. So, I read a few pages, like a chapter or two, and then I was interested in the idea of Graphology (which btw, seems to be some sort of a pseudoscience) and Graphotherapy (in which I still have a little doubt, but I think time will only tell).
The book focuses mainly on Graphotherapy, which claims to have some kind of a reverse effect. Like when you practice a certain way of writing then you'll essentially start building a certain trait and habits. Of course, the books keep reminding the reader that not every little detail applies to every person but the overall habit will bring some change, which the author claims. Again, the author has stated very clearly that, to bring change in your life through Handwriting practice you need certain time and devotion, which I still have to do to judge this book completely. But for now, I feel like this book is good enough for all the knowledge and helpful ideas it provides. And btw, the Author seems to have a fair bit of experience and expertise, at least to my knowledge from what I learned from the book. So, it helps the reader to have some faith in reading this book.
Overall I can't lie, I enjoyed this book and I loved the scripts used, the Vimala Alphabets!
It's hard to "review" this book as I think to properly judge the merits its based on, you must be honest and at least follow the 40-day training period integrating the new alphabet into your penmanship so I think I'll do that and return in the future to see if my review changes.
That being said....... Vimala Rodgers presented the concept of Graphology/Graphotherapy to a novice like me splendidly! The book is not asking you to drop your beliefs and adopt her methodology right away because you are wrong and she is right. It's just a new window been presented to you so you may open it—should you choose—to look at life with a diferent perspective. I'm down for the adventure and so I'll be slowly incorporating such changes just to see what happens (most of my writing won't have too change much thankfully—phew). For example, one change I've implemented straight away is writing my O/o's clockwise instead of my natural counter-clockwise. Even if, say, I never realize the benefits of graphotherapy connected with this letter in my life, this new writing method streamlined my handwriting so I write smoother and a bit quicker than before since I don't have to backtrack with my pen. I found that plenty of the letters in the "Vimala Alphabet" follow in this path as well—presenting a smoother, more fluid way of writing along with my sentences instead of feeling like I have to keep up with the words against some clock because the way I move my pen is too slow with friction.
Overall, it's a fun book and I do feel you get some keen insight into your handwriting methods at the very least even if you don't believe in graphology/graphotherapy. Such awareness is welcomed no matter what.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Many reviewers note that its ‘fun’ – I agree, but I think it’s more than that.
Author Vimala Rodgers mentions the history of the alphabet, and how each letter came to be included. While that’s not what this book is about, it seems to be the foundation for Rodgers’ interpretation of each letter’s meaning, and her insight about what each letter offers to us when we pay attention to it.
But why pay attention to our handwriting, much less to how we form each letter? To me, Rodgers’ enthusiastic instruction and encouragement about handwriting fits perfectly with all the other deliberate efforts we make to shape the very close aspects of our lives: what we eat, how we move, what we wear, how we make our homes comfortable and functional for ourselves and others….
I find the only things I hand write anymore are journal entries, to-do lists, and personal notes to loved ones – what could be more important than these when it comes to intentional self-expression?
I am just beginning my 40 days of practice and am looking forward to what changes may come.
You will 100% be asking all of your friends and family for writing samples after reading this.
The study of graphology is a fascinating subject and while it’s technically still considered a pseudoscience or more likely a study under psychology I found it ridiculously accurate. The signs and symbols attached throughout each persons unique handwriting style speaks volumes and makes you feel like a forensic expert when you can recognize these little tics. And while the analysis of others is great fun (you will find yourself scanning every piece of handwritten paper and studying their character immensely) this book is also a great workbook to improve your own writing. Easy to follow with clear instructions on how to enhance your letters or eliminate detrimental detroses and upswings, a 40 day challenge barely feels like a challenge because I simply just want to practice writing everyday.
And while I’ve technically finished this book I will most definitely continue to use it as a reference. I highly recommend this for a succinct self help book with the added bonus of acquiring a unique talent to see into another persons psyche.
This was a fun book, as I'd never heard this idea before—that letters of the alphabet correspond to various virtues and personality traits. While I took everything with a grain of salt, I do see that by changing your handwriting, you're bringing lots of awareness into the picture, which would very much put new traits/virtues on the mind, thus bringing about changes in your actions.
It's a quicker read, so if this sounds at all interesting to you, I'd recommend it!
I have rather atrocious handwriting that I would like to correct and I remember that graphology was a thing. That is what lead me to encounter this book. I think that If you really took the time to implement this alphabet as your handwriting, ti could make a difference. handwriting and personality are certainly connected, and Vimala makes a strong case for this. I'll hold off from implementing the now but I appreciate the principles of the book
Magical book and an eye opener. I read it, but I am not done with it. This book will accompany me for quite sometime. I will not be writing the same way again and my perception about letters and writing totally transformed. I love the book, very easy to grasp and the ideas are very smoothly presented and to the poinrlt. Highly recomened.
A fun book. I practiced every day, for months, applying myself. Most letter styling I still do as learned today but, for a few my brain just doesn't seem to want to keep doing it in this new way. I had pretty handwriting before, even if some forms of lettering have changed it is still pretty today. If your handwriting is unreadable or unappealing then this book is for you.
Strange, because I’ve always loved handwriting, and felt very attached to certain ways of forming my letters. I wanted to know more about the why behind the changes suggested.
That said, some changes I support and have begun to implement. This short book sure brought up questions, curiosity has been piqued, and not yet quite satisfied…
I came across this book while learning about the effects of various writing patterns on our brains. The principles the author shares seem to hold some practical truth. I came away with a refreshed method of writing and upgraded the technique for writing some of the letters. Overall, I enjoyed the book and all the exercises recommended inside it.
I passionately love this book. I changed my handwriting! I love it. It gives me peace to look at now. I have more space to be. I’m still working on a few things. My handwriting is still my own, but now that I’ve taken control of it, I’m taking control of my life as well. Super interesting!!
The author, educator, and handwriting expert, Vimala Rodgers, is my Elvis. I’ve had a copy of her book, “Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life,” for a few years and keep reading it over and over. I also purchased her kit called “Transform Your Life Through Handwriting” (which comes with a guide book, 2 CDs, and 26 cards). This process of changing your handwriting is amazing. I started practicing my new handwriting last year and swear I will never stop. The actual letter changes should be done in 40 day cycles as explained in her books. I’m not always doing a 40 day cycle, but I’m getting there. When I feel that I can’t commit to a 40 day cycle, I focus on how I’m writing my numerous daily lists and notes and try to maintain what I feel is intrinsic to who I am now - my handwriting.
The idea that someone could take a sample of your current handwriting and analyze it in order to create a psychological profile is nothing new. Neither is the idea that your handwriting is not the same now as it was when you were in high school, college, or in the army, for example. We’ve all changed the way we think about things with age, and thus we’ve all been changing our handwriting over time involuntarily. It’s not hard to understand how changes in our thinking patterns will show up as changes in our handwriting. However, this handwriting program is about going in the other direction, about making deliberate changes to your handwriting in order to change the thinking patterns.
According to Vimala, your handwriting is a map of your attitude toward life.
“It is a graphic representation of how you see the world, how you’ve interpreted what’s happened to you through the years, and who you are at the deepest level. It not only reflects attitudes you have about yourself, it also reinforces them.”
Vimala wants to be your guide. She wants you to express your talents fully and to live an inspired life. She designed this handwriting program to be used as a tool to unlock attitudes that will move you forward in life with joy and a sense of being fulfilled. Practicing her alphabet sets you on a journey to remove any self-defeating attitudes that prevent you from seeing who you really are underneath it all. We are not to judge ourselves in this process, for there is no such thing as good or bad handwriting (one of her “Five Noble Truths”). But there is handwriting that supports you, or handwriting that doesn’t, and her books explain the soul quality of every letter and how to inscribe each one in the most self-affirming way.
It’s hard not to love Vimala. She cheers you on to try her program all the while proclaiming, “Don’t believe me!” That’s because belief in her or her work has nothing to do with how this process works. Vimala points out how the action of changing your handwriting is physically making changes in the brain. She explains that your subconscious mind controls your handwriting.
“When you learn a different way of writing, what you are doing is re-training the subconscious. You are telling your mind how to think. The subconscious mind dictates who we see ourselves to be, not because of what’s happened, but because of how we have interpreted what’s happened to us. And as you shift handwriting patterns, you are telling your mind, ‘I don’t do that anymore, I don’t think that way anymore. This is who I am.’ ”
When you try some of her suggested letter changes, I promise you will be surprised at how your pen is moved by your subconscious mind. You’ll see for yourself what I’ve seen a million times - how you think you are going to write a letter in a certain way and your pen seems to have a mind of its own. That is, until you slow down and focus, and take command of your hand.
Remember, you’re telling your mind, “This is who I am.”
You can’t change what has happened to you through the years, but you can choose a different interpretation of what it meant. To do so requires an opening up to new thoughts and attitudes and your handwriting can do that for you.
The first part of this book is dedicated to understanding handwriting and how that translates into our personality. After completing that section, I just wanted to go around and ask everyone I know for a sample of their handwriting so I can try to figure out more of their personalities. The next section is dedicated to showing proper form for writing letters and the reason behind why this is the best way to form the letter and what it means. The final and shortest of all sections talks about the exercises on how to improve your handwriting. The purpose of reading this book was to improve my handwriting, so while the first two sections were more academic and interesting, I felt that the book was really lacking what I was trying to do and just drive me to try and find a handwriting expert to take lessons from. I would recommend this book to someone that is interested in learning what handwriting says about a person, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend it for improving ones handwriting.
The idea that thought patterns are in our writing and if we change the writing we can change patterns makes sense to me. What I have a hard time with is accepting why her letters are best. There was not enough information about why hers is best nor was there enough information as to why she absolutely condemned some of the letters taught in school. Rarely there was. Also, I think the writing she prescribes looks stilted and mechanical and although I like some of the letters others look weird including the lowercase t which looks like a small capital t.
'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......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' - Vimala Rodgers
Very interesting so far. Feels overwhelming. Maybe that's just the nature of handwriting improvement books. Has some fascinating ideas, but sometimes feels a bit fanatic or extreme.
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I couldn't stay connected with it. Maybe I'll come back to it later. Maybe not. We'll see.
An interesting look at how our handwriting can influence our life. A book to pick up and practice with the exercises between other jobs, but one that needs to be worked at. I stared off very enthusiastically but have gone back to my bad ways, so I need to spend more time with the book.
Brilliant book on each letter, how to write or 'draw it' and the subtle meaning behind each letter and the family they belong to. Expect transformations and deep insights from engaging in these simple exercises.
We have included Vimlala Rodgers in our hand writing exercises with my 6 year old.
The concept of this book sounds amazing. I've been thinking about changing my handwriting because I sensed it might help me "re-invent," or perhaps "re-discover" myself.
I have purchased three copies, it is fantastic. Insightful, unique and truly helpful. What's the bonus? Your handwriting will improve along with your life!