Handwriting Sample: Jaycee Dugard

JAYCEE DUGARD – Remarkable coping skills

This script is taken from Jaycee Dugard’s memoir called “A Stolen Life”. Jaycee was kidnapped at age 11 while waking to a bus near her house by Phil and Nancy Garrido. She was held for 18 years in a suburb of the San Francisco Bay area and had two daughters with Garrido, and was forced to be a ‘sister’ to her daughters.

This writing sample is from a journal she wrote about a kitten she was given (which was subsequently ‘gotten rid of’ because it interfered with Garrido’s fantasy. At the time of this writing, Jaycee had been held for two years. She had been raped repeatedly and threatened, and saw no one but Philip and Nancy Garrido, and was not allowed out of the room where she was kept.

This was (and is) a remarkable girl in relation to the coping skills in her script. Her vertical slant helped her maintain an objective, pulled-back outward demeanour during those traumatized and terrified years.

Her wide word spacing helped her keep what was happening to her at arm’s length, and helped her emotionally distance herself from what was going on. This script appears to be fairly heavy in relation to pen pressure, which would have given her enormous energy reserves to show resilience under stress.

The dominant lower-case letter area throughout her script helped her focus on the day-to-day, minute by minute which I’m sure helped her find even small things in her environment to feel appreciation for that helped her to hold on and focus on keeping herself as whole and as safe as possible.

Her rounded m’s and n’s also helped Jaycee focus on whatever matter was at hand and take things one minute, one day, and one circumstance at a time. The carefully retraced mid-portion of these letters helped her repress her emotions so that she could make sure she was ‘good’ and didn’t anger her captors.

The heart doodles that appear within her script and at the bottom of each page reflect her hope; hearts are ‘romantic’ doodles. The string at the end of her heart-shaped doodles at the end of her page may well have been symbolic of hope and love feelings reaching out to her ‘future’ (the string on the heart moves toward the right). In some of her heart doodles, the string is more vertical, suggesting she was elevating her sense of love and hope above what was happening to her each and every day.

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Celebrity Handwriting: Elizabeth Taylor

Your handwriting is the ‘paper mirror’ of your personality, unconsciously broadcasting all kinds of secrets about you to others. The text of your writing indicates your private self. Your signature represents the face you show the world.

In the strokes of your signature, you have developed a ‘trademark’; whether it’s legible or illegible, has flair strokes or is unadorned, it is the ‘face’ you have chosen to wear and show to the world. Its direction, size, style and position on the page all shriek to others the needs of your ego, and reflects how you want others to see you. Many celebrities and regular folk style their signature to project publicly how they wish others to perceive them.

Some celebrity signatures reveal a wealth of information about them. Elizabeth Taylor’s signature is certainly a treasure trove of positive qualities.

Despite having many physical illnesses and personal ups and downs throughout her life, Elizabeth’s signature still moves upward on her page, denoting sustained optimism. The tie-loop in the ‘t’ of her first name represents her persistence: It’s fair to say that having had eight husbands, persistence would be a necessary attribute!

The pronounced flip-up stroke after her first name, where the stroke rises dramatically above the tops of her lower-case letters, we have a ‘need for attention’ stroke. This stroke alone signals Elizabeth’s craving for attention, excitement and need to seek out the limelight. Her desire to be loved, valued and respected motivated her to move out to be with others and attract applause.

The subliminal figure-8 stroke formed between the ‘y’ and ‘l’ of ‘Taylor’ indicates her ability to communicate smoothly and to smooth over troubling situations verbally and in writing. The needle-pointed ‘r’ in her family name indicates sharp mental perceptions.

Now we come to the ‘lower zone’, or lower loops, representing our physical needs (food, sex, wishes/desires on the physical level). You’ll notice that Elizabeth’s lower zone is full and active, very much like her very colourful and rich love life, her wealth of memories and past experience, and very appropriately portraying this ‘active lower zone’ in her eight marriages. Elizabeth’s wide lower zone loops are typical of a physical, sensual person who appreciates enjoyment, pleasure, and the material things that money can buy.

If the lower loops represent a composite of past experience, ideas we wish to treasure, and physical experiences, Elizabeth Taylor was a wealthy woman, and the wealth I’m referring to has nothing to do money.

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Handwriting: Importance of Cursive Part 3

DOES TEACHING YOUR KIDS CURSIVE WRITING MAKE THEM BETTER STUDENTS AND PEOPLE? ABSOLUTELY…HERE’S WHY… (Part 3)

There is an upper stream of very competitive kids who are not taking the shortcuts many of our schools are instituting. For example, there are many ambitious newcomers and some who are considered ‘old school’ or traditional who have insisted their children take the more disciplined route and who can be seen in coffee houses all over the city with pen in hand working in study groups and using cursive writing. These children will become the doctors, lawyers and upper management. They are not late and don’t say “Hellooh, I had a hair appointment.” The bigger issue of education relates to the children with less discipline who have “lower case” ‘reading/writing/and ‘rithmatic’ skills and whose parents have glib answers to the shortcomings of today’s education in schools and who have facile explanations why their children are only achieving a Grade ‘C’ average.

With the Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y and Generation Z all having to interact and get along, it seems the characteristics above have swung the proverbial pendulum far from the middle. I believe what we’re to see in the next number of years will move that now-wildly-swinging pendulum to more of a balance.

The start-point to find a balance for that pendulum is to reinstitute cursive writing in schools and to teach the children to make longer upper loops, thereby fostering an interest far-reaching ideas, values and philosophies. This will give them a stronger focus they can apply other learning, and will provide a short respite from their many technological diversions. A longer, stronger attention span will, no doubt be an added benefit.

Handwriting: Generation Y

DOES TEACHING YOUR KIDS CURSIVE WRITING MAKE THEM BETTER STUDENTS AND PEOPLE? ABSOLUTELY…HERE’S WHY… - Part 2

Examples that illustrate the personality of the dominant middle-zone person: Upon visiting a restaurant where both server and hostess were Generation Y, upon mistakes being made in seating and food order, the Generation Y response was “Whatever” and “Nobody told me.” The hoped-for mature, professional response “We’ll remedy that right away; this shouldn’t have happened” was gone.

In another example, a Generation Y’er was late for work and, when questioned, responded “Hellohhh! I had a hair appointment.” On yet another occasion relating to absenteeism, on being asked why they had reported for work three days out of five, the Generation Y’er retorted, “Well, do you want a good happy employee for three days, or a bad one for five days?”

A boomer told me this story: On observing two Generation Y people standing right in front of each other who were texting back and forth, she approached the pair and said “I might seem a nosy older woman, but why are you two texting one another when you’re standing together?” They replied, “Because we don’t, like, want anyone to, like, overhear our conversation.”

Get the idea? All of the above may very well explain, in part, why many from Generation Y prefer to live at home with their parents well into their twenties (no, Martha, it’s not because of the economy). While I appreciate that not all Generation Y folks fit the examples and descriptions above, many of you reading this, I’m sure, will be able to relate on some level with stories of your own.

So, what does all this have to do with handwritten script? The middle zone (lower-case letter area) is the area of the ‘immediate’, as I explained. Those with a dominant middle zone (termed the mundane area, represented by lower-case letters) and very short upper zone (termed the abstract area, represented by upper loops) want everything NOW. Many boomers were taught they needed to plan and save and then buy that house, that fridge, that car. Generation Y (and soon Generation Z) of the large middle zone feels they want it now and can merely put it on their charge cards, not likely thinking of the consequences until the bills come in.

We are, whether we realize it or not, in the middle of a quiet revolution and its new opportunities. The technical mind-set and different brain wiring of Generation Y and Z make it appear rational for the schools to put less emphasis on cursive writing. But is this really what we want to do?

Although Generation Y and Z have this technical mind-set, it is also crucial to re-institute the now-absent sense of responsibility and consideration of others. It appears that Generation Y and Z have a free pass on these qualities, resulting in the “Whatever” attitude we witness all too often. This consideration of others should not go out the window with cursive writing and other basic skills.

Justin Bieber's Signature: Positive Strokes!

JUSTIN BIEBER’S SIGNATURE: POSITIVE STROKES!

In relation to Handwriting Analysis, some signatures are rich in qualities and some are not: Justin Bieber’s signature is one that is rich in positive qualities.

Justin’s signature moves upward on his page of writing, indicating his optimism. Justin’s optimism is enhanced by the ‘smile’ stroke on the capital ‘B’ of his family name—Justin can keep smiling on the outside even when he’s not smiling on the inside.

How interesting that the capital ‘B’ of Justin’s family name ‘sinks’ into the lower area of the writing. This is termed ‘sensuousness’ and indicates attraction to (besides the obvious attractions) delightful aromas, attraction to good food and attraction to the feel of rich-textured material, etc.

The letter ‘r’ in Justin’s family name is flat-topped, indicating good manual dexterity, which comes in very handy when playing guitar or drums. This letter ‘r’, denoting creativity, pops up higher than the tops of his lower-case letters, indicating that creativity is a priority and a necessity for him to be fulfilled.

The i-dot in Justin’s first name and in his family name are round, suggesting his loyalty to his friends, family and his fans. The very close i-dot to his i-stem indicates his close attention to detail.

The t-bar in Justin’s first name stands alone (doesn’t join to the next letter) indicating his matter-of-fact, practical outlook. It’s in the upper portion of his t-stem, indicating his drive to set high goals and stretch out of his ‘comfort zone’.

The deep v-wedge in the ‘n’ within his first name indicates Justin’s good analytical ability. The leftward downstroke of this particular letter ‘n’ indicates reserve: people may think they know Justin, but it will, in truth, take time for someone to really get to know him.

All the letters within Justin’s first and family name are joined, indicating his logical, sequential mind and his good ability to solve problems. His high capital letters indicate a good level of confidence.

The high, full upper loop in the ‘b’ within Justin’s family name indicates an excellent imagination and ability to plan long range.

The angled connective strokes within Justin’s first name indicate his drive to achieve.


Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Using a Comfortable, Quality Pen

Using a Comfortable, Quality Pen

I’ve been asked on many occasions just how important the actual pen they use would be in either writing or handwriting analysis.

Comfort in writing and ease of writing is incredibly important. I have had people declare that they cannot write at all with a fine-tipped pen; others insist they need a medium-tipped ballpoint pen. More people today request gel pens because it makes it easier and more fun for them to write.

With everything and everyone moving faster than the proverbial speed of light, ease of writing becomes that much more critical. Bic’s ReAction Pen, for example, has the writer feeling that their hand is dancing and even racing across the page, a delightful combination of the solidity of the ballpoint pen and the flowing ease of a gel pen. For those who grip the pen heavily and develop calloused skin on the sides of their fingers, the soft rubber grip of this particular pen will be a welcome relief for many.

I asked a representative of Laywine’s Pens on 25 Belair in Yorkville, Toronto why people choose a high quality writing instrument. She said it was a matter of aesthetics, together with the pleasure of having and using a well-balanced pen in your hand.

The Laywine’s expert also said the importance of a high-quality pen had to do with the quality of the ink flow. As people push the paper with the pen, they’re looking for the good feeling of the ink flowing and the satisfaction in producing the line of the pen that you create on paper.

Further, the Laywine’s expert told me that a fine quality pen would satisfy the visual needs of the person using the pen, analogous to a nice graphic design poster. There is an element of art insofar as the aspect of visual art, with the look of the letter as it is being shaped with a fine-quality pen.

Finally, many people feel they attain a higher status in using a high-quality pen, similar to the status they would attain from driving a top-of-the-line car.

As far as I’m concerned, there is a ‘sensuality’ attached to seeing a line of substance and some texture produced from a writing instrument. Seeing and using a beautiful, top-quality pen can fulfill an artistic side of people they may not even be aware they need to feel and express!

Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com

Importance of Cursive Writing - Part 3

Importance of Cursive Writing - Part 3


Learning disabilities expert Betty Sheffield has found that, “handwriting allows access to kinesthetic memory, the earliest, strongest and most reliable memory channel. Put simply, when children write what they have learned, they learn it better.”

Here is a quote from “What America Lost: Tracking Attitude Changes Through Handwriting” by Sallie Bolich: “In the early nineties, Jeanette Farmer, a Certified Graphoanalyst in Denver Colorado learned of a study, completed in 160 by Dr. Rudolf Pophal, a German neurologist and graphologist, which proved handwriting actually creates a physiological/psychological link in the brain. … Her theory was that ‘push pulls’ and ‘ovals’, those drills so strictly administered long ago, aided development of neural pathways to the brain thought to improve impulse control, thus increasing the students’ ability to concentrate.”

Handwriting does require a significant amount of practice, perseverance, focus and concentration. Handwriting stabilizes the emotional brain because of the repetitive and rhythmic manipulation of the thumb and forefinger over time. This involves the development of the prefrontal cortex part of the brain. The word ‘focus’ is important: Studies show that children who are able to focus perform better in many areas of their life. Therefore, practicing handwriting until it becomes an ‘automatic skill’ is one of the best avenues to develop ‘focus’.

As the writing skill develops, so does the hand-brain-eye coordination that can be transferred to other tasks. Some researchers believe the brain paths created by developing the eye-hand co-ordination at an early age will lead to higher brain function later.

Throughout history, when the importance of handwriting was emphasized, the literacy of the population was enhanced. Historically there have been many cycles of literacy to illiteracy: The one fact that has been consistent is that during times when the population was not literate, the people went through more difficulties.

Writing focuses attention: Both the mechanical skill and creative intellectual processes are developed. Like it or not, people still judge you by your handwriting—some employers judge you by your handwriting.



Be sure to view my 5-minute “Power of the Pen” DVD on my Home Page at www.handwritinganalysistoronto.com