colector: Re: [JournalWriting] Another newbie, another Christina

--- jbetz2501 <jbetz2501@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi Christina, and welcome :-)

Thank you Betsy, Walks, and Mary. Sorry to be so late
in answering your kind welcomes. I have been out of
pocket and too covered over to sign in remotely.

> I must say I found your interests things that I have
> often wanted to explore, especially Oriental
> medicine and aromatherapy. Do you practice
> acupuncture or
> was the needle one of your research materials? :-)

Well, it started way back when I was in school
studying acupuncture. Among other things, I am a
practitioner of alternative modalities of healing
including classical homeopathy, herbs, traditional
nutrition and as you surmised, acupuncture.

> I'm not sure what the answer would be to your
> question.. I use both typing and handwritten. And
> feel emotional release from both. But that is me
> :-)

I would have thought it would be whatever is the more
comfortable tool for the journaler, but Julia Cameron
(Artist's Way) and Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down The
Bones) amongst others that slip my mind just now, seem
to think it's important to handwrite. My teacher in
the Progoff system thought so too.

Mary votes for handwriting, listing many of the
reasons those above listed, and Prakesh votes for
computer for my very own reasons (ease and spelling
;-)

I am old enough that I grew up before computers were
wide-spread, in fact, before "personal" computers at
all, but I got deeply involved with computers in my
early professional life. Ever since, I have used
computers consistently no matter what profession I
have been pursuing, including student ;-) I find my
professional writing, or "technical" writing if you
prefer, is much easier and clearer if I compose on the
computer. However, and despite my preference for
ease, I am not convinced that handwriting might not
not have a different role in the brain.

It is obviously a different physical process, plus
from an Oriental medicine (OM) perspective I would
think that different meridians are activated by
handwriting vs. computer typing. In case you're
curious, I would think that typing activates all of
the meridians that begin or terminate in the hands at
the tips of the fingers (Lung, Large Intestine, Heart,
Pericardium, San Jiao, Small Intestine), some more
than others since a qwerty keyboard is arranged such
that you use certain fingers more than others, but
still you do use all the meridians at times as well as
both hands. Cursive handwriting, on the other hand if
you will pardon the pun ;-) uses only one hand, and
assuming the reasonably standard way of holding the
writing implement, really only uses the thumb and
first two fingers. From an OM perspective, that's
Lung, Large Intestine, and Pericardium meridians only.
I have no idea what that means in practice, but it's
interesting to contemplate. Note, that I can make up
a credible argument for either protocol (stimulating
all vs. just a few).

Being of a research bent of mind, I would like to find
out how to test the one over the other, but I have no
idea how one would do that.

Thanks again for the welcome!

> Betsy

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