temperament, upbringingandsocial rules thatareoften in
conflictwithour internal desiresand feelings. Thesemakeup the
typical “person”. It is thisvery“person”, thisaspect of
ourselves, thatwemust expand in the theatre inorder tobeable
to constantlyportrayother, verydifferent character structures.
I havealsonoticedhow the reactionsof theaudience change
whenmybody takeson certainpositions. Thisdoesn’t justwork
in the theatreof course. Forexample I amsittingherenowdirectly
oppositeyouand I am lookingstraight at you.Now Imovemy
headandmydirectionof view to the left or right, to lookbriefly
at another person, but I keepmybodypositionwithyouall the
time. That issomethingquitedifferent towhen I turnmyentire
bodyaway fromyouand then turnback.Thatwouldexpress that,
bothmentallyandphysically, I canonlybehereor there. You
would immediately react to that andwould turn tosomething
or someoneelse too; thatwouldnot havehappened in the first
example. Body languageexpressesaspecific, situation related
intention throughmovement.
Whenpreparing for this interview, I noticed that I have
beenpayingmoreattention tomyownbody languageand
to that of others.
Molcho:
That’s the intention.Whenyou learnsomething, yougo
throughaprocessof greater awareness. Thisprocessof
becomingmoreaware isananalysis,whichoftenalso requiresa
course correction.Manypeoplesay: “That’s just how I am.”And
I counter thatwith: “No, youbecame thatwayandyoualso
becameused tobeing thatway. Changeyour vocabulary,
verbally, inyour thought systemsand inyourbody language, and
youwill see that you can radiatesomethingelseand that others
will react differently toyou; but you remainyou, just different.”
If you change thewayyouholdyour body, thenyour demeanour
changes too. If you let positiveemotions in, themovement
becomesbigger andmoreopen.Manypeoplehavenot learned
toopenup. They thinkabout theemotional experienceof
openingup insteadof actuallyopeningupand really
experiencing the feeling througha change in theway theyhold
their bodies. If no change takesplace, your counterpart cannot
tellwhat youare feeling,whereyoustandon thematter. Your
counterpartwill then feel uneasyor uncertainbecausehe
cannot identifyyour intention.
Letmemakeanassertion: youareprobablyof theopinion that
what is reallygoingon insideyou isnooneelse’sbusiness.
Society too tellsusoften thatweshouldnot showour feelings.
Whynot?Becausesomeone coulduse it against us. Sowemust
protect ourselves from theoutsideworld. Andso thehandsare
in front of thebodysealing it off, and the facial expressionalso
reflects this. But it canbesoexhilarating toshowyour feelings.
Itallows foranexchange todevelop, for communicationwitheach
other. It issimplyaverydifferent experience.
Can thebodyalwaysbetraywhat I am feeling?
Molcho:
Thebodydoesn’t “betray” in thenegativesenseof the
word, it simplyexpresses feelings.Otherwisehowcanyou
communicatewithanemployeeor colleaguewhenyouareafraid
of expressingandshowingyourmotivations?Youwill oftenhear
inanofficesituation: “Ohyouaresoemotional!” Iwouldanswer:
“Behappy that I amsoemotional.”Maybeyouwereoversensitive
or in thewrong, but the reactionwas real becauseyouwere
interested in thesubject andcommitted to it.Whenoneperson
Issue27
trends inautomation
Inspiration
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