E The Holistic View 131
Confusion
Energy low, direction scattered, focus internal.
A great movie moment that shows confusion is Mel Gibson in
Braveheart when his character, William Wallace, discovers that
Robert the Bruce has betrayed him. Wallace’s preoccupation moves
deeper into the psyche—a depiction of internal focus. He seems so
occupied that he may not even notice anything else. His mind has
discovered something that threatens his very being, and that enemy
has sapped his energy. There is suddenly an incongruity in his picture
of the universe.
Distraction
Energy high, direction scattered, focus internal.
You wake up in the morning and know you will be late for
work; you have too many things to do before you leave. You run
around the house looking for keys, trying to remember what else
you need to take with you. Nothing goes right.
People in this state may say they are confused, but the truth is,
the mind has an overwhelming preoccupation: I’m late. This fixa-
tion prevents focus on anything else as long as the mind knows
there is urgency at hand. Under these conditions, body language
has no consistent direction, meaning the syntax of the body language
is discordant, and not sending a unified signal.
Anger
Energy high, direction sharp, focus external.
Most people can recognize anger easily when it’s openly
expressed. What if the person masks it, though? Are there still