HOW CAN I LENGTHEN MY ATTENTION SPAN FOR THIS WORK?

Hubs & Routes work is not exactly like anything you have done before. It's good to have ways to build our ability to try new things and stay connected as we meet new people, use new technologies, and face frightening futures.

Anything that is good for our bodies can help our brains: enough exercise, enough rest, good nutrition, ample hydration, and avoiding toxins. Another thing that helps our minds is a type of listening that moves blood flow from the amygdala to the forebrain. Here's how to do it:

 ·      Find a person who has read this page and is willing to try it with you at this time.

·      Agree on how much time each person will get and set the timer for that amount.

·      Agree on who will talk first.

·      Start the timer.

·      The first person says at least one thing they are proud of or that is going well. Then they talk about anything they want to talk about, or anything that comes up in the moment, until the timer goes off.

·      The first listener offers a silly question unrelated to what the first talker was talking about, to help the first talker end their turn and get ready to pay attention to the other person.

·      Reset the timer.

·      Repeat the process with the roles reversed.

·      After both turns are over, thank each other and move on to "normal activities."

·      Don't tell anyone--not even each other--what you heard while the timer was going.

Your job when it is your turn to talk:

 Talk about anything you want. Try not to give identifying details about any people you are talking about. If you start to laugh, cry, yawn, tremble, stretch, sweat or pound a pillow, just assume that that is part of your healing process--a shower for your brain--and let it happen.

Your job when it is your turn to listen:

Offer eye contact. Listen. Try to appear pleased that they are getting this chance to undergo this self-healing process, even if they don't look or sound happy. Don't interrupt. Don't give advice. Don't give your interpretation of their situation. Don't tell them what it reminds you of. This is their turn to clean old leftovers out of their mental closet. After they are done they will have new thoughts and new perspectives and be one step readier for a whole new day.