Everything But Sleep

From The Communities That Care WIKI

Exercise 1: EVERYTHING BUT SLEEP

Step 1: On an overhead or flip chart, show the following ten words:

            SLUMBER            PILLOW

            DREAM              NIGHT

            BED                BLANKET

            QUIET              PAJAMAS

            NAP                SNOOZE

Step 2: All these words are associated with sleep. As the facilitator, don't mention this fact. Instruct participants to look at the list, but not to write anything down. After ten seconds, turn the overhead off and ask the participants to write down as many words as they can remember, without talking.

Step 3: Ask people to raise their hands if they wrote down the word bed. Then ask who wrote down the word blanket. Then, who wrote down the word sleep? Note how many said they saw "sleep." After those people lower their hands, show the words again. Participants will quickly realize that sleep is not on the list.

DEBRIEF:

Ask participants, "What happened?" The point here is a simple one:

How do we, in real time, become aware of the associations we are making, and check for their appropriateness?

How do we develop the observer in ourselves so we more often have our thoughts as opposed to being had by them?

The exercises above were adapted from The Systems Thinking Playbooks by Linda Booth. Copies may be obtained from the Turning Point Foundation at (508) 650-0138.