excerpts

Don't focus, actually, let your attention wander but with a goal to see them – as if you were walking on the forest path and concentrating on the path itself but suddenly you look up and start seeing trees, sunlight, etc. etc., and just looking at the whole picture around you.

You will start seeing/feeling glimpses of your systemmates in the bigger picture (it can be your wonderland as a “second vision” or it may be just a modified reality around, or actual reality with systemmates overlaid on it). Not necessarily visual (that's sorta rare) but sorta a corner-of-eye movement feeling.

Once you have that, you can try gently focusing on that feeling, to tune in on a systemmate, sorta drawing them out and them becoming more distinct in the mind's eye, but never trying to stare at them directly. Maybe that would help with the communication! Relaxed attention to them, instead of focused and forceful one.

You can do the same with the group. Our host used to be able to hold 5-6 of us in the mind's eye at the same time, so he could see us do things and therefore reinforce his own ability to believe in us, and therefore the ability to hear us.

I can nowadays see umm... three? Consistently. But I'm preoccupied with other things and not training that.

TL;DR try to listen to them while your mind is kind of relaxedly open to them (like you would listen to a friend on a couch beside you) as opposed to tightly focused (like an interrogation room).