Clare J., Zarbafi A. Social Dreaming in the 21st Century: The World We Are Losing

London: Karnac Books, 2009. — 202 p. — ISBN10: 1855755548; ISBN13: 978-1855755543.We are running out of ideas in Western society. Faced with global warming, Third World devastation, nuclear proliferation and the threat posed by religious conflict, we need new ways of thinking. After the loss and carnage of the Twentieth Century there is prevailing mood of uncertainty and paranoia, yet at the same time a denial of tragedy, a salvation fantasy, an illusion that we will be saved. The decline in social solidarity, the fragmentation of communal values and a growing sense of 'I' as opposed to 'we', are all signs of an inversion of moral certitudes, a disconnection from reality.This book asks what methods do we have at our disposal to understand and reverse this breakdown of communication within and between communities. Originally we had both studied sociology which, when complemented by psychotherapy, has found expression in the amalgam of 'dreaming and the social' which is the territory of this book. Thus, this work is a collaboration between two different analytic traditions, produced in the spirit of shared ideas, acknowledged differences and a mutual belief in free association and the primacy of the dream. In addition to Freud and Jung, we are influenced by thinkers such as Donald Winnicott, Wilfred Bion, Christopher Bollas and readers will find an exposition of some of their ideas in the Chapter on Social Dreaming and the Self. The work of Gordon Lawrence has also been an overarching influence since we first worked with him in 1994.Social dreaming and the self
The night train of social dreaming
Dreaming after 9/11
Sweet honey in the rock
The end of the dance: dreams at a literary festival: Addendum
We are all slaves to babble-land
Dreaming in the inner city: counselling with adolescents
Too late! Dreaming in the Haute Languedoc