Introduction to Social Dreaming

Gordon Lawrence was a managing partner of Social Dreaming Ltd, London, and a visiting professor at the University of Northumberland, Newcastle, the New Bulgarian University, Sofia, and at La Sapienza, the University of Rome. Formerly, he held a visiting professorship at Cranfield University, Bedford. He was on the editorial board of Free Associations (UK), Freie Assoziation (Germany) and Organizational and Social Dynamics (UK). He was a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Socio-Analysis and a Distinguished Member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations.

'This is as fine an introduction to Lawrence's concept of social dreaming as one could have hoped for. It is lucid, concise, full of vignettes that are unusually clear, and as one would by now expect of anything written by this author, it is inevitably creative, even if it is meant to be "just" an introduction.'- Christopher Bollas'Lawrence unbinds the dream from the confines of the private (including the world of the consulting rooms) and reinstates it in its primordial role as a useful mental instrument with unlimited social function.'- Dr Judit Szekacs, psychoanalyst 'And now we have it at last, the perfect primer on social dreaming, and in the master's voice. As social dreaming moves more and more firmly into mainstream organizational development, Lawrence's book arrives in time to explain the history, to examine the underpinning conceptual frameworks, to explicate the practice and to encourage new ways of thinking about accessing the layers of reality in our working lives. This will become a textbook in time.'- Ruth Silver, CBE, Principal, Lewisham College London, Visiting Professor at London Southbank University 'Social dreaming adds depth to group-analytic explorations in workshops and conferences. Lawrence's work provides new and important pathways to unconscious thoughts and phantasies. This book should be essential reading for group analysts.'- Dr Malcolm Pines, Past President of the International Association of Group Psychotherapy and founder member of Institute of Group Analysis, London

• Preface -- The history of social dreaming -- Social dreaming in a company -- What is social dreaming? -- The marvelling mind of humans -- The underestimated value of unconscious thinking -- The differences of consciousness in relation to the unconscious -- Working with the social dreaming matrix -- Social dreaming as it illuminates political realities -- Social dreaming, quantum reality, and the digital age -- Working hypotheses on social dreaming -- Case study -- Social dreaming as the shadow of the future -- Conclusion -- The last word -- How does a social dreaming matrix work? -- Applications of social dreaming