Adding Complexity to the Basic Dragon Dreaming Model

By John Croft ©

Goals of the Dragon Dreaming Processes

• Empowerment is the goal of Dragon Dreaming.

• Like the process of development itself, empowerment is an on-going process.

• No-one has yet been fully empowered, and we are all working far below our genuine potential capacity.

• As one works with individuals, groups, organisations and communities, however, it becomes clearer that empowerment is produced through the free flow of information as a part of an effective process of communication, and upon the extension of one’s personal boundaries of moral concern to include a compassionate understanding and empathy with others, whilst being able to take distance when needed, enhancing a clear insight in considering the ecological connectedness of all factors involved.

• An empowered system is one that produces empowered individuals.

Avoiding the Blockages• Dependency is the result of any situation of inferiority, in which a person or

a group of people lose their autonomy and control over their own future. • Dependency sees people reduced to being less than human, to the situation of

a client or a customer, resilient upon systems over which we have no individual or collective control to meet our basic fundamental human needs.

• Dependency is the result of a blockage in our ability to achieve our full potential as human beings.

• The “Psychology of Dependency” appears when the following symptoms appear :- apathy, fatalism, powerlessness, fratricidal violence, loss of all visions for the future, mimicry of the powerful.

• To escape from dependency, you cannot be empowered by others, you can only empower yourself.

• Any system that produces disempowered or dependent individuals is an exploitative system.

Dependent versus Empowered

• The Power to Destroy war loving, coercive violence & retribution using cultures

• Dominator Cultures elitist, high degrees of social status, social stratification

• Power over (Autocratic nature of power) Win-lose competitive zero sum games

• The Power to Create peace loving, consensus & reconciliation using societies and cultures

• Partnership Cultures egalitarian, low degrees of social stratification & status

• Power with (Power as process) Win-win cooperative positive sum games

DREAMINGSymptoms Present

From Dependency To Empowerment

• Lack of awareness, “false consciousness” & ignorance of self

• Low motivation, issue to big or too “fuzzy” to deal with

• Little access to relevant information. No appropriate theory to shape action

• Growing self awareness, self esteem & self acceptance

• Highly challenged by situation, keenly motivated & enthusiastic

• Active searcher for new perspectives & relevant information about the issues

PLANNINGSymptoms Present

From Dependency To Empowerment

• No alternatives perceived, no real choices possible

• Fatalistic strategy, apathetic acceptance of the status quo

• Avoidance of the trial situation, Avoidance of accepting the risk

• “Lateral thinking” about new alternatives & possible solutions

• Practical strategies for how to convert possible to probable

• Acceptance of risk, willingness to trial by “giving it a go”

DOINGSymptoms Present

From Dependency To Empowerment• No implementable vision,

minimising stress by living from day-to-day

• Distracting activities in order to withdraw from the situation

• Punitive monitoring confirms feelings of personal & group powerlessness

• Creative implementable behaviours minimise stress by keeping sight of the goal

• Engagement with the environment, concentrate on “job to be done”

• Outcome of monitoring personal outcome clear, and shapes actions appropriately

CELEBRATINGSymptoms Present

From Dependency To Empowerment

• Deskilling of the individual. Growth of negative self image

• Progressive loss of control of results, lowering self esteem

• Acceptance of pre-judgement determined by others, mimicry of the powerful

• Personal skills enhanced, new gained abilities recognised

• Positive results contribute to improved quality of life

• Increased accuracy and discrimination of judgement

The Community Worker whofosters dependency fosters empowerment

• Suppresses awareness to subconscious

• Produces separateness, mystifies & demotivates

• Conceals and hides information as a source of power

• Raises awareness to consciousness

• Enhances connections, demystifies & motivates

• Shares and disseminates available information

• Inflexibly adheres to known pattern, avoids alternatives

• Creates competitive win-lose strategies

• Suppresses risks, seeks invulnerability

DREAMING

• Creates a range of flexible alternatives

• Creates cooperative win-win strategies

• Takes appropriate risks, is open and accepts vulnerability

PLANNING

The Community Worker whofosters dependency fosters empowerment

• Asserts status differences & hierarchical control

• Orders from position of rank, maintaining power & status differentials

• Instills fear through punishment & retribution

• Acknowledges equality, fosters participation

• Networks, through involvement, develops peoples’ potentials

• Provides nurturing, caring & support in supervision

DOING

CELEBRATING• Enforces conformity to preset

levels of competance

• Wealth privatised and ecological pressure increases

• Fosters prejudices and cultural biases

• Acknowledges individual uniquesnesses in abilities

• Mobilises community wealth producing resilent ecologies

• Enhances discrimination and accurate judgement

Our TransitionWe are moving through a “Great Turning” from unsustainable

industrial dominator dependant societies to life supporting partnership empowering societies

At the moment characteristics of both are present. We are at the inflection point, a chaotic “flip flop” where the situation fibrillates

wildly from one to the other

We are now in the zone of “Double-Power”…

…where the old hierarchies…… have all of the power but none of the capacity to resolve problems …

… where the new networks …… have the capacity to resolve problems but no power or legitimacy ...