ABSTRACT
Formulations of the task in social dreaming have varied through the years, and continue to vary with individual practitioners. Oedipus makes the dreamer central, emphasizing the individual, the past, and the finite. Sphinx makes the dream central, emphasizing the social, the future, and the infinite. Therapeutic dream-work and social dreaming may be complementary, but are essentially distinct. Gordon Lawrence’s insistence that psychoanalysis and social dreaming are mutually exclusive was primarily because the served a purpose. Lawrence was involved in facilitating experiential groups. Increasingly he felt that dreams were being shared which did not merely signify for the dreamer. Lawrence’s reference to the connection between the individual and the group highlights a central aspect of social dreaming. Social dreaming came as Lawrence’s response to the urgency of Jung’s agenda. Social dreaming requires a readiness to accept that engaging with dreams on any basis can be a meaningful and rewarding activity.
