2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Dependent versus Empowered
• The Power to Destroy • The Power to Create
war loving, coercive peace loving, consensus &
violence & retribution reconciliation using
using cultures societies and cultures
• Dominator Cultures • Partnership Cultures
elitist, high degrees of egalitarian, low degrees of
social status, social social stratification &
stratification status
• Power over (Autocratic • Power with (Power as
nature of power) Win-lose process) Win-win
competitive zero sum cooperative positive sum
games games
5. DREAMING
Symptoms Present
From Dependency To Empowerment
• Lack of awareness, • Growing self awareness,
“false consciousness” self esteem & self
& ignorance of self acceptance
• Low motivation, issue • Highly challenged by
to big or too “fuzzy” situation, keenly
to deal with motivated & enthusiastic
• Little access to • Active searcher for new
relevant information. perspectives & relevant
No appropriate theory information about the
to shape action issues
6. PLANNING
Symptoms Present
From Dependency To Empowerment
• No alternatives • “Lateral thinking”
perceived, no real about new alternatives
choices possible & possible solutions
• Fatalistic strategy, • Practical strategies for
apathetic acceptance how to convert
of the status quo possible to probable
• Avoidance of the trial • Acceptance of risk,
situation, Avoidance willingness to trial by
of accepting the risk “giving it a go”
7. DOING
Symptoms Present
From Dependency To Empowerment
• No implementable • Creative implementable
vision, minimising behaviours minimise
stress by living from stress by keeping sight of
day-to-day the goal
• Distracting activities • Engagement with the
in order to withdraw environment, concentrate
from the situation on “job to be done”
• Punitive monitoring • Outcome of monitoring
confirms feelings of personal outcome clear,
personal & group and shapes actions
powerlessness appropriately
8. CELEBRATING
Symptoms Present
From Dependency To Empowerment
• Deskilling of the • Personal skills
individual. Growth of enhanced, new gained
negative self image abilities recognised
• Progressive loss of • Positive results
control of results, contribute to improved
lowering self esteem quality of life
• Acceptance of pre- • Increased accuracy and
judgement determined by discrimination of
others, mimicry of the judgement
powerful
9. The Community Worker who
fosters dependency fosters empowerment
DREAMING
• Suppresses awareness to • Raises awareness to
subconscious consciousness
• Produces separateness, • Enhances connections,
mystifies & demotivates demystifies & motivates
• Conceals and hides information • Shares and disseminates
as a source of power available information
PLANNING
• Inflexibly adheres to known • Creates a range of flexible
pattern, avoids alternatives alternatives
• Creates competitive win-lose • Creates cooperative win-win
strategies strategies
• Suppresses risks, seeks • Takes appropriate risks, is open
invulnerability and accepts vulnerability
10. The Community Worker who
fosters dependency fosters empowerment
DOING
• Asserts status differences & • Acknowledges equality, fosters
hierarchical control participation
• Orders from position of rank, • Networks, through
maintaining power & status involvement, develops peoples’
differentials potentials
• Instills fear through punishment • Provides nurturing, caring &
& retribution support in supervision
CELEBRATIN
• Enforces conformity to preset G • Acknowledges individual
levels of competance uniquesnesses in abilities
• Wealth privatised and • Mobilises community wealth
ecological pressure increases producing resilent ecologies
• Fosters prejudices and cultural • Enhances discrimination and
biases accurate judgement
11. Our Transition
We 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 ...
