DREAMS AND THE COMING OF AGE
Harry R. Moody, Ph.D.
Boulder, Colorado
ABSTRACT: Our dream life can offer clues about what ‘‘conscious aging’’ might promise for the
second half of life. Psychology has focused chiefly on the first half of life, while gerontology has
largely looked at decline instead of positive dimensions of age, such as wisdom or intergenerational
solidarity. When we consider dreams about aging, we can distinguish between an ‘‘Elder Ego’’
anticipating contingencies of later life and the ‘‘Elder Ideal’’ expressing aspirations toward positive
aging. Some dreams reflect the polarity of ego-integrity versus despair (Erikson), while others
express an ideal of affirmative disengagement or ‘‘gerotranscendence’’ (Tornstam). Jung’s idea of
individuation remains an important touchstone for identifying dreams that can offer guidance for
growth in the second