Tornstam's Gerotranscendence

The definition of the word gerotranscendence by Tornstam and colleagues at Uppsala Universitet in Sweden follows:

“Simply put, gerotranscendence is a shift in meta perspective, from a materialistic and rational vision to a more cosmic and transcendent one, normally followed by an increase in life satisfaction. Depending on the definition of “religion,” the theory of gerotrabscendence may or may not be regarded as a theory of religious development. In a study of terminal patients, Nystrom and Andersson-Segesten (1990) found a condition, peace of mind in some of the patients. This condition is in many ways close to our concept of gerotranscendence.  They did not, however, find any co-relation between this state of mind and the existence of a religious belief or religious practice in the patients. . .  The signs of gerotranscendence can be described as ontological changes on three levels: the cosmic level, the level of self and the level of social and personal relations.

Cosmic	Self	Social
Time and Space Changes in the definition of time and space develop.  For example, a transcendence of the borders between past and present	Self-confrontation. The discovery of hidden aspects of the self- both good and bad- occurs	Changed meaning and importance of relations. One becomes more selective and less interested in superficial relations, exhibiting an increasing need for solitude.
Connection to earlier generations Increasing attachment.  A change from a link to a chain perspective ensues.	Decrease of self-centredness The removal of self from the centre of one’s universe occurs	Role play. An understanding of the difference between self and role takes place, sometimes with an urge to abandon roles. A new comforting understanding of the necessity of roles in life often results.
Life and death A disappearing fear of death and a new comprehension of life and death	Development of body transcendence. Care of the body continues, but the individual is not obsessed by it.	Emancipated innocence. The addition of innocence to maturity.
Mystery in life The mystery dimension of life is accepted	Self-transcendence. A shift occurs from egoism to altruism.	Modern asceticism. An understanding of the gravity of wealth and the freedom of ‘asceticism’ develops
Subject of rejoicing From grand events to subtle experiences; the joy of experiencing macro-cosmos in micro-cosmos materializes	Rediscovery of the child within. Return to and transfiguration of childhood	Everyday wisdom. The difficulty in separating right from wrong is discerned and a preference for withholding judgments and advice is developed.  Transcendence of the right-wrong duality ensues.
	Ego integrity. The individual realizing that the pieces of life’s jigsaw puzzle form a wholeness