The Shared Crossing Research Initiative
The Shared Crossing Research Initiative (SCRI) is a not-for-profit collaboration with Santa Barbara’s Family Therapy Institute. The mission of SCRI is to research end-of-life experiences and their therapeutic value for patients, their families, and caregivers. This work informs the development of educational and training programs for the public, healthcare professionals, and others working at end of life.
SCRI Project One: Examining the effects of programs designed to improve the end-of-life experience
SCRI’s first research project began in April 2013 under the direction of William Peters in collaboration with Dr. Michael Kinsella and a team of researchers at UCSB. The aim of this study was to assess the merits of the Shared Crossing Project’s programs and methods designed to create ease around end of life and to facilitate shared crossing experiences.
This research included over 75 individuals who participated in Shared Crossing Programs and found that people who followed the Shared Crossing Protocols reported having a more meaningful appreciation and peaceful acceptance of death. In addition, participants reported a wide variety of profound and healing end-of-life phenomena, including shared death experiences.
While more research is underway, this initial study suggests a strong a correlation between participating in Shared Crossing Programs and experiencing a variety of end-of-life or shared crossing phenomena. Drawing upon this work, together with a review of the literature and his clinical practice with individuals and families at end of life and in bereavement, William created the Shared Crossing Spectrum of End-of-Life Experiences (SELE), a comprehensive and user-friendly guide for better understanding the entire range of end-of-life experiences.
Shared Crossing Testimonial Project: Phase One
In March of 2018, SCRI initiated the Shared Crossing Testimonial Project (SCTP). The goal of this project was to initiate community building and dialog (local, national, and international, as well as both academic and general public) around shared crossing experiences and their therapeutic benefits. To achieve this goal William Peters, Director of SCRI, invited Dr. Michael Kinsella as Chief of Research to join him in creating the first database devoted to shared death experiences and other shared crossings.
This database is the first of its kind to gather and classify over 100 shared death experiences (SDEs), which William has identified as being among the most profound yet least known of all the types of end-of life experiences. To date the project has collected over 165 narratives of SDEs from people across the globe. SCRI hopes to continue collecting and documenting cases in order to expand the representation of end-of-life experiences as they appear among various cultures and groups.
SCRI's growing international library of personal accounts of profound healing experiences occurring around death form the basis for an upcoming book titled, Halfway to Heaven: Inside the Shared Crossing Experience. The aspiration behind this book is to apply stories of shared death experiences to transform personal and social relations to death and dying.
As SCRI enters the next phase of its research, it will continue to investigate the full range of shared crossing experiences identified in SELE. SCRI remains committed to community building and sustained dialog around shared crossing experiences and their therapeutic benefits.
The Ultimate Purpose
Displays of conscious, connected, and loving end-of-life experiences serve as a prototype for others to follow. They offer a life-changing perspective by awakening people to what matters most in life. Firsthand accounts of shared crossings can initiate significant personal transformations in the lives of listeners, which SCRI aims to harness to effect positive socio-cultural transformation related to end of life.
Testimonial
“When my dear friend was dying, I was sitting vigil with two other caregivers. I was so thankful for the Shared Crossing training as it prepared me for the amazing, heart-opening experiences that occurred during and after the death of my friend."
- Arlene Radasky
SCRI Project One: Examining the effects of programs designed to improve the end-of-life experience
SCRI’s first research project began in April 2013 under the direction of William Peters in collaboration with Dr. Michael Kinsella and a team of researchers at UCSB. The aim of this study was to assess the merits of the Shared Crossing Project’s programs and methods designed to create ease around end of life and to facilitate shared crossing experiences.
This research included over 75 individuals who participated in Shared Crossing Programs and found that people who followed the Shared Crossing Protocols reported having a more meaningful appreciation and peaceful acceptance of death. In addition, participants reported a wide variety of profound and healing end-of-life phenomena, including shared death experiences.
While more research is underway, this initial study suggests a strong a correlation between participating in Shared Crossing Programs and experiencing a variety of end-of-life or shared crossing phenomena. Drawing upon this work, together with a review of the literature and his clinical practice with individuals and families at end of life and in bereavement, William created the Shared Crossing Spectrum of End-of-Life Experiences (SELE), a comprehensive and user-friendly guide for better understanding the entire range of end-of-life experiences.
Shared Crossing Testimonial Project: Phase One
In March of 2018, SCRI initiated the Shared Crossing Testimonial Project (SCTP). The goal of this project was to initiate community building and dialog (local, national, and international, as well as both academic and general public) around shared crossing experiences and their therapeutic benefits. To achieve this goal William Peters, Director of SCRI, invited Dr. Michael Kinsella as Chief of Research to join him in creating the first database devoted to shared death experiences and other shared crossings.
This database is the first of its kind to gather and classify over 100 shared death experiences (SDEs), which William has identified as being among the most profound yet least known of all the types of end-of life experiences. To date the project has collected over 165 narratives of SDEs from people across the globe. SCRI hopes to continue collecting and documenting cases in order to expand the representation of end-of-life experiences as they appear among various cultures and groups.
SCRI's growing international library of personal accounts of profound healing experiences occurring around death form the basis for an upcoming book titled, Halfway to Heaven: Inside the Shared Crossing Experience. The aspiration behind this book is to apply stories of shared death experiences to transform personal and social relations to death and dying.
As SCRI enters the next phase of its research, it will continue to investigate the full range of shared crossing experiences identified in SELE. SCRI remains committed to community building and sustained dialog around shared crossing experiences and their therapeutic benefits.
The Ultimate Purpose
Displays of conscious, connected, and loving end-of-life experiences serve as a prototype for others to follow. They offer a life-changing perspective by awakening people to what matters most in life. Firsthand accounts of shared crossings can initiate significant personal transformations in the lives of listeners, which SCRI aims to harness to effect positive socio-cultural transformation related to end of life.
Testimonial
“When my dear friend was dying, I was sitting vigil with two other caregivers. I was so thankful for the Shared Crossing training as it prepared me for the amazing, heart-opening experiences that occurred during and after the death of my friend."
- Arlene Radasky
