What Exactly Are Shared Crossings?
The spectrum of connection at the end of life
A shared crossing experience refers to various phenomena that convey information pertaining to an impending death and/ or to the perceived continuation of consciousness after bodily death. This information often provides comfort and support for the dying before death, and for the living before, during, and after the death of a loved one. Shared Crossings are highly relational in that they are personal and deeply meaningful for those who experience them. Experiencers often feel that they have received a gift or transmission that was crafted specifically for them.
Shared Crossings typically consist of four common elements that their experiencers report:
The Shared Crossing Project’s Spectrum of End-of-Life Experiences (SELE) was originally identified by William Peters, founder of the Shared Crossing Project, in 2014. The Spectrum has been the subject of on-going study by the Shared Crossing Research Initiative’s team of researchers who have thoroughly analyzed over 1,200 accounts. By no means exhaustive, the Spectrum illustration highlights the primary end-of-life phenomena that often occur (please find definitions below):
A shared crossing experience refers to various phenomena that convey information pertaining to an impending death and/ or to the perceived continuation of consciousness after bodily death. This information often provides comfort and support for the dying before death, and for the living before, during, and after the death of a loved one. Shared Crossings are highly relational in that they are personal and deeply meaningful for those who experience them. Experiencers often feel that they have received a gift or transmission that was crafted specifically for them.
Shared Crossings typically consist of four common elements that their experiencers report:
- Deep heartfelt connection between the dying, family members, friends, caregivers, or the deceased.
- Expanded awareness or heightened consciousness. In the midst of such loss, many express a deep sense of trust or knowing that "everything is okay just the way it is."
- Uplifting emotions of gratitude, kindness, humility, love, peace, and bliss.
- Life-affirming thoughts and feelings; expressing a greater appreciation, empathy, and wonder for the gift of human life.
The Shared Crossing Project’s Spectrum of End-of-Life Experiences (SELE) was originally identified by William Peters, founder of the Shared Crossing Project, in 2014. The Spectrum has been the subject of on-going study by the Shared Crossing Research Initiative’s team of researchers who have thoroughly analyzed over 1,200 accounts. By no means exhaustive, the Spectrum illustration highlights the primary end-of-life phenomena that often occur (please find definitions below):
Shared Crossings (SCs):
Pre-Death Premonitions: are strong feelings that either oneself or another is about to die.
Pre-Death Dreams and Visions: consist of seeing or sensing the presence of deceased loves ones or other beings while an individual is either asleep (dreams) or awake (visions).
Pre-Death Synchronicities: are events wherein seemingly random and unrelated events or coincidences are viewed as messages related to or signaling an impending death.
Terminal Lucidity: involves the demonstration of an unexpected and physiologically unexplainable surge of vitality at end of life that may manifest as dramatic improvements in mental clarity, physical functioning, and/or human and spiritual relatedness.
At-Death Synchronicities: are events in which seemingly random events occurring at the moment of death are viewed as messages from the deceased or from some higher power.
Shared-Death Experiences (SDE): consist of various phenomena that people understand to be the effects of sharing in a dying person’s transition to the initial stages of an afterlife. The predominate motif is that of a journey from the human realm to a benevolent afterlife.
Direct Post-Death Communications: consists of experiences in which persons feel that they are in direct mental contact with a recently departed loved one.
Post-Death Synchronicities: are experiences in which seemingly random and unrelated events or coincidences are understood to be signs or messages from the deceased.
Post-Death Dreams and Visions: consist of experiences in which a deceased person appears in some recognizable form.
Pre-Death Premonitions: are strong feelings that either oneself or another is about to die.
Pre-Death Dreams and Visions: consist of seeing or sensing the presence of deceased loves ones or other beings while an individual is either asleep (dreams) or awake (visions).
Pre-Death Synchronicities: are events wherein seemingly random and unrelated events or coincidences are viewed as messages related to or signaling an impending death.
Terminal Lucidity: involves the demonstration of an unexpected and physiologically unexplainable surge of vitality at end of life that may manifest as dramatic improvements in mental clarity, physical functioning, and/or human and spiritual relatedness.
At-Death Synchronicities: are events in which seemingly random events occurring at the moment of death are viewed as messages from the deceased or from some higher power.
Shared-Death Experiences (SDE): consist of various phenomena that people understand to be the effects of sharing in a dying person’s transition to the initial stages of an afterlife. The predominate motif is that of a journey from the human realm to a benevolent afterlife.
Direct Post-Death Communications: consists of experiences in which persons feel that they are in direct mental contact with a recently departed loved one.
Post-Death Synchronicities: are experiences in which seemingly random and unrelated events or coincidences are understood to be signs or messages from the deceased.
Post-Death Dreams and Visions: consist of experiences in which a deceased person appears in some recognizable form.
