The Shared Death Experience: Accompanying Loved Ones Across the Veil and into a Glorious Afterlife
One of the best kept secrets amongst hospice workers is the spiritually transformative experiences (SDE) that they observe or hear about while caring for the dying and their loved ones. The shared death experience (SDE) is the crown jewel of these phenomenon. This presentation introduces the SDE, which is a particular type of STE in which caregivers and loved ones of dying persons report feeling as if they have participated in a dying person’s transition to a benevolent afterlife.
William will present video excerpts of case studies from around the world and findings from an analysis of over 300 SDE accounts. He will offer the first research-based typologies to classify the ways SDEs unfold, highlight the remarkable benefits to experiencers, and provide insights to manifest an SDE.
William Peters, M.A., M.Ed., MFT, is the world’s leading authority and sought-after international speaker on the shared death experience. He is the founder of the Shared Crossing Project and director of its Research Initiative. His innovative work has been published in leading academic journals and featured on CNN Online among other media outlets.
While serving at the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco, William had various shared death experiences which along with his own two near-death experiences have inspired his work. As a psychotherapist he specializes in end-of-life counseling as a means toward psycho-spiritual growth.
His most recent work has been published in the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and Omega – Journal of Death and Dying. William’s bestselling book, At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach about Dying Well and Living Better, is published by Simon & Schuster.