New research is shedding light on Shared Death Experiences; when the living accompany the dying on their journey into what may lie beyond.

While there has been a good deal of attention paid to the Near-Death Experience, very little is known by the general public about the Shared Death Experience (SDE).

A new research survey is the first of its kind to explore at length this fascinating phenomenon.

William Peters is the founder of the Shared Crossing Project, which is dedicated to educating people about the transformative experiences of the dying. He is also the author of the recently published book “At Heaven’s Door.”

“A Shared Death Experience occurs when somebody dies and a loved one, caregiver, bystander expresses that they feel like they shared in the transition of the dying from this human life to a life beyond and into the initial stages of the afterlife,” Peters said. “There are a variety of ways to be an SDE experiencer, you can be at bedside; about one-third of our cases are from experiencers who are just at the bedside in the room when someone is dying. Two-thirds are remote, that means they’re not even at the bedside when someone is dying, they’re doing life somewhere oftentimes they’re sleeping and they find themselves drawn into an experience, the shared death experience, in which they’re sharing a variety of phenomena.”

Peters has interviewed hundreds of people about their experiences and estimates that up to a quarter of the world’s population may have had an SDE.

The Shared Crossing Research Initiative’s recent survey of SDE accounts brings forth the range of phenomena common to the experience.

“So the most common phenomena would be this: alteration in the time-space continuum in the room. So, all of a sudden if you’re with them or even if you’re remote, you get a little dizzy, you realize your world is getting a little warped. Then you might feel a pressure, a pull upon your chest. If you’re bedside you might see a spirit, the soul-spirit leaving the body. It can look like steam, smoke, or mist coming off of the body. You’ll notice the light is changing all around you. People 51 percent of the time report seeing the dying. They report seeing the dying moving on a journey, and there is often communication with them. But they are with this loved one, presumably because that’s what it is most of the time, witnessing this transition,” Peters said.

Some of the more fascinating accounts involve multiple people experiencing an SDE around the same death.

“This experience I’m going to share is from Amelia. Her son Tom was diagnosed with cancer at 10 years old, terminal,” Peters said. “And when Tom finally died, she was with him in his bed, and she saw a beautiful lady of light appear. So she handed her beloved son of 13 years old to this woman, spirit being, who was majestic and pulled Tom with her and let Amelia know, ‘I’ve got him.’ Right when this experience was going on, Amelia’s sister Charmaine, walked into the room. Charmaine described seeing Tom rise out of his bed and head upwards into another dimension, and she felt all this loving-kindness around. So they had two different SDEs was around the death of Tom, but very validating,” Can science explain these remarkable experiences? Peters gives us his take.”

“There is some energetic frequency — we’re all energetic — and I think as somebody’s dying, their frequency is changing as they drop their human body and begin to enter into another dimension. In this frequency, you can be drawn into it, and your frequency as a person will change. I think there’s a pull from this field to the experiencer,” Peters said.

One particularly meaningful aspect of the SDE is the profound effect it has on the experiencer.

“From our research, the after-effects are highly beneficial and profound. They have a sense that their deceased loved one is alive and well in a benevolent afterlife. They have a sense that they’re going to see their deceased loved one at some point. They have an alleviation in their own anxiety and fear of death.”

Peters has developed methods for training people to have these experiences, which involve connecting with a loved one whose death is imminent and then entering into a state of love, receptivity, and acceptance. To Peters, the implications of researching and educating people on the SDE are far-reaching.

“Really what we’re hoping is that these experiences can be embraced by our health care systems, by those of us who care for people, so that these experiences can transform how it is that we die. The SDE offers us an invitation to see death through this beautiful lens of what’s possible. A best death possible for all of us includes one with a shared death experience, for ourselves and for our loved ones,” Peters said.