Examples of End-of-Life Co-Experiences (ELCEs)

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People describe End-of-Life Co-Experiences in many different ways. Not everyone has them, and they vary widely in intensity and form. The following examples are offered simply to illustrate the kinds of experiences some people report.

 

• Being at the bedside of someone who is dying and suddenly feeling a deep sense of calm, presence, or clarity that feels different from ordinary emotion.

• Becoming aware of a shared moment of connection - such as a feeling of “being met” or “being with” the dying person - even when no words are spoken.

• Experiencing a brief alteration in perception or awareness at the moment of death, such as a sense of stillness, expansion, or time slowing.

• Feeling drawn into the dying process in an unexpected way, accompanied by a sense that something meaningful is unfolding between you rather than only within you.

• Noticing a lasting shift afterwards - for example, a changed relationship to death, grief, or meaning - without being able to fully explain why.

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While End-of-Life Co-Experiences are most commonly reported when death unfolds within a shared physical and relational space, they may also occur during sudden or unexpected death through remote or non-local experiences. In such cases, the co-experience is not mediated by bedside presence, but by relational proximity to the dying person at the moment of death.

These experiences are often subtle and may not feel dramatic at the time. Many people only recognise them later, in reflection.

 

These examples are not intended to define what an End-of-Life Co-Experience is, nor to suggest how such experiences should feel. They are shared only to offer recognition and language for experiences that are often held privately.