Sophia Demas is the author of two books on consciousness and says that receiving signs and messages from departed friends and family is perfectly natural…if one is open to it. Eric Evans caught up with Sophia recently to ask her some questions about her newest book titled, Consciousness Beyond Death: True Stories of Signs, Messages, and Timing.
Eric Evans: What made you decide to write your book, Consciousness Beyond Death: True Stories of Signs, Messages, and Timing?
Sophia Demas: Before I began writing my first book, which is all about the coincidences and miracles I had experienced since I was 19, I first made a list of them. They were too numerous to cram into one book and I instinctively knew this, so I plucked out the ones that related to death and kept them all together. They made up much of the content for this book, so it actually feels like the book wrote itself. Of the chapters, seven are of my own experiences and the other three are about remarkable after-death communications experienced by three friends.
Eric Evans: What does consciousness beyond death mean exactly? Is it different from near-death experiences?
Sophia Demas: From my and others’ experiences, there is not a tinge of doubt that when we die, we simply shed our bodies and that we remain as conscious as you and I are right now. The exact same thing happens to people who have near-death experiences, except they come back and tell us about them
Eric Evans: With whom were some of your After Death Communication (ADC) experiences and what were the circumstances?
Sophia Demas: The first chapter is about communications I have had with my father, and the second one is about the ones I have had with my mother. The others involved friends. Some of the ones I’ve had with my father happened as I was going through some tribulation, and I mentally asked him what I should do. In a vivid dream, which was actually a visitation, he kept hugging me and laughingly telling me how great everything was going to turn out…and he was right! In another communication from him, I laid in bed worrying about something and was imagining the advice he would have given me had he been here. In a moment that felt like time stood still, the bedroom door slowly opened, and I felt a tangible warmth as if my father was hugging me. That experience lasted until I finally fell asleep. He was confirming to me that the advice I imagined he would give me would indeed have been his advice.
Eric Evans: Why is the field of After Death Communication (ACD) so important?
Sophia Demas: People have been communicating with departed loved ones forever. Scientists were okay with near-death experiences because after “coming back,” the survivor would describe complicated medical procedures the doctor was doing without them having had previous medical knowledge. This has propelled scientists to study NDEs for decades. Anecdotal stories of after-death communication, however, did not provide the same convincing evidence and scientists poo-pooed it. The sheer mounting volume of reporting of these communications has made scientists unable to continue to ignore it and ADC has emerged as a scientific field of study. The importance of this is that it gives these communication experiences validation.
Eric Evans: What are some of the common signals and ways departed loved ones may try to reach us? What should we look for?
Sophia Demas: In a variety of clever ways. You could be thinking of your father, and in that very moment, an oriole, his favorite bird, lands on the railing and stares at you. Whenever I find a nickel, I consider it to be a sign from my father. When it happens randomly, it’s as if he is saying hello. But there have been more than a few times that while I was thinking of him, I looked down and found a nickel. It’s as if he is saying hello back. It is quite common for departed loved ones to make their presence known when a particular song comes on the radio at a meaningful moment. There have been many reports of “phantom” phone calls where one picked up the phone and swears it was their grandfather’s voice. Then there are those communications that are not so subtle through dreams, even apparitions.
Eric Evans: Share with us one of the most impactful stories in your book.
Sophia Demas: The one I still can’t get over is Mary’s story that occurred two months after her father died. At an AA meeting, one of the regulars, who Mary only knew from him attending the meetings, took her aside and as he placed a folded piece of paper in her hand, told her that it had come to him during his morning meditation and that it was from her father. It was a poem for Mary that was channeled through this man that included tidbits that Mary had never shared and that she would never share at such a meeting. I knew her father and if he could have written a poem, this was exactly how he talked. What seemed most strange to Mary and me was that, as my best friend since our early twenties, we knew each other’s stories, yet she had never told me this very important one. Coincidentally, the poem had been lost for 10 years. When Mary’s son called and asked for his birth certificate, the poem was found in the same file…just in time for me to write about it. Apparently, Mr. Dutton wanted the story to be shared.
Eric Evans: What is your background?
Sophia Demas: I’ve had three successful careers—a decade in architecture, which included working with noted futurist Buckminster Fuller, a decade running my couture dress-designing business, and then as a mental health therapist. At 50, I had graduated with a masters in counseling psychology and created a 12-workshop program, Living a Fearless Life, to increase self-esteem in incarcerated women which was piloted in the Philadelphia Prison System.
I did not want to get married or have children so that I could focus on my careers. The last thing I wanted to do was write a book. The Universe, however, had other plans. I was successfully single until I was forty-five when I married Frank, an architect. Through one of my mentors, Fr. Stephen, who opened homeless shelters for homeless teens, I was introduced to a beautiful teenage girl from Istanbul who had, through a string of abuses, found herself in one of the shelters. Frank and I adopted her and she is now a senior biostatistician with Pfizer, just received her third master’s degree, and is married and living in Greece with her Greek architect husband. And, I wrote two books! I couldn’t be happier….
Eric Evans: You have been asked to speak at some impressive events given by the scientific community. Can you tell us about this?
Sophia Demas: Interestingly, both books have garnered the interest of scientists. I knew that they studied consciousness but had no idea that some of them studied coincidence, the subject of my first book. I will be interviewed by the Scientific and Medical Network, and both books will be featured in their September book brief. They also invited me to help plan and participate in the Synchronicity Summit roundtable to be held at the end of October. ADC is in its nascent stages.
Eric Evans: What is the most important thing for our audience to walk away with about this book?
Sophia Demas: Two things: hope—that there is nothing to fear about death since we will continue to be conscious eternally, and comfort—knowing that our departed loved ones are with us and continue to help us.
Eric Evans: Where can we pick up a copy?
Sophia Demas: It is widely circulated in various bookstores and online booksellers, including Barnes and Noble, the publisher Mascot Books and, of course, Amazon.
Eric Evans: Many people have experienced coincidences and have had an after-death communication, but the sheer number of such events you’ve experienced is extraordinary. Do you have an explanation as to why and what may have contributed to being open to these events?
Sophia Demas: I’ve put a lot of thought into these questions, and the only explanation I can come up with points to my mother. A deeply religious woman, she would fervently pray every morning and every night, bowing and gesticulating, but she never pushed me to do the same. Greek is my first language and since I was a toddler, she would speak to me in the diminutive about “little Jesus” and “the little virgin Mary,” framing them as my little friends who I could ask for healing, protection, and anything I wanted. Therefore, communicating with unseen beings seemed perfectly natural. I believe that this was the foundation to my openness and acceptance.
