How do you explain Deja Vu?
Deja vu? One of the many things science has not explained. I don’t know how to call ‘deja vu’. You can call it an experience or a feeling. Let me try to explain the term ‘deja vu’ for those who are not familiar with the term. Have you ever gone to a certain place for the first time in your life and have felt ‘man, I’ve been here before’? Have you ever thought ‘Wait a minute, we’ve had this very discussion before, in the same place with the same people, all exactly the same’?
It has happened to me, many times. There are places in different countries where I felt that I’ve been there before. It’s not all that cinematic that I could find my way through the gullies and canals. It’s just that in certain places, you get this feeling that ‘I’ve stood in this very place and have looked at this image in front of me, but don’t know when’. By definition, it is an ‘already seen’ feeling. Some sense of familiarity. There were many occasions when I thought I’ve had this very discussion before, this statement, this laugh, this posture, this set of people, this time of the day, this very place and all together. Sometimes they are interesting, some time they are downright scary.
How would you explain this? I see that this is being explained from various angles. There is this convenient explanation that says this has something to do with a mental disorder. That’s a bit lazy to call it that way. Even dreams would then be a case of mental disorder. Also, as far as I know, most of the people I’ve talked to on this topic have said that they have experienced deja vu. You don’t have so many people walking around with mental disorders. The world’s not so bad.
There is also this sub-conscious memory angle. Some believe that the deja vu feeling you get is from your own memory. If during my first visit to London if there’s a place where I get this feeling that I’ve been there, that’s all from my own deep lying memory. The conscious memory records all your real life experiences that you’re part of, things that you experience, read, see and hear. If you had seen something in your dream and if you forget the dream when you wake up, that piece of recording goes out of your conscious memory and stays within your sub-conscious memory. When in real life, if you get to see one of those places that you had seen in your dream, in a flash, your conscious memory and sub-conscious memory meet to make that connection. Guess I’m making sense.
Some even extend this to say that the memories of your previous births are also hidden deep in your mind and the deja vu moments are the ones where your mind googles the current image and finds a match from your archives of previous lives. It doesn’t make sense for someone like me who does not believe in previous births or lives. Anyway, these sub-conscious memory rationale doesn’t explain how I get the deja vu feeling when I’m talking to a bunch of people. How could this situation be recorded in any part of my memory? This is an event and not an image. This event of discussion is just happening or unfolding as I get this feeling that I’ve had this very chat before. What could this be?
I’ve thought about this and I’ve given up too. It’s a strange phenomenon indeed. What is your understanding or explanation of deja vu? Have you had any such moments? I’ve had a lot of those deja vu moments. Many a time I also pause and freeze to fully realise that. I’m sure you’d have had yours too. The next time I do get a deja vu, I’d get back right here and update you. Wait a moment, do you think you’ve read exactly a post like this on deja vu on this very blog some time back? You’re being ‘dejavued’.
As far as I remember, I have never read about Deja vu being an abnormal phenomena. Since it is such a common occurrence it cannot be categorized as an abnormality. Yes of course, I had lots of Deja vu moments and I am somewhat scared of them because of the uncertainty factor. But I do not have any personal explanations to it. Though I have questioned myself, is it the dream which I am recalling and mis categorizing ?
Good topic !!
Interesting. I have experienced deja vu many a times. Most of the times, it had been regarding a conversation with friends at a particular place, and yes it was our first visit to the place.
Your statement about sub-conscious mind could be partly correct. But I still don’t understand how could a completely new place be already recorded.
It’s a mystery just like dreams…in other words a game played by our mystical mind.
Niharika – Even I don’t want to call it an abnormality but when things are beyond explanation, you always hear some voices “that’s a hallucination”, “that’s a coincidence”, “you’re tired”, “you’re confused”, “it’s your imagination”, “you’re irrational” etc. That’s why I call it a rather lazy way of concluding something requires deeper understanding or research.
Megha – If you believe in previous births, that’s the answer to your question. When you call it a ‘new place’, it’s a new place for this birth and this set of memory that you have. You could have visited this place in your previous births! Again, that is, if you believe in previous births!
I agree to what u say. This has always been kind of haunting me. You can never really explain how and why this happens. I can even understand the feeling of visiting a place before, since that could have registered deep within when we have seen or read something about that place. But the sense that u have been in the same room, with the same people, discussing the same topic, with the same gestures and postures is something to ponder about. I don’t believe in next birth, previous birth or any such thing. So I can only say, somethings just don’t have an explanation.
I am sure if this is a Deja vu. This happened as recently as a week ago. I read about an untouched hill station in south India. I was discussing this with my friend, and we both searched about this on the net and exchanged pictures and information about this place. The next day when we were talking, he says one of our friends brother had visited this place, just two days before and had shared the pictures. This can be called a coincidence. But this has happened to me a lot of times. I will read or know about some thing or some place and immediately I will be meeting some one who had visited there or will come across some one discussing the same. Is this a Deja vu??
Are you a professional journalist? You write very well.
Anusha – That’s another one. I don’t think that would fall under ‘deja vu’ because the important factor in deja vu is the ‘familiar feeling’. It is not out of your cognizant knowledge and memory. In that very example when someone talks about a place you’ve not even heard of before, but you think you know that place and might even get a few things right, it would be deja vu. In your example, you have gathered some information about the place which means that info lies in your normal memory from where it’s being looked up.
Anyway, what you mentioned is also an interesting phenomenon. Not sure what it is called though!
Mackeran – Thank you. The right answer to your question is – NOT YET
“Deja Vu” for me seems to be like a magician’s magic word! Something like “Abracadabra”
Certainly you are a magician! Somehow every time you pull out such magical topics! Nice one!
I did had many such instances but only with discussions among a group of people. Certainly did not experience it when I visit places! I do not have proofs to believe past lives but I cannot deny it as well!
If you could go back to that state mind when you experienced “Deja Vu”, it’s a state where you do not have link with the current happenings. It’s you and your Deja Vu feeling left alone and you really breaking your head to understand what’s going on! Let me tell you two other similar scenarios where you are left alone wondering what went wrong?
How about forgetting an easy answer which you memorised thousand times the day before your examination and forgetting it right at the examination! You could use all your time in the world to get that magical beginning for the answer! But no hopes! All that you need is that one magical first word of the answer! Next is when you get bowled in Cricket or nick that easy delivery back to the wicket keeper after holding your wicket for so long! That fraction of second where mind ——- to get you out! I relate Deja Vu among these states of mind!
Brain does so much in a day (At night as well)! Sending instructions to the whole body and at the same time keeping our thought process running (Not to mention Critical thoughts as well in addition)! And at some times it haults for a fraction of second and restarts! Resulting in all sorts of confusions and further thoughts! Complex mechanism of all so far in this world is “Human Body”! May be Deja Vu is also part of it
Anusha – I too have had such instances! I used to murmur a cine song for a while and to my surprise hear the same song being played loudly by my neighbour! I have come across many such instances! Sometimes the song will be played immediately on TV or my wife might also sing the same song! After quite some deep thoughts I started believing its our mind which had noticed without our consciousness someone somewhere playing the similar song and started to murmur thinking that we are the first to start!
Vj- Apologies for keeping it long enough yet again! Its you who made me think a lot!
Every conference is a deja vu experience for me !!
Correction, every “conference call” is a deja vu for me !!
I believe in deja vu & agree with you ! Wow, what a feeling yuh..
I think when God was involved in programming our mind using Java, c++, he coded this loop option
I believe it could be previous births, else I don’t see any explanation to it..
There are alot of things that man cannot explain or even start to begin to understand. We live on a ball floating in space which is orbited by another ball. The universe is emense. For anyone who cannot imagine themselves just disappearing into nothingness when they die, the next question is where do we go. The body is just a physical manifestation in this world. The soul has connections which extend beyond that which can be seen. But the soul is always connected to that which can be felt – and not by the body or anything physical. Deja vu is just another one of those connections which exists between us and what is. The answers come from introspection. Keep asking yourself what was this, how did it make me feel. If you really want to know then you will find the answers- and you dont have to ask anyone. Everything is stored inside. You dont have to be a guru os saint. Man has become to involved in indoctrination and his mind has been blocked by preaching. Just imagine what you would learn if you put what you know aside and just learn from yourself.
My journey started a while ago. Still dont have any answers I can explain to anyone but to myself I know that its there- I feel it, I deja vu it, I dream it, and it makes me happy to know that there is so much more to this than we know.
As a joke between my brother and I, when we deja vu amongst people we laugh and say- “i wonder what we did the last time around”.
For me personally I feel that moments like deja vu is the soul reminding you that you are not just a physical body whichs exists to work eat and sleep. We come from somewhere and someday we will will find out where and why we came here.
Nice post!
I jsut started reading your blog and the topics you choose are really interesting!!!:)
Nice one, and i believe it is because of our experiences from the past lives! I believe in karmic connections and rebirths!
Well that was interesting, very good subject to pick
Wow!
Really interesting. I am a new visitor to your blog (was introduced to it by Santy today). And I must say that every article I opened proved to be a pearl!
Have to tear myself away now cause I have to get back to work. But I will definitely be back for more. Thanks for a really interesting read.
Hi Liza
I’m flattered and overwhelmed. Glad that you liked. Thanks and cheers!
P.S: Santy thinks I’m superman. So please take it with a pinch of salt when he says things about me or this blog
Brill site, well done, keep up the good work.