Déjà vu

Two of my favourite songs have this word as a title, y’know.

There’s something so tingly about that word, more so if you know the meaning of this unusual French word.

A feeling of having already experienced the present situation.

It’s this eerie feeling you get when you believe you’ve experienced something before, right as you’re experiencing it. It’s like reliving the past simultaneously as the present, only you come to this strange and sudden realization that you don’t remember this happening at all! 

And then you pause, you get goosebumps, the hair on your arm rises, and you stare at the nearest object for too long, racking your brain as to where you could have remembered this event from. A nearby person could ask, “Are you okay?”
You respond, mysteriously, “I think I just had some déjà vu.” 

And they stare at you like a madman, while you look away, never knowing why you felt that “déjà vu.”

Theories

Truth is, science can’t truly explain what déjà vu really is or the factors responsible for it. I may not be a professional scientist, but I do have some theories I would love to share.

1. I think there’s a mix-up in the part of the brain responsible for memory and familiarity, so you feel familiar with this event, but you can’t remember experiencing it at all. There are some factual scientific theories and research that also give this explanation.
2. Some people have theories that déjà vu are memories experienced in a past life or an alternate dimension. I think that’s a stretch; there is no extraterrestrial or supernatural explanation for this phenomenon. Rather, I think it’s simple: Déjà vu is a physical manifestation of dreams you cannot remember. 

As someone who often recollects dreams more times than not, I have been able to pinpoint my feelings of déjà vu to a dream I once had. Although I don’t remember my dreams for too long, they soon slowly slip away from my memory as the morning passes. At the end of the day, my dreams no longer hold shape or form, leaving behind only a faint concept of what they were. These were the concepts that would unravel in the present, leaving me baffled until they condensed into a strand of memory. It was then I realized that my déjà vu were dreams that manifested into the real world.

Wow! Isn’t the brain just so powerful?!. One way or the other, either the brain had precognition of the future or manifested a dream to life. It might just be wishful thinking, but aren’t these some wonderful what-ifs to think about?

What are your theories on déjà vu?