What is deja vu

Table of Contents

1. What is déjà vu?

Have you ever had that uncanny feeling of ‘I have been here before’ even though it was the very first time you have been to a place? This feeling is popularly dubbed as déjà vu (French for ‘already seen’) and it describes the experience of feeling that one has witnessed or experienced previously an entirely new situation.

2. What is behind déjà vu – Spiritual reasons

We did spiritual research to understand why people go through such kinds of experiences and their root causes.

A. 30% cases: Similar experiences or past life experiences

This relates to identifying the present experience with similar experience/s in this lifetime or in previous lifetimes.

B. 50% cases: Tuning fork phenomenon

Every living and non-living object emits frequencies that contribute to the aura surrounding it. In the case of humans, frequencies are emitted from all of the comprising bodies, i.e. the gross (sthūladēha), mental (manodēha), intellectual or causal (kāraṇdēha) and subtle-ego or supracausal (mahākāraṇdēha) bodies. The emission and receiving of these frequencies becomes even more pronounced when a person is meditating and thoughts are focused.

By mind we mean our feelings and emotions that are generated from impressions in the conscious and sub-conscious mind.

The tuning fork phenomenon relates to when the frequencies of a person’s mind temporarily match the frequencies of minds of other living people or subtle-bodies in the afterlife.

The frequencies of our mind don’t match with everyone and, as a rule of thumb, they would match with 1 out of every 100 million people. In other words, frequencies of our mind would match with some 65 people out of the 6.5 billion people on Earth. The number would be higher for the subtle-bodies in the afterlife because of the larger number of them present in the subtle-regions. These people are not soul mates in any way; it is just that in that particular experience their frequencies of mind matched. They then have déjà vu or a notion that they have witnessed or experienced a new situation previously when in actuality it is someone else’s experience.

C. 20% cases: Miscellaneous causes

3. Interference of ghosts in déjà vu

In some cases where people are affected or possessed by ghosts to a medium or severe extent, the above statistics differ. While 80% of the world’s population is affected by departed ancestors from the afterlife and ghosts, some are affected to a medium to severe extent.

For people who are medium to severely affected by departed ancestors or ghosts, ghosts would contribute an average of up to 50% of all the 3 variables mentioned above. This means that one out of every two déjà vu cases for these people is caused by ghosts. Ghosts often do this to mislead people.

DГ©jГ Vu: Why Do You Get That ‘This Has Happened Before’ Feeling?

It is generally believed that healthy people get déjà vu due to a memory error evoked by the mismatch between sensory input and memory-recalling output. This explains why we occasionally get a feeling of ‘familiarity’ through déjà vu, but it’s not as tangible as a fully recalled memory.

Have you ever experienced the strange feeling when you look at something and think, “Hey! I’ve seen this before it seems”. This may be something that you’re watching for the first time in your life—even in a place where you have never been. Even so, there is still a bizarre tickle at the back of your mind, telling you that somehow you are already familiar with the situation before you. It can be a bit unnerving, and also fascinating, and almost everyone in the world has felt it at some point, even if they didn’t know the word for it!

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What is deja vu?

This feeling of being vaguely ‘familiar’ with something that you likely have never seen before is called déjà vu. To put it a bit differently, déjà vu is the eerie sense that our present experience is a reminiscence of something that we can’t really figure out. We tend to subtly acknowledge that there’s something a little “off” with this feeling of familiarity.

Déjà vu is a French phrase that means ‘already seen’. You may even be reading this article, sitting at your house right now, and your brain could suddenly tell you “Hey! I’ve read this article before!”

Why does deja vu happen?

Déjà vu is also associated with the beginning of a seizure in epilepsy. For a patient of epilepsy, the feeling of déjà vu could mean that they might begin to lose consciousness.

The study was conducted by Adam Zeman, a clinical neurologist in the UK, and his team to determine how epileptic déjà vu is different from the usual déjà vu experienced by healthy individuals. The difference was minimal, except the higher frequency of occurrence in the case of epileptic patients.

In fact, a study related to déjà vu began as early as the 1950s, wherein researchers tried to find what regions of the brain were responsible for it through electrical stimulation. In the 1970s, a method to artificially induce déjà vu was discovered using electrodes in the medial temporal lobe of the brain. Contemporary studies have even identified specific parts of the medial temporal lobe linked to the occurrence of déjà vu. The hippocampus and the parahippocampal gyrus, both of which are important in maintaining memory in the human brain, are located in the medial temporal lobe.

Different lobes in the brain (Photo Credit : Sebastian023/Wikimedia Commons)

Zeman has noted that researchers earlier assumed that déjà vu was a phenomenon of the hippocampus—our brain’s memory data center. However, newer studies have identified the involvement of adjacent areas like the perirhinal cortex, an area associated with recognition, when things are familiar. This ‘recognition’ is different from ‘recollection’. Let’s try to understand this with an example.

Imagine that your dad walks into your room and you glance over at him. At this moment, you have a ‘familiarity’ response. That’s a little different from ‘recollection’. Recollection would be something like asking yourself after that glance, “Who is that man? Someone I saw last weekend in a cafe?”

So, the present theory is that epileptic déjà vu is the result of unusual electricity discharges in the brain’s “familiarity” region. When this region becomes hyperactive, the person feels familiar, but that feeling is not complemented by recollection, which makes the experience surreal.

Now, the main question that arises is why does a supposed warning bell for a seizure—the déjà vu—manifest in people who are not suffering from epilepsy? One theory is that déjà vu is a miniature version of a seizure that even healthy people experience. Renowned Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Pentfield called déjà vu a “little seizure”, but this moniker is disputed by other researchers in this field. Zeman noted that it’s hard to find any evidence because healthy people do not get their intracranial brain activity recorded.

That being said, it is generally believed that healthy people get déjà vu due to a memory error evoked by the mismatch between sensory input and memory-recalling output. This explains why we get a feeling of ‘familiarity’ with déjà vu, but it’s not as tangible as a fully recalled memory. A study discovered that there might be a subtle volume reduction in the medial temporal lobe associated with healthy people experiencing déjà vu.

Variants of déjà vu

The classic definition of déjà vu is a sense of ‘familiarity’ with your present experience that you consciously or subconsciously know is false. However, déjà vu has certain variants with their own peculiar characteristics. One of them is déjà vécu.

Déjà vécu

Déjà vécu translates into “already lived the moment”. People experiencing déjà vécu don’t only get a feeling of familiarity, but they also feel as if they have already lived the moment before. They even feel as if they know what’s going to happen next! Déjà vécu can be like being on the verge of pointing out déjà vu, with an added feeling of ability to sense what’s going to happen next. From a physiological standpoint, researchers have found that déjà vu comes from the perirhinal cortex, a region responsible for the feel of familiarity. On the other hand, déjà vécu would be coming from the hippocampus, because it’s more like an erroneous recollection.

Déjà-rêvé

Another variant is a déjà-rêvé. In déjà-rêvé, there is an intense recollection of one’s dreams. Studies have found that this is a result of electrical stimulation in the brain similar to those who experience epilepsy.

Confabulation

Another condition commonly confused with déjà vu and déjà-rêvé is confabulation. Generally, when déjà vu occurs, we consciously or subconsciously know that something is wrong in our perception. We know that our feeling of familiarity is fake and we soon dismiss it, but some do not. They are so seduced by this feeling of familiarity that they try to find reasons to justify the familiarity. In this process, they end up inventing stories as past experiences which are simply imaginary and not true. This is a memory disorder that is medically called confabulation.

Who is most prone to déjà vu?

Déjà vu, despite feeling so unnatural, is quite common. Nearly two-thirds of the population have experienced déjà vu at some point in their life, although it only lasts for a few seconds in most cases. It can also be invoked due to emotional stress and fatigue.

Children rarely experience déjà vu, whereas young adults in their 20s and 30s are more likely to experience déjà vu. Your chances of experiencing déjà vu diminish thereafter. The occurrence of déjà vu in old age is likely to be associated with epilepsy and seizures.

Also, studies suggest that people who pursue education for longer are more likely to get déjà vu. Déjà vu is more likely to occur during the night than the day. People who are using serotonin-based drugs and medicines are also more susceptible to déjà vu. Frequent travelers who are able to remember their dreams longer are also highly likely to experience déjà vu.

A Final Word

Finally, for those people who have never had déjà vu and are still reading this article, it’s admittedly hard to fathom what déjà vu is. It’s a puissant feeling, a subjective one that’s hard to explain and even harder to study. That is why scientists and researchers have a hard time academically quantifying this feeling to find the reasons behind it. It probably involves intricacies and processes of our senses, brain, memory, retrieval, and recollection. In fact, there are even some researchers who haven’t experienced anything like déjà vu and are therefore skeptical that it even exists! For them, other researchers working on déjà vu may seem like they’re doing research on a ghost!

What Is Déjà Vu and Why Do We Experience It?

Theodora Blanchfield is a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee and mental health writer.

Jonathan Knowles / Getty Images

What Is Déjà Vu?

Déjà Vu

Déjà Vu is literally translated from French to mean “already seen.” It is a sense of having already seen something—coupled with knowing you haven’t actually seen it, which is why it catches many people so off guard. It is thought to be the equivalent of a small brain “glitch,” with two streams of thought colliding.

It is an incredibly common experience, something upwards of 97% of people are thought to have experienced it at least once, with more than two-thirds of people experiencing it with some regularity.

St. Augustine, an ancient philosopher, first referred to the concept of déjà vu in 400 AD as “false memoriae,” but French philosopher Emile Boirac was the first to use the term déjà vu in 1890. The first use of the phrase in the scientific world was from F.L. Arnaud, a neurologist who proposed to use it at a meeting of the Societe Medico-Psychologique.

Early research showed promise for déjà vu to be a sign that helped doctors diagnose epilepsy, but more recent research has shown it may be a matter of perception or memory.

How Does Déjà Vu Happen?

It is believed that déjà vu may be the result of two different streams of awareness colliding: the experience of recognizing a current situation, alongside the feeling that this is an inaccurate recollection. A key feature is that the person realizes that they have not actually seen this before.

Sometimes, what happens is really a matter of split perception and someone is processing a sight twice because they may have been distracted or their vision was obstructed for some reason.

The second perception, immediately after the first one, becomes the one that is consciously experienced—but it feels unfamiliar because we are not cognizant of the first experience, which we only partially processed.

Types Of Déjà Vu

Though the actual feeling of déjà vu is the same across people with healthy brains and those with neurological conditions, different things are happening in the brain during each of these types.

Those who do experience it more regularly show less grey matter than those who don’t. Grey matter is the outermost layer of the brain, and it is responsible for controlling movement, memory and emotions. Typically, the more grey matter a brain has, the more effective it is.

In those with neurological conditions, three parts of the brain are impacted: the hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and temporal neocortex—areas that are associated with forming and retaining memories.

For those with epilepsy and déjà vu, alterations in memory circuitry have been observed, meanwhile, alterations in emotional circuitry are seen in “healthy” individuals experiencing déjà vu. Déjà vu is thought to perhaps be abnormal signaling within the medial temporal lobe, which governs memory processing, particularly visual memories.

The conditions that might experience more déjà vu than those with a healthy brain include:

The term déjà vu is the one most frequently used to capture these types of experiences, but there are actually many more of these phenomena.

Some other types you might experience:

There’s also the opposite—jamais vu—which happens when someone has already been in almost the same exact situation but does not realize this.

Causes of Déjà Vu

Though most times, déjà vu is not a sign of anything serious, there are some possible factors that you might want to pay attention to if episodes of déjà vu are making you uncomfortable.

People who are tired and/or stressed often report episodes of déjà vu. This is thought to be because fatigue and stress typically affect both long- and short-term memory.

A hypothesis is that excess amounts of dopamine may be implicated in experiences of déjà vu. In studies of temporal lobe epilepsy, the research shows that elevated levels of dopamine were detected in rodent models of temporal lobe epilepsy.

One strange cause of déjà vu is the use of the flu medications amantadine and Proin (phenylpropanolmine). A case study writes about a man who took this combination of medications to treat an infection of the flu and began experiencing several episodes of déjà vu per hour—which stopped upon him stopping these medications.

Both of these medications, among their flu-symptom reducing properties, work on the dopamine system, and it is thought that these déjà vu episodes were caused by an excess of dopamine in the system. Epilepsy research shows that parts of the brain including the hippocampus are related to dysmensic symptoms (impaired memory) symptoms,

Who Gets Déjà Vu?

While anyone can experience déjà vu, those who experience it multiple times share some characteristics, according to research:

Epilepsy is the most common of neurological conditions to be associated with déjà vu, as it affects the temporal lobe of your brain, where vision is interpreted. There are several types of seizures, but it is simple partial seizures, also known as focal onset aware seizures, that are most often associated with deja vu experiences.

Impact of Déjà Vu

For most healthy individuals, déjà vu has no serious impact, other than a bit of a feeling of confusion momentarily. However, if you are experiencing frequent déjà vu (a few times a week or more), you may want to visit a neurologist to be evaluated for epilepsy or any other neurological conditions.

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Vlasov PN, Chervyakov AV, Gnezditskii VV. Déjà vu phenomenon-related EEG pattern. Case report. Epilepsy Behav Case Rep. 2013;1:136-141. doi:10.1016/j.ebcr.2013.08.001

Illman NA, Butler CR, Souchay C, Moulin CJA. Déjà experiences in temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy Res Treat. 2012;2012:539567. doi:10.1155/2012/539567

Brown AS, Marsh EJ. Digging into déjà vu: recent research on possible mechanisms. Psychology of Learning and Motivation. 2010;53:33-62. doi:10.1016/S0079-7421(10)53002-0

Brázdil M, Mareček R, Urbánek T, et al. Unveiling the mystery of déjà vu: the structural anatomy of déjà vu. Cortex. 2012;48(9):1240-1243. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2012.03.004

Brown AS. The Déjà Vu Illusion. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2004;13(6):256-259. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00320.x

What Does Deja Vu Mean Spiritually? Is It a Good Sign?

A French phrase for “already seen”, Deja Vu is that chilling feeling of familiarity that you can’t quite put your finger on. You think you may have experienced this moment before, but you can’t remember when. What does this mean? Is it a good sign, or a bad one?

Rest assured that Deja Vu is not a bad sign! Deja Vu can be a symbol of spirit communication, heightened intuition, or vibrational frequency. Below, we’ll dive into the how’s and why’s of Deja Vu.

Table of Contents

What is Deja Vu?

We’ve all felt the eeriness of Deja Vu – that feeling that you’ve already been here, already seen this, already had this conversation, but you’re just not sure when and where it occurred previously.

For example, imagine you’re on vacation in a new place. You’ve never been here before, and yet, when walking down the street in this brand-new city, you suddenly feel absolutely positive that you’ve walked these streets before.

Sometimes, on the other hand, Deja Vu can happen in more familiar circumstances. For example, you may be having a conversation with your partner. Suddenly, you find yourself asking: “Have we talked about this already?” Whatever you’re talking about feels strangely familiar, even though you have no tangible memory of having a similar conversation.

Why does Deja Vu happen?

Deja Vu can happen for a myriad of reasons: some spiritual, some otherwise.

Science tells us that Deja Vu occurs when your brain tries to connect a present experience with a past one, and fails. This is likely true in many cases! At the same time, though, your intuition may be trying to communicate with you through the feeling of Deja Vu.

For example, you carry the energetic imprints of your ancestors from seven generations back– all the way back to your great-great-great-great-great-grandparents! These ancestors passed down experiences and wisdom to you through your cells. When you experience Deja Vu, your present experience may have just triggered ancestral patterning or intelligence. We’ll dive into this more below.

In addition, Deja Vu can point to past life experiences, evidence of a clairvoyant dream, or matching vibrational frequencies. In all of these cases, experiencing Deja Vu occurs because you’re perceiving something with one of your five senses that you have experienced before, somewhere, at some time– it may have been in this lifetime, or in another one!

Let’s get into the how and why down below.

What does Deja Vu mean spiritually?

1. You’ve Experienced This Moment in a Past Life

Your soul has actually been in existence for hundreds, possibly even thousands, of years. You’ve inhabited countless bodies and walked in countless corners of the globe. It makes sense, then, that Deja Vu can occur in any moment of our life.

Experiencing Deja Vu can mean a few different things in the context of past lives: perhaps you’ve walked this very same ground in another life, or perhaps you simply visited a place that looked similar to this one in a past life. Or, you may have just met someone that you knew in another lifetime.

2. Your Ancestral Memories are Being Triggered

As mentioned above, you carry cellular memories passed down from hundreds of your ancestors. One (or many) of your ancestors may have learned something in their lives about what you’re experiencing or will soon experience.

For example: let’s say you get that feeling of Deja Vu in a moment when you’re stressing about your finances. It’s possible that one of your ancestors lived through the Great Depression in the USA– which was not that many generations ago!– and that ancestor’s money wisdom is now being activated in you.

3. You Had a Clairvoyant Dream About This Moment

It’s possible that you possess clairvoyant abilities without even knowing it; clairvoyance means “clear seeing”, and it occurs when you mentally “see” something that is to take place in the future.

This often occurs in dreams, sometimes which you don’t even remember! Therefore, sometimes, when you get Deja Vu, it’s because you have actually previewed this moment in a clairvoyant dream.

4. Your Vibrational Frequency Matches a Person or Place

People, places, and things all carry an energetic vibration, and it’s possible that your vibration can resonate with another vibration– similar to a tuning fork.

This means that your frequency is an exact match to another person’s, to an object’s (such as a crystal), or to a physical place. Experiencing such frequency resonances can trigger feelings of Deja Vu.

What does it mean when you have Deja Vu a lot?

Experiencing frequent feelings of Deja Vu is not a bad thing– so don’t worry if you constantly feel like you’ve “already been here”! There are a few spiritual explanations to why you may experience Deja Vu often.

For one, frequent Deja Vu can simply mean that you’re on the right track and following your soul’s divine path! You laid your own path out in front of you before you were born, and you’re now making your way through that maze with the help of your spirit guides. Feeling Deja Vu is similar to seeing angel numbers (repeating numbers like 111 or 222). It’s a nod from the universe, encouraging you, reminding you that you’re doing great.

Secondly, Deja Vu can be a positive symptom of heightened intuition and a blossoming crown and third eye chakra. When your intuition is strengthened, you’re better able to see past lives and to have clairvoyant “visions”; thus, it makes sense that Deja Vu may happen more regularly.

Summing it up

If you experience Deja Vu often, remember not to worry! Rather, next time you experience this uncanny feeling, send a prayer up to both your spirit guides and your ancestors, thanking them for subtly guiding you along your path.

Deja Vu is a reminder that you are, indeed, far more than just this physical lifetime in this physical body; you’re a compilation of all of your ancestors’ lives and all of your own past lives.

Be sure to show some reverence to yourself and your deepening intuition today!

What Does Deja Vu Mean? Meaning and Definition

What does deja vu mean?

You have most probably heard the words ‘deja vu’ more than once. What do these words mean? Let’s try to define the meaning of the words deja vu.

Deja Vu Definition

What is deja vu? Here are a few explanations.

The term “deja vu” originates from the French, meaning “already seen”, and describes the experience of feeling that you have witnessed or experienced a certain situation previously. It was first used by Emile Boirac (1851-1917), who was a French psychic researcher.

A person experiencing deja vu feels a compelling sense of familiarity. There is a strong sense that one has experienced, or have been in the same situation or place in the past.

When déjà vu occurs, you feel as if what you are experiencing now has been previously experienced. You feel familiar with the situation. Sometimes it can be like experiencing virtual reality.

Examples to Help You Understand What Does Deja Vu Mean

Here is more on how to define deja vu:

Wikipedia deja vu definition: “The feeling that one has lived through the present situation before.”

Merriam Webster deja vu definition: “The illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time.”

Collins dictionary deja vu meaning: “The feeling that you have already experienced the things that are happening to you now.”

It is said that déjà vu is very common, and that 70% of people experience déjà vu at least once in their lives.

According to Scientific American, experiments have led scientists to suspect that deja vu is a memory phenomenon. We encounter a situation that is similar to an actual memory but we can’t fully recall that memory. So our brain recognizes the similarities between our current experience and one in the past.

Why Do We Experience déjà Vu

1. We might have seen pictures in the past of a certain place. When we are actually there, even if we have never been there before, we feel that we have been there.