What causes Deja Vu?

[Erii]

I know it involves the subconscious and the mind but what causes it? I just had it and you seriously can like predict the future. I also know it is one of the mysteries of life ao we won't have the full answer, please elaborate

[SophroniaLee]

One theory is that, since your body perceives reality from two eyes, two ears, and thousands of nerve endings in your skin, the time it takes for that perceived information to reach the brain can vary. Thus, if I see something in front of me, my left eye may relay that imagery to my brain slightly faster than my right and the sense may be processed twice in succession, giving the deja vu effect. In my own personal experience, I've never been able to predict the future with deja vu. Things feel familiar, but I can never tell what's about to happen.

[Reav3R]

One theory is that, since your body perceives reality from two eyes, two ears, and thousands of nerve endings in your skin, the time it takes for that perceived information to reach the brain can vary. Thus, if I see something in front of me, my left eye may relay that imagery to my brain slightly faster than my right and the sense may be processed twice in succession, giving the deja vu effect. In my own personal experience, I've never been able to predict the future with deja vu. Things feel familiar, but I can never tell what's about to happen. I agree with this theory. I just want to add that it's not actually because brain gets it faster from left eye. It's because it goes to memory part of brain before the brain processes it and thus causing the deja vu. The left eye for example, sends the image to brain before the right eye, the brain doesn't process it so it goes directly to short term memory. Now the image from right eye is sent to brain, this time the brain processes this image. Since the processing part and memory part of brain are somehow related, it is synced with the previously saved memory and causes you to think it happened before. Yeah, it is in your memory but it hasn't happened before. Any questions?

[dacher2]

I remember this one time in a game alley at a park I walked up to this one game and had a de javu moment, it felt like I'd been there before and then remembered that in a vision I had I lost at this game. I paid that thought no attention though, and ended up losing the game.

[Jesus of Suburbia]

Glitches in The Matrix.

[Tenrai]

Might be because of having experienced the same thing previously in a (precognitive) dream, without remembering it.

[OwlDreamz]

Might be because of having experienced the same thing previously in a (precognitive) dream, without remembering it. Ditto to this. That's exactly the theory I subscribe to.

[DeathCell]

Ditto, except I usually have a faint memory of my dream.

[Unelias]

I have also heard a theory that it could be a a slight malfunction in a brain blood supply or nerve electricity, which causes the feeling of familiarity. Personally, I can confirm that many real life deja fu experiences I have had are mostly found from the pages of my dream journal.

[Dreamworld]

Deja Vu is simply the recall of intense synchronization in life.

[AL3ZAY]

Deja Vu is when you have had a dream containing a moment or sequence of moments you are on the path to seeing realized, and do not do anything that changes your course, and so it is experienced in full.

[ThePreserver]

One theory is you have a dream that has very similar circumstances (Either coincidental or precognitive, both may possibly apply), which you do not remember, and when the event occurs that is very similar, you are reminded of the dream, and your brain has the odd "fumble" about whether or not you already experienced this. Another theory is the idea that your subconscious is holding down a few ideas, and when you experience an event at the same time you start to think about a similar thing (in a manner of coincidence) your brain has the "fumble". I subscribe to the first one, not specifically to precognitive or simply coincidental, although extreme cases of uncanny experience yield ideas about precognition.

[shadowofwind]

As I experience it, there's a subconscious part of ourselves that stands a little bit back from or outside of our reality. To it, a lot of things are 'now' besides what we call 'now' I don't know in what sense that might involve our actual future or past, or in what sense parallel worlds are involved. For myself, I can say with certainty that the physiological explanations for deja vu are at the very least inadequate, because under the right conditions its possible to accurately predict future events. As a side note, this reminds me of one of my favorite phrases, "deja fu", and its cousin "deja fubar".

[WhatsReal]

I always liked this theory... You have short term memory and a long term memory. Everything you are seeing and reading right now is being stored in your short term memory just as fast as you are seeing it. In deju vu the information you are reading right now would in some way skip your short term memory and hit you in the long term memory, making you think you have seen it before.... Just another theory

[Dthoughts]

When i was little i had a friend. He moved to belgium tho about 1 month before this night and i dreamed that he came back to school for one day. It was a great dream. We played outside in the playground and stuff then when i woke up this dream was stuck in my head. I really missed the guy and i hoped he would come back one day. Well on exactly the same day this friend made a suprise visit to our school. And we went to play in the playground etc. etc. just like in the dream.

[Aeolar]

Some people on the more spiritual side describe 'Deja Vu' as an imprint when the mind dips into the subconscious, and pulls out, for example, a scene or setting. As most of the people here know, or at least understand, there is a "place" if you will, called by some the Akashic Records. This place is described as the library of infinite knowledge, where everything that had, has, and might happen is recorded. It is a possibility that the subconscious mind travels to this/these place(s) and takes from it a piece of information, and it is imprinted into the rational, conscious mind, thus leaving a faint remembrance of the event, so that when it happens, you have an epiphany-esque event, and thus 'Deja Vu' occurs. But, again, this is just a theory, not a fact. Take from it what you will, piece together your own truth with research. :-)

[VladP]

When I am not lucid dreaming, I always see things that happen the day after, the week after... As a cap with wires inside, I saw it two days later in a film. I note this things in other dream journals, not the ones on this website... but it's not a dream, though, I only see a flash of the image, then a screamer, then I wake up. I first thought it was a nightmare but I found out that the images I saw came true. I hope this will stop, as it scares me. Of course, knowing the future is great, but I do not know it. I only see an image, which I don't know where will appear, or when, or how.

[ApocalypsePony]

I've heard so many different theories and, in all honestly, I don't know what to believe. My skeptic side wants to believe it's some sort of "brain lag". But the other side of me wants to believe it's some sort of "psychic" experience. A person once told me that everyone is a little "psychic", and that's why everyone experiences Deja Vu. She also told me that anyone can learn to enhance this. I tried and it almost seems as if I can predict what's going to happen when I experience Deja Vu... But then once again, my skeptic side makes be believe it's probably all in my head and a silly idea.

[dawzo]

Do not want to go to much into off topic, because this isn't really related but yeah... When I was walking with my buddy today talking he suddenly mentioned that some guy with an epic afro haircut and afro beard just got his hair cut and his beard reduced. That instantly made an impact on me because I remembered that I dreamed about him and talking to him with his hair cut and about 1cm long about why he had done it. The beard was a little different in my dreams than my friend described me but the overall idea was there. So I just wanted to share this, I got a real feeling that it has been something special.

[PinkCrimson]

Search How Stuff Works, it has comprehensive info about the causes of Deja Vu(I am not old enough to post links) It is said scientifically that it is caused by incorrect perception(correct me if I am wrong-I am a science idiot) But I always feel like I have REALLY experienced it before, and I believe I have seen it already from my dreams. Sometimes I feel like I have experience it in before life.

[Dthoughts]

Okay so sometimes a deja vu is caused that you might read something or hear something that gives you a strong impression you have heared/seen it before. It might even give you a flashback or something like that, correct? Has anyone ever experienced for example reading a book and remembering something. I agree with what has been said here with short term memory, long term memory. But i'm thinking of short term memory as in what you remember from ur life, and long term memory as in this collective information database thingy we all seem to have access to. So... if i'm right, this would mean that these deja vu thingies and past life regression is in the same boat.. i'm not sure tho, feedback anyone?

[Solarflare]

this should be in Inner Sanctum.

[ThePreserver]

this should be in Inner Sanctum. Why? Deja Vu is a perfectly real, normal phenomena, nothing "paranormal" about it. It's "beyond dreaming" because it's not NECESSARILY linked to dreaming.

[Solarflare]

I dont want to have a thread be a pointless argument about who right in Beyond Dreaming, thats usually in R/S so i'll just leave this here **ALL NON-DREAMING RELATED PARANORMAL TOPICS SHOULD NOW BE CREATED IN THE INNER SANCTUM FORUM IN ED. EDIT: oh crap, ur right, never mind im so stupid