What exactly is deja vous ?

there is another version: one your memory scene is constructed from separate elements, that have their own, let's say, codes in the brain. F.e., child's mind when he learns records such codes as "table", "chair", "bottle", "father shouting on mum" and so on. These are abstract codes, they can be different shape or size, color and, of course, background. But every memory scene is a combination of these elements with some additional info and some special links between them.

Example: a dark ROOM with two CHAIRS and dirty TABLE, with couple of empty BOTTLES on the FLOOR and DAD SHOUTING at MOM, with a red LAMP hanging above them and a DOOR without a HANDLE. (let's say it was in the watcher's childhood)

So the memory is all situation. And to regain memory back you the brain checks things that you see with the codes that are already recorded to the brain and if some codes are already recognized, then the links between these codes are checked.

Now you see a painting of Mona Lisa for first time and remember how does it look. Next time you see and can recognize, that it's the same Mona Lisa.

And if you appear in the situation, that is VERY CLOSE to one of your memory scene or this situation can be combined from two or three memory scenes that you already remember, the brain can make a mistake.

So if you see, for example, a room that is quite dark and there is a table and a chair (and the light from red lamp falls a little bit simmilar to that composition, that you saw in your childhood, many years ago) and there is one bottle standing under the table and there is a conflict between man and woman, and there is a door - the brain can say, that it ALMOST fit to the scene that you've recorded many years ago and now it says to you - YES THAT's THE THING I'VE already been through. But you know, that you never met these people, never been in this room and so on.

So the idea is this - if there is a high percent of elements that your brain can combine together and recognize as a memory scene (or scenes) that you already have seen, it can be recognized as a memory, even if you see that first time.

imo that souns uite correct.

I had a deja vu recently where I remembered seeing the exact moment of time twice. So, it was a specific frame of time that I saw TWICE before. This happened after I got bogged down about this ability from reading some of the debunkers. I've also deja vu where I've seen the event happening from a different perspective than that in which I was involved in it. So I'll stick to my own opinion, thank you.

I don't know if what I have is just deja vu, but whenever it happens I remember the night I dreamt it because they aren't to far apart. I can only remember a few things after I realize I have seen this before.

Yeah, i've had what i spose i'd call 'dream deja-vu' where you think you've dreamed it and also just feeling like 'ooh, this has happened before'. but i'm kinda over it now.

im pretty sure it's not paranormal as I have it just randomly, and nothing ever happens. It actually feels kinda nice.

this is a little un related, but does anyone have trouble remembering if a memory was a memory or a dream? For example, I have this memory of dressing up at my grandma's and pushing a pram down her stairs when I was about three. But i'm not sure if it was a memory or a dream triggered by a photo because I think like I do now, only my emotions were 5x stronger. (at the time I was possesed with the idea of dressing up like a baby, and showing my mum and grandma). In the 'dream' i was like a little detatched from it though. I was laughing at myself, so possibly not a memory!

I liked AZLS1's explanation and it does make sense in some cases. However I've had deja vu and during the experience announce that I'm having it and relay the events that "should" happen.

For example I had it last week at work in front of my manager while having a conversation with a colleague..."Uh oh...deja vu".... the phone's going to ring next and it'll be Maria,,,sure enough it rang and it was Maria. Then a few other things happened in sequence that felt familiar and I said, " almost done but the box will fall off the shelf..."

We all nearly had a heart attack as a large box tipped off a shelf to our left when a customer hit it with a cart.

It felt like any other deja vu I've had...I have it a lot, usually very mundane, lasts for a minute or so and normally there's no event worth mentioning aloud to verify (like a phone ringing or box falling).

I do suffer from 'deja vous'!
its not something that i believe is memory or past experiances!
I take them more as 'a heads up' on what could happen. and use them to see other possibilities of my actions!

reply to post by uIVIa

I have the dreams too. I write them down in a book beside my bed. I can now tell which dreams are a 'deja vous dream' rather than another reality of my own existence. I am a normal, average person, nothing wired or special, but I have worked this thing out. My friends call them predictions, but it's just a glipmse into another day. The most receint one was when I didn't worry when the plane lost an engine back from our holiday in Egypt. I knew we were going to be OK because I was reassured some years ago by a 'deja vous dream'. People were crying on the plane, we had an emergency landoing in Cyprus. The plane skidded sideways on the landing. Wow.
I went to America a few years ago. I had already said that I was worried about someone driving a car, on the phone, lighting a cigarette. Yep, he ran into my legs. It's like a special 'don't worry' dream. I warned my friend about an acid attack months before it happened. His mad workmate put acid in his cup of tea.
I am trying to find other people who have the same experiences.

I think deja vu is interesting for me... I don't know if it works this way for anyone. But, I know that when I have it, it is because i have "seen" it before.

An example from when the first time this happened to me:

When I was in 4th grade, I had a daydream during science that one day I would forget my book and I saw events played out and I didn't really remember them that well... it was a daydream anyway. But, about two or three months later, I did forget my science book and everything went downhill. I saw my teacher say the same words, same hand movements, the whole enchilada. And, I was super surprised. So, I instantly tried to stop it. I knew what was going on... so I changed the scenario quickly and the events played out differently. In the daydream, I got in big trouble and was sent to the office. But, when it actually happened, I used the deja vu to not say the same things and I was not in trouble.

For me, it can work to my advantage.

hello ! I don`t know how old this post is but i had a lot of deja-vous la long time ago ! Now i`m 21 and i had a lot of this during high-school ! The main thing that you feel is a impression that this happened one more time in the past ! The feeling of butterfly in the stomack is strong and you know what will happen in the future ! First i thought that i`ve dreamed that and i think that is the most rezonable explination because it was one time where i am sure that something like that could not happen ! First i didn`t liked the feeling but now after 2 years after the last deja-vous i really miss it !

I really cant help you there
yours is different from mine
instead of knowing exactly whats gonna happen
i have sort of a forsight
but ittle be weeks ahead sometimes over half a year before that dream comes
back into life thus deja vous
it has that you can change it type of thing
i always seem to make it different than what happened in my dreams
and i know it cant just be a short circut of my brain because i remember those dreams when i wake up