Déjà vu

                                                              Courtesy Google images                      

We have all some experience of a feeling,that comes over us occasionally,of what we are saying and doing ,having been said and done before, in a remote time - of our having been surrounded,dim ages ago,by the same faces,objects and circumstances - of our knowing perfectly what will be said next, as if we suddenly remember it ! ( Dickens in David Copperfield- chapter 39) Deja vu, and intuition ,closely related yet entirely different terms in meaning have intrigued the skeptic in me for a long time.Literature,movies have explored the topic over the years and average human being  across the world  is well aware of it.

Deja vu,a french term coined by Emile Boirac is also known as  paramnesia.As high as two thirds of adults claim to have had a deja vu experience at least once in their lives.

Deja vu is of many kinds:

1.deja eprouve - already experienced - The most commonly described experience out of the many mentioned below.
2.deja pense - already thought - tumne mere munh ki baat chheen li - kind of experience.The subject typically experiences this almost as soon as someone else blurts out his thoughts and never before.If you are conditioned to 'think' before you talk,you might have several deja pense moments in your life.
3.deja reconte - already recounted- My neighbor Mr Bee is ideal example of this.Try talking about any experience under the Sun and Mr Bee slips into his own deja reconte mode .
4.deja senti - already smelt,felt
5.deja su - already known (intellectually)
6.deja trouve (already met ) / deja recontre -(already met)- hum pehle  bhi kahin mile hain!,maine tumhe kaahin dekha hai ! This is one experience that I dread the most.Not being a regular figure at family gatherings and not being good with faces ,particularly of the 'relative' kind,I am subjected to this every time I decide to attend any family event.I freeze in my tracks when I am spotted by some random relative who wants to test my memory and patience .I have no choice but to use the above lines while the offender explains with great enthusiasm,the last time and place that we met and of course his own  importance in my life at that time and place .By the way ,the above also happens to be the lamest pick up line oft used by lame people.
7.deja dit - already said spoken (content of speech) / deja parle ( act of speech) We go through a combined deja dit and deja parle thing when  the speaker of parliament goes on and on like a record playing in loop with-"kripaya baith jaayiye..unko bolne dijiye..shaant ho jaayiye..please..."
8.deja lu - already read-Chetan Bhagat is all I can say here! :D
9.deja presenti - already sensed -Freaky ,I must say!
10.deja reve - already dreamt -repeated episodes lead to insomnia,not good for health ,if you ask me!
11.deja visite - already visited-Those swearing by this kind either participate in 'Raaz pichhle janam ka ' TV series or end up on the shrink's couch (pun unintended)
12.deja entendu - already heard
13.deja goute - already tasted
14.deja fait - already done-when you get the feeling of been there done that.
15.deja vecu - already lived
16.deja volu -already  desired
17.deja connu - already known ,(personally)

Types of deja vu,source: The various manifestations of deja vu experience)

There could be many logical explanations for a typical or atypical deja vu experience
- One might have seen a picture of the place or person in the past
-Might have read about the experience/person/place
-Might have seen a movie on the subject
-Might get triggered by similar sense of smell/taste,color,decor,surrounding etc
- Looks,mannerisms,clothing,body language of a person might remind you of a similar person from your past
-Some insist that this has nothing to do with memory and that it may only be a perception

This has been a topic for extensive  research and various theories have linked medical conditions like schizophrenia,epilepsy,anxiety, internal stress and internal conflicts,with deja vu .However,medical experts,Psychiatrists,Psychologists,Psychics and various religious sects have not been able to arrive at a plausible explanation to this phenomena yet,so the stories continue..Some stories make you grin ,while some freak you out! Have you ever experienced deja vu ever?!  

                                                                                       Courtesy Google images 

                                          

Intuitions - Gut feeling or mental glitch!

                                                               courtesy Google images            

"I had a gut feeling that this would happen and OMG I was so right"              

"I had a hunch that this would go wrong and BOY ,do I have a black tongue?!"

Ever heard people say the reverse? Very rarely people own up that they erred in their observation, judgment, or intuition. Intuition, déjà vu, premonition, sixth sense, gut feeling , hunch ,are various closely related terms widely and casually used by one and all. People use them to be one up on the lesser mortals, to prove that they are the gifted ones.It is a very- very slippery area so to speak. Jitne muhn utni baatein. Playing with intuitions has its highs and lows .

If most of your intuitions turn out to be true, you are truly blessed and may end up blessing people in turn with your special powers. Who knows you may even end up on the city billboards with a monstrous blood red tilak spanning your forehead .You will be rechristened ‘Sach Bolti Maa’ or ‘Mantaa Maa’or some such name and adorned with accessories. All your medical, dental bills will be taken care of by your followers. This is sure sho(r)t way to riches and stardom.

However, if you are empowered with a negative sixth sense or have a kaali zabaan, someone will sing “ Jaa Chudaill” to you and it won’t be a film song let me tell you.The plus side in this case however, is similar to or may be more lucrative compared to the earlier case .This is because we Indians are shit scared of curses, black magic and the like.Any mention of the above sends us running for cover and any antidote suggested for the said poison is lapped up at unmentionable costs.

You can terrorize people with your dark powers.Marketing your dark powers on cable TV as 'Bi-paashaa ji bungle ',is all it takes to attract the affected .Learning a few mantras is easy and attire should be matching your powers-Black! Freedom to use abuse to harm the client's enemy is an added advantage.Periodic ads in the print media will ensure steady flow of victims of black magic (jadu -tona ).They are basically losers who are convinced that the cause of their misery is everything and everybody else but their own selves.Soon you will have so many gone-cases in hand that you may be forced to buy an island somewhere with their money.


According to a study,intuition is essentially, memory based, wherein , thoughts of one concept spread to thoughts of another related concept making them more likely to be recalled by a person.This was substantiated by a study by Brain bugs:
Answer the first two questions aloud and then blurt out the first thing that comes to your mind in response to statement 3 below:
1.What continent is Kenya in ?
2.What are two opposing colors in the game of Chess?
3.Name any animal.
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A good majority said zebra for statement -3 , different African animals are named by a select few but interesting point to note is that,out of the blue when asked to name an animal ,less than one percent said Zebra. Conditioning of brain you see! Scientists  say,you can and you must hone your intuitive skills for it is a combination of science and intuition that makes a  man smart.We like smart people not mere geeks.

                                                   courtesy Google images


Albert Einstein was convinced that the only real valuable thing is intuition . So when do you listen to intuitions and when do you use your head?
Listen to you intuitions when:
-Doing something you are experienced in ,
-Nagging medical symptoms,-do not take 'its nothing' for an answer,take second opinion if symptoms persist.
-Shopping :D  
Use your head when:
-hiring someone,
-judging someone or something.. 
                                               

Everybody gets intuitions.Some are just more aware and use it to their advantage while skeptics brush it off as coincidence. An old  patient of mine now based in Kolkata is a victim of my sixth sense. His case being an interesting clinical case study in my field,is often quoted and discussed by me during workshops.Whenever  I make a mention ,I see the poor guy in my clinic within a few days. knowing the dough he spends on each visit ,I feel kinda guilty now and try to blame it on telepathy:D

I have my regular motherly 'hunch' to my kids' rescue .I have daily gut feelings while stuck in traffic . We all have sense of deja vu when we watch Hindi movies-the feeling that we have seen something like this before..I can also sense what my cook is gonna give us for dinner on days that I am too busy or too irritated to leave instructions.


Actually,Edward Murphy beat me into forming his own laws and postulates ,warnaa hum bhi aurat kucch kaam ke hi thhe! Who knows, when I am old and grey ,I might have the guts to come up with my own book aptly but not so creatively titled 'Gut  feelings' :p