Fun and frolic

All my life I have had these episodes of Deja Vu. I know what you are thinking, there are many different reasons for such a phenomenon, and I can just about agree with at least three of the theories.


The most popular theory is that we trip the switch to our memory banks when we smell things that have a heavy emotional component. Like the smell of freshly ground coffee and smokey bacon in a deli sends me straight to my Grans kitchen. I immediately get the visual but I also get the sense of contentment and safety. The safety part would likely take years with a therapist to figure out, but you get the idea. Scent most defiantly is the strongest trigger for memories for me. A light smell of perfume and I am transported to the memory of watching my mother get ready for a night out with my father. The smell of Brut reminds me of how popular it was with "us teens" in the 70's and "us girls" would wear it to the discos. Here is a slightly odd variation how ever; when I go home to Scotland my mother still does my laundry, don't ask it is something she likes doing. One of my favorite things to do when I come home and unpack is put away a night dress or a sweater just so that when I am in the place of needing some nurturing I can slip them on and smell the fabric softener and remember that my mother loves me.





Another theory is the light. Our mood is swayed by levels of light, and so light can trigger a Deja Vu. The idea of Deja Vu is the sense that you have experienced something before so strongly that it appears to be happening again. Light can transport you to a memory or perhaps the light can trigger an emotional response. For example; turn down the light to create a cozy and calm atmosphere, bright light infuses the room with energy that your body reacts to so much that you physically tense and then relax when the light level changes. Again just to prove I do things differently, I react to the colour of the light. When I grew up the light seemed to be omni present. It was there when I went to bed and again when I awoke. It always was a soft golden colour and seemed only to brighten when the winter winds were whipping through the trees, only then did it change to a white light that seemed to make the shape of everything sharper.





The final theory is that through your dreams you manifest your hearts desire. Things that you want to experience or things that you need to let go. In some cases the dream becomes the platform to try things on and see if we like the new bits of our personalities, so much so that it can feel as though you are experiencing it and wake up exhausted from living your dream. You put those memories aside and then suddenly one day you experience the right light or a land mark stands out that triggers the memory of a dream. ( It does not however account for those dreams where I am running around naked while everyone else is dressed. I suspect that's a whole other topic.)



My reason for sharing this information is that I recently had a Deja vu experience. Actually I had two experiences. When my parents were visiting this summer I was overwhelmed with emotion. I loved having them here and wanted things to be perfect. So much so that I was making myself crazy trying. I was not in my comfort zone and put that down to being exhausted. Over the first two weeks I had little flashes of things that made feel like I had done this before, but nothing grabbed hold. Then we were taking the train from Belleville to Toronto and it suddenly hit me. I had dreamt about this whole Holiday in a recurring dream. I was looking out the window of the train when the dream fell into my vision. In my dream I had been flying in what appeared to me to be a low level aircraft that was so close to the ground it followed a road. The movement and the light as the train whizzed by proved to me that in fact it was a train I was on in the dream and then it all fell into place. My dad is a believer but my mom is a sceptic, still she nodded and smiled and acknowledged that it was interesting to feel I was having that experience. Then I began to give her details of the rest of the trip. I was traveling with them to Orlando Florida. This trip was not like my previous Disney Land adventure. I was able to describe to them where we were staying and when I got off the plane I knew exactly what route to take to get to the condo. There were so many other details that I made a believer out of my mother.



Then again on the weekend I got to experience Deja Vu again in a big way. The day started in an odd way for me. I am usually doing house work at 7 in the morning so I can enjoy the rest of my day. However I was putzing around and in no hurry to do anything. I was remembering recent conversations I had had by e-mail with an old dear friend, and he was on my mind for the rest of the morning. I recognized that I seemed to be stalling and not getting my day in motion. Then out of the blue my friend called. That alone was a wonderful surprise but to my amazement he invited me to join him in the city for the weekend. Although I like to think my self spontaneous I can be a bit rule bound and needed a few minutes to get my head around the invitation and I accepted, packed my bags and got on my way. I could feel that there was something special about the event but I rationalized it as excitement. Once we got settled we headed out for dinner. I was still feeling like this experience was surreal. We got into the taxi and as we headed down town the light and ambiance of the street took me to another recurring dream where I had experienced this all before. I gasped as I had this realization and my companion asked me what was wrong. I explained and he smiled and just dismissed my reaction. The evening could not have been better, filled with all the charm and coincidence of the dream. Some of the details stood out brighter than others but I had a hard time shaking off the feeling of living in parallel universes.



That experience was very important to me. Not just because it was a wonderful enchanting evening giving me time to reconnect with an old friend, but because I could be comfortable in the experience as I knew exactly what was around each corner.



Living through the unknown is dealing with life as it unfolds. Sometimes we gleam clues and ideas about how to handle or create opportunities in the unknown by our own brains processing information or by a series of coincidences. That at a later date, when we take time to understand them, realize we have had a deja vu experience.



I am lucky to have these experiences often and enjoy them. In fact I revel in them as they allow me to grow as a person. I know this all sounds a little much like I had too much wine and just began to philosophise my own experience. But just take a minute to think about those moments when you know the phone is going to ring, or not to take a specific route to work and learn later the was a huge accident. Ask your self then, what helped you make that decision? And then ask yourself; Is coincidence a chance happening or an event already planned where we may or may not have already been given prior knowledge through our senses stored in a way that we experience them in our dreams and then have knowledge how to handle them?



For me it is one more experience that lets me live without regret. Today's shoulds are to remember to just be in the moment and not to try to control all that is my world. It is not mine to control. I should also remember that not everyone is going to see what I see no matter how I try to paint the picture with my words, my emotions or my visions.