This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Monday, November 6, 2017

Here? Again? Déjà vu (#BOTB Results)

Sometimes I feel like I'm posting about something I already have written about before.  That's probably because I have done another post about the topic.  Or maybe I've posted repeatedly about the topic.  It's kind of like life.  There is a lot of repetitiveness to life, which for me is a good thing.  It helps me to remember better...


That Strange Feeling
          
Déjà vu--we've all likely experienced that feeling of having been somewhere before, meeting someone whom we feel we've already known, or being in a situation that seems mighty familiar. The subject has been written about for centuries. But I wonder if the feeling is a more common occurrence in our time?

         I would argue that the sense of  déjà vu probably is more common now primarily because of media and other sensory experiences that bombard us in many ways.  We see previews, trailers, and teasers to the point that they all become part of the background noise that is ongoing data feed into our subconscious.  

         However the true déjà vu experience can be a startling and baffling mystery that can haunt us after the event has occurred.  A few years ago when my mother was in her final hours of life, at one point in the hospital room I felt an otherworldly experience of having been there before.  It was almost as though I were looking on at the scene, remembering it as something that had happened in my past.  Afterward all I could think of was déjà vu. 

         Most of the time, incidents that evoke such feelings within me I could probably reasonably explain even though I might not totally believe my own explanation.  I think we all enjoy little mind tricks that happen to us.  It's what happens when we escape into reading or watching something enacted before us. We are willingly deceived and complicit parties to that action.  Perhaps déjà vu is a bout of self-deception.  Or maybe it is real...

        What do you think? 



Battle of the Bands Results



Where or When

          My song choice for this previous Battle was the Rodgers and Hart classic "Where or When"  The song is about a lover's experience of déjà vu.  This song is one that I remember so well from early childhood because I used to hear it often.  The melody always entranced me and still does.  And all the more after I paid attention to the lyrics.

           The vocal combatants were contemporaries on the music scene from the mid to late 20th century Lena Horne and Etta Jones.  This was an outstanding Battle with both artists staying close though Etta held the lead throughout. 

            Stephen T McCarthy described my choice of Lena Horne with his description: 

"I prefer the "sweeter", gentler vocals of LENA HORNE. Her rendition retains the original melody and the very romantic, almost mystical mood indicated by the lyrics." 

I think that's a pretty good way of putting it.

           Still, Etta won the Battle, but not by much.


Final Vote Tally

Lena Horne       9 votes

Etta Jones         10 votes






  Next Battle on Wednesday November 15th

          I'm sure I'll post something before then so please visit and comment on all of my posts if you can.   On Monday November 13th I'll be participating in Remake Blogfest which will also be the theme of my next BOTB song a few days after that.   Be there!





34 comments:

  1. That "I've Beeb Here Before " feeling often happens , walking down a street for examole and a past memory springs ro mind.
    A great post Lee and I chose the loser with the BOTB this time. It was a close result I know.

    Yvonne.

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    1. Yvonne, there were no losers in this match-up. I preferred Lena too.

      Lee

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  2. That was a close one.
    I think we all experience those moments where everything feels strangely familiar.

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    1. Alex, I think the feeling is a universal experience. Part of the fun of life I think.

      Lee

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  3. HOKEY-SMOKE! Great Battle, LEE! In fact, IMO, a Battle that is won by a single vote is actually a "perfect" BOTB installment. Congratulations on this one.

    Deja Vu -- yeah, I've experienced it many times. Sometimes in more subtle, misty ways, but other times in very powerful, overwhelming ways.

    I think possibly it sometimes relates to past lives in which we experienced very similar circumstances, and we recall it at a deep soul level. Perhaps occasionally we had previously dreamed the circumstances but have not remembered the dream. And then when the event actually occurs, we have a vague sense or "memory" of having lived through it previously.

    It's always a cool, fascinating experience to me.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...

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    1. STMcC, I was very pleased with the outcome of this Battle.

      Misty ways or a vagueness about the moment are good ways to think about deja vu. I'm not sure about past lives, but this makes for a reasonable theory. I also think about time shifts or parallel universes bisecting paths. It's all a mystery.

      Lee

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  4. We've got so much stimulation all around us, and our conscious mind is filtering all the crap out, but our subconscious is a sponge. So yes, deja vu is more common these days.

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    1. Jay, I think sensory and informational assaults are also responsible for a lot of forgetfulness or missing mindfulness. Other outside forces are more likely to contribute to that also and more likely.

      Lee

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  5. I get Deja Vu a lot but it happened more when I was younger. It's pretty cool.

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    1. JoJo, drug induced deja vu happened a lot more when I was younger.

      Lee

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  6. I only get Deja Vu over things I've done before...

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  7. I cannot claim a single instance of deja Vu, in the true sense. Your recount was chilling!

    On the subject of "Where Or When," you gave me a reason, after listening to your champion, to go back and play the acapella version by The Belmonts.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPaT8AkvN1s

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    1. Michael, that account I cited still baffles me and chills me in a way. I guess I knew at the time the moment was an impactful one that I'd never forget.

      The version by The Belmonts is great. From my youth I mostly remember the version by The Lettermen.

      Lee

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  8. Well here’s a case where I’m genuinely disappointed in myself. Read your post last week, but couldn’t comment. I wsn’t gonna vote on the BOTB, because I’m seriously trying to stop ‘playing’, but I couldn’t help myself because I really enjoy the vocals of Miss Lena Horne, especially in this number. Now I see I could have caused a tie, DRATS! It was an excellent BATTLE, fought to the finish.

    On DEja Vu_ i experience often. It used to creep me out, but now i accept it and simple wonder where thet came from!

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    1. FAE, a tie would have been nice, but that's okay. At least you stopped by for this post.

      The moments of deja vu are usually so fleeting for me that I don't have that much time to analyze them to figure where it all comes from. It all kind of just hits me in passing and I'm thinking, "What was that!".

      Lee

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  9. I would pick Etta. Saw her concert once at a winery, here locally. Seems my posts are similar with the seasons creating a pattern.

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    1. Eve, well that vote would shoot down FAE's tie and raise Etta back up to the win. Seasons do influence a lot of my posts so repetition in topics would make sense.

      Lee

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  10. Lee,

    I've experience deja vu in the past and it really is baffling. I think you might have hit on a valid point that deja vu is a trick of the imagination. Sometimes I have a memory that seems real but I don't think that it is. I think I'm recalling a dream(s) that manifests itself as reality in my mind over the years. For instance sometimes I have that I'm an actress. The feelings left over are so convincing that if I were not of the right mind then I'd think I was one years ago. These sorts of things really baffle me. I do not believe in reincarnation but these real life dream sensations that I've had can be what makes others think they've lived in another life. So...I can deja vu being on the same plane as my funky dreams. :) WOW, you had a super duper close battle! My gal didn't win but she was SO close. :)

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    1. Cathy, there is probably some similarity or connection between dreams, deja vu, and other mental phenomena that see tied into memories whether true or fabricated in some way. The mind can play some odd tricks.

      Lee

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  11. Deja vu in one of the most fascinating experiences we can have. I felt that more often when I was younger than I do now, so it can't be internet/TV. Most times, it was a place that triggered that sense of being/doing somewhere/something again. Driving through Gettysburg battlefields in light fog comes to mind...of course, that place is so haunted, all kinds of strange feelings come into play.

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    1. Patricia, it seems like a deja vu like experience would happen more as we get older since we have so many more accumulated memories. The deja vu of youth might be a mystery, but I don't know that it has been studied much by researchers. It might be an interesting field to explore, but then the study might be complicated and without verifiable data that can be examined.

      Lee

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  12. I often feel like I'm repeating myself on the blog, but how can we not after doing it for so many years? I think I'm in year 6 or 7. I like hearing about people's experiences with deja vu and these types of other-wordly things. So fascinating!

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    1. Karen, I think we all have our fields of interest that keep luring us back to reexamine. It can be difficult to keep coming up with ideas that intrigue us enough to write about them.

      Lee

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  13. A close one this time indeed.

    I'm not sure it really exists, could just be a trick of the mind, but such moments do arise every now and then.

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    1. Pat, probably is a mind trick, but we don't know for sure. I wonder if any research has been done regarding the deja vu effect?

      Lee

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  14. Hey leave, long time no see just stopping by to say hello!

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    1. Stephen, stop by anytime. There's usually some kind of post up.

      Lee

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  15. Yes, I have had déjà vu experiences. I wonder about those alternate universes which may overlap at some points, perhaps that could give us that feeling of 'hey this looks/feels familiar'. And since they don't know a lot about how our brain or memories work - who knows? Interesting topic, Lee. Sorry I haven't been able to 'get around much anymore' but I like to comment back for those who come to read the WEP entries. It's been a busy year, not for my writing but for personal responsibilities.

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    1. DG, I understand the personal responsibilities. I've haven't been online as much as I used to be either.

      The alternate universe theories are very interesting. As are theories regarding anomalies in time that might case a deja vu effect. It's hard to say though and interesting to contemplate.

      Lee

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  16. I do believe in déjà vu, though it's not always triggered by the same things for everyone. There are some things science probably won't ever have an explanation for, but that doesn't mean they're not real or are automatically pseudoscientific nonsense. We still haven't unlocked nearly all the information possible to know about the workings of the human brain, and maybe never will.

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    1. Carrie-Anne, I think it's very difficult if not impossible to explore the actual inner workings of the brain, especially from the perspective of thoughts and feelings. It's such a subjective thing and sensations like déjà vu might not be measurable in any way other than in the most peripheral sense. Still, it's worth studying.

      Lee

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  17. I've had deja vu quite a bit, but like JoJo said, it seemed to happen more when I was younger. Or maybe now that I'm older, I forget that it happened. *smiles*

    Have a beachy week!
    Elsie

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    1. Elsie, forgetfulness and life distraction probably play a big role in not noticing or pondering the instances of déjà vu. Then again, maybe as we grow older we are less impressed by the déjà vu feelings or have found ways to explain them away.

      Lee

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Lee