Hello, Tony. These words triggered some thoughts for me. From the age of 9 to the age of 36 (when our son was born) I experienced what I called very intense déja vus. These were not “surreal shadows of the past”: I would suddenly find myself in a modified state of consciousness and intensely recollected what was happening in the present moment: images, sounds, smells, everything. The experience could last up to a minute. Soon after the experience I would forget what had triggered it and what it was I recollected, until it happened again, and a parallel memory would allow me to remember the previous experiences.Do events in your life reflect something that you thought you had previously experienced? If you are thinking déjà vu, P.M.H. Atwater says think again. Unlike déjà vu that resurrects surreal shadows of the past, Atwater claims that you may find a life-transforming phenomenon she calls a “brain shift” that brings sensory-rich experiences of the future into the present and, at some point later in your life, the actual event triggers the memory of the scenario you are now part of.
Over the last few years it happened, this experience became so intense that I had to stop driving when it occurred. I also had to be careful not to speak during the experience as I wasn’t in control of my thoughts.
When our son was born these experiences suddenly ended.
Last year, following a fall, I again had this experience once. But this time it lasted for half an hour, during which I was unable to return some telephone calls, speak or write.
I wonder whether intensely recollecting the present moment as it unfolds has something to do with memories of the future. As I consider the big picture, it is interesting to think that at the age of nine I started receiving wake-up calls about our son’s future birth.