Re-Coyle: Déjà vu

Do you seem to spend a lot of time thinking you have been in a certain circumstance before? How many times have you said that you were one hundred percent positive you had been somewhere before? Of course it’s possible, but what could be the reasoning for the frequent remembrances?

Reincarnation seems to be a popular answer in many cases. It is perfectly conceivable for many to believe that they have lived here on earth before, in another time and place. But why are so many places and people so memorable, but there isn’t a single good memory of your pre-existence? Sure, you remember a hotel room, a smoky bar with a familiar bartender smiling back at you, or walking down a street you have been on before. But do you have a single clue as to your true identity, the person you were when you stood there at another time?

Is it really a past remembrance, or is it our mind playing a cruel trick on us? Certainly, your mind has forgotten plenty in your lifetime, let alone a barrage of past lives and experiences. Maybe we just like to think we have been someone else in another life to avoid the boredom and mediocrity to which we are accustomed. After all, most of us will never be more than another face in the crowd, just playing out our lives on a stage with no one watching.

Is it possible that our brain is playing us for a fool? Throwing us a curve by having us believe those split-second moments when we know we’ve seen this place before are actually events from our past? It must be a comical sight for our creator, watching us revel in our beliefs of pre-existence.

A word of caution: Be careful when you get on the bus tomorrow. Even if you are certain the person sitting next to you was someone you knew from a previous life, don’t bring it up. After all, you may have escaped their clutches in another life. They may still have a deep desire to see you suffer for something you did a long, long time ago. The next time you experience déjà vu, consider what your past life did in that very spot. Perhaps it’s something so horrific, it must be written in to your next book.

Brian Douglas Coyle, a graduate of Kent State University in Ohio, has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry. He is currently the Community Development Investment Manager at BB&T, the eleventh largest bank in the country. Brian is the author of Soul Riders and the 2008 release The Devil’s Sanctuary.