The Mystery of “Deja Vu”

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Posted on 24th October 2009 by Jordan Lejuwaan in Uncategorized

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Meaning “already seen” in French, ‘déjà vu’ is the eerie sensation that you has already experienced something before when consciously know that you have not. For example, you are at a backdoor BBQ talking to one of your friends and they offer you a hamburger. Then all of the sudden, you feel the very strange yet strong feeling that you have been in this exact place and had your friend offer you a burger in the exact way that it just occurred. This sensation stays in the mind for 10-20 seconds and then it can’t be grasped again in the same way that it hit you originally. And the sensation itself isn’t even the weirdest thing about deja vu….

For starters, science has yet to come up with a reason as to why or how deja vu occurs. Obviously it would be difficult to study because of the random nature of the occurences. Anyone who has ever a deja vu (approximately 70% of the population) can tell you that it happens out of nowhere and doesn’t last for very long. So even with advanced brain imaging and other techniques of brain study, scientists have incredible difficulty putting their finger on deja vu.

Things We Do Know:

1) Epileptics commonly experience intense deja vu’s right before going into seizure. This has led scientists to speculate that deja vu is caused by an improper electric discharge within the brain which might cause an erroneous sensation of memory.

2) deja vu is most commonly reported between the ages of 15 and 25, thought it is experienced by people of all ages with frequency varying from person to person.

3) The sensation of deja vu, itself, is definitively eerier and weird. It’s not like “Oh, I think I’ve been here and done this before!” It is the very strange and eerie feeling that you have done this EXACT same thing before but for some reason you cannot remember it. The feeling isn’t negative, but it’s not the most comfortable feeling in the world.

Another plausible theory about deja vu is that are brains are confusing the situation in reality to something that we have experienced in dreams of fantasies. It is well proven that according to the brain, there is a very fine line between the world within thoughts and the world of reality. For example, studies have consistently shown that imagining yourself practicing a backflip is just as effective as actually practicing it. With this knowledge, it’s easy to see why deja vu could result from having done something similiar in a dream.

However, once you’ve had a deja vu experience, it’s difficult to buy into that last theory. Unless you had a dream in which you were in that specific backyard, talking to that specific friend, and he/she offered you the hamburger with the exact same hand motion, tone of voice and diction, there has to be some other cause of deja vu.

Regardless of the origin of deja vu, the idea and sensation of it are pretty cool. I hope you’re part of the 70% that has experienced it before because it is certainly different from any other feeling you’ve ever had.

If you have had a vivid enough deja vu so that you still can re-call it today, share it below!

Finding Your Bliss: A Quick Strategy

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Posted on 23rd October 2009 by Jordan Lejuwaan in self-improvement

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I think a major source of discontent in many people’s lives is that they do not know what they truly want. Yes, that mansion, beautiful spouse and two kids sound great, but that’s not what I’m talking about. This has been said before, so I’ll let the philosophers speak for me:

Marcus Aurelias once said, “Everything–a horse, a vine–is created for some duty… For what task, then, were you yourself created? A man’s true delight is to do the things he was made for.”

Deepak Chopra agreed, “Every man has a purpose, something special that he can do better than anyone else. Your work is to discover this, then give yourself to it. The extent to which you use your skills to add to the world determines your happiness.”

What do you want out of this whole “life” thing that we’re in constantly?

This is one of the hardest questions for people to answer and yet it’s probably the most important question to know the answer to! Many will say it can’t be answered or that they’ll figure it out later. Well I disagree. This is something that can be answered at any age. Your answer will grow and evolve as you, yourself grow, but you can at least start working towards your current goal.

Here’s a great exercise that I’ve found really helping in determining your bliss:

Think of the what you want right at this moment. Considering you do not know what you ultimately want yet, it’s probably something simple like that girl from work, that new BMW and the ability to travel around the world.

Now fast-forward to when you have all of that. Immerse yourself in that moment and decide what you will want then. You already have all that you currently want, so what will your new desires be?

Repeat this process a few times and eventually you will come to the point where you have every earthly possession and the world is at your fingertips. So what then? You can’t just stay stagnant because you have everything, that would be extremely boring. What would you do with your life if you could do anything?

Once you figure out what that bliss is, why not skip to doing it now? As you have just imagined in the previously described process, even when you have everything, you will still be wanting something more. That’s just the nature of man. We’re always just content. We get bored with what we previously thought would be the ultimate source of happiness. This is something that just needs to be accepted.

Following your bliss is the ONLY thing that is going to keep you in a constant state of…well…bliss. Not early retirement. Not the vacation condo in Tahiti. Not anything besides your passion, your calling,  your bliss.

And the best part of your bliss is that it’s something that you will be amazing at. Sounds pretty cool, huh?

Call to Action: Take 5 minutes and experiment with this strategy. What did you come up with? Share your bliss below! I’ll comment mine first…

“The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” by Deepak Chopra

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Posted on 6th October 2009 by Jordan Lejuwaan in self-improvement

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“The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” by Deepak Chopra is a book that I came across a while back, but only came to read recently. It blows every other book I have read about intention, manifestation, and living life out of the water. This book is the most complete and yet most simple guide to meditation, finding your purpose and manifesting desires that I have come across. Most other books touch upon 2 or maybe 4 of these spiritual laws, but as you read it, you will see that one must practice all seven in order to be in complete harmony with the Universe.

***If your intentions have not been manifesting, then you have not been following one or more of these laws***

At the end of each chapter after explaining why each of these laws is in existence and must be followed, Chopra writes simple instructions on how to follow each law. They are as follows:


” 1) The Law of Pure-Potentiality

a) I will get in touch with the field of pure potentiality by taking time each day to be silent, to just BE. I will also sit alone in silent meditation at least twice a day for approximately thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the evening.

b) I will take time each day to commune with nature and to silently witness the intelligence within every living thing. I will sit silently and watch a sunset, or listen to the sound of the ocean or a stream, or simply smell the scent of a flower. In the ecstasy of my own silence, and by communing with nature, I will enjoy the life throb of ages, the field of pure potentiality and unbounded creativity.

c) I will practice non-judgment. I will begin my day with the statement, “Today, I shall judge nothing that occurs,” and throughout the day I will remind myself not to judge.
2) The Law of Giving

a) Wherever I go, and whoever I encounter, I will bring them a gift The gift may be a compliment, a flower, or a prayer. Today, I will give something to everyone I come into contact with, and so I will begin the process of circulating joy, wealth and affluence in my life and in the lives of others.

b) Today I will gratefully receive all the gifts that life has to offer me. I will receive the fits of nature: sunlight and the sounds of birds singing or spring showers or the first snow of winter. I will also be open to receiving from others, whether it be in the form of material gift, money, a compliment or a prayer.

c) I will make a commitment to keep wealth circulating in my life by giving and receiving life’s most previous gifts: the gifts of caring, affection, appreciation and love. Each time I meet someone, I will silently wish them happiness, joy and laughter.

3) The Law of Karma

a) Today I will witness the choices I make in each moment. And in mere witnessing of these choices, I will bring them to my conscious awareness, I will know that the best way to prepare for any moment in the future is to be fully conscious in the present.

b) Whenever I make a choice, I will ask myself two questions: “What are the consequences of this choice that I’m making?” and “Will this choice bring fulfillment and happiness to me and also to those who are affected by this choice?”

c) I will then ask my heart for guidance and be guided by its message of comfort or discomfort. If the choice feels comfortable, I will plunge ahead with abandon. If the choice feels uncomfortable, I will pause and see the consequences of my action with my inner vision. This guidance will enable me to make spontaneously correct choices for myself and for all those around me.

4) The Law of Least Effort

a) I will practice Acceptance. Today I will accept people, situations, circumstances, and events as the occur. I will know that this moment is as it should be, because the whole universe is as it should be. I will not struggle against the whole universe by struggling against this moment. My acceptance is total and complete, I accept things as they are this moment, not as I wish they were.

b) Having accepted things as they are, I will take Responsibility for my situation and for those events I see as problems. I know that taking responsibility means not blaming anyone or anything for my situation (and this includes myself). I also know that every problem is an opportunity in disguise, and this alertness to opportunities allows me to take this moment and transform it into a greater benefit.

c) Today my awareness will remain established in Defenselessness. I will relinquish the need to defend my point of view. I will feel no need to convince or persuade other to accept my point of view. I will remain open to all points of view and not be rigidly attached to any one of them.

5) The Law of Intention and Desire

a) I will make a list of all my desires. I will carry this list with me wherever I go. I will look at this list before I go into my silence and meditation. I will look at it before I go to sleep at night. I will look at it when I wake up in the morning.

b) I will release this list of my desires and surrender it to the womb of creation, trusting that when things don’t seem to go my way, there is a reason, and that the cosmic plan has designs for me much grander than even those that I have conceived.

c) I will remind myself to practice present-moment awareness in all my actions. I will refuse to allows obstacles to consume and dissipate the quality of my attention in the present moment. I will accept the present as it is, and manifest the future through my deepest, most cherished intentions and desires.

6) The Law of Detachment

a) Today I will commit myself to detachment. I will allow myself and those around me the freedom to be as they are. I will not rigidly impose my idea of how things should be. I will not force solutions on problems, thereby creating new problems. I will participate in everything with detached involvement.

b) Today I will factor in uncertainty as an essential ingredient of my experience. In my willingness to accept uncertainty, solutions will spontaneously emerge out of the problem, out of the confusion, disorder and chaos. The more uncertain things seem to be, the more secure I will feel, because uncertainty is my path to freedom. Through the wisdom of uncertainty, I will find my security.

c) I will step into the field of all possibilities and anticipate the excitement that can occur when I remain open to an infinity of choices. When I step into the field of all possibilities, I will experience all the fun, adventure, magic and mystery of life.

7) The Law of “Dharma” or Purpose in Life

a) Today I will lovingly nurture the god or goddess embryo that lies deep within my soul. I will pay attention to the spirit within me that animates both my body and my mind. I will awaken myself to this deep stillness within my heart. I will carry the consciousness of timeless, eternal Being in the midst of time-bound experience.

b) I will make a list of my unique talents. Then I will list all of the things that I love to do while expressing my unique talents. When I express my unique talents and use them in the service of humanity, I loseth track of time and create abundance in my life as well as in the lives of others.

c) I will ask myself daily, “How can I serve?” and “How can I help?” The answers to these questions will allow me to help and serve my fellow human beings with love.   “

The Oxymoron of Social Interaction

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Posted on 5th October 2009 by Jordan Lejuwaan in Uncategorized

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Why is it that we humans continually strive to remain strangers to one another?

When we are in a public place such as an elevator, each man and woman inside of it strains to not make eye contact with anyone else. It’s almost as though we fear social interaction and abhor the idea of getting to know someone that isn’t familiar to us.

Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, it is other people that bring the most enjoyment and the most meaning to our lives. A man with all of the power and riches in the world is nothing without other people to share it with. Nobody wants complete isolation, so why do we insist maintaining it on a day to day basis?

I was in San Francisco this past weekend and was riding the BART subway system to return back to Berkeley. The train car was stuffed to the brim with people because LoveFest, a festival full of neon-clothed, drugged out 15-55 yr olds, had just ended. It was so full that the driver of the train came on the loud speaker and announced that one of the doors was open and the train would go out of service if it was not closed. Looking around, it was obviously not any of the doors in our car and the feeling of frustration could be felt throughout the claustrophobic space.

As minutes went by, the driver came on the loud speaker several more time, each announcement more angry and whiny than the one before. The driver was throwing such a fit that the people around me started to laugh and make sarcastic comments about him. The entire train car had united in anguish and amusement towards the driver. Then all of the sudden the car lurched forward with a jump and we were off. A cheer erupted from what sounded to be every car in the whole train.

That feeling of community was nothing short of fantastic. People of all backgrounds, races, ages, beliefs and levels of sobriety humming at the same frequency. The common enemy (the driver) completely broke the usual self-inflicted isolation of each person riding in that train car. And it was awesome. Almost like we had worked together to achieve something great, even though it was just getting a subway car moving again.

Why can’t all social interactions be more like that?

This is one of life’s biggest oxymorons. Man is a social animal! We thrive at building connections between ourselves and others. Cooperation, friendship, relationships… all these were necessary components in the construction of everything we now know. Cities were not built by one man but by many working together, forging trust and familiarity.

And what’s even more amusing is considering what the worst possible outcome that could result from a little social interaction in that elevator. Maybe an short response, a blank stare? After all, chances are that person will remain a stranger and you will never see them again anyways. Who knows, that person might turn out to be your next business partner or even spouse? Perhaps they’ll point you in the direction of something you’ve been searching for. Maybe you will be able to help them in some way. All of these possible outcomes dwarf the chance of getting a rude response.

So I implore you to break the elevator rule and say something to someone. The worst you could do is a simple compliment. Anything. We’re all human swirling around in this crazy world together so why not making everyday encounters a little more enjoyable.

Every man and woman is completely unique and I believe you can learn something from anyone. Even the biggest of dolt, the smallest of personality, the most complex of individuals.

Go out and be human. And by that I mean be social.