Yes I have been tricked. As one who tracks and studies her dreams and makes note to remember them, sometimes I won’t remember if something happened in my dream or in my waking life. Especially because emotions can be so strong in a dream and transfer to waking life, it’s common for this to happen. Memories perhaps are sparked by emotions, smells, images, sounds, people’s voices... so the interplay between what has happened and what is just a thought in our mind is really very small.

There have been times in my life like I’ve felt like my life was a memory. It felt like I’d already been somewhere or experienced a place or group of people when in reality it was my first time. Was this a trick of the people, the place, my emotions or something in my mind triggering a familiar radar, I am not sure. One thing is for certain and that is that our experiences are mysterious, even to ourselves. I like it that way. thanks for the thoughtful question.