It seems like everything today is competing for attention. Commercials, TV shows, healthy living trends, real estate agents, political candidates/parties, monster trucks… I’m not saying any of it is bad, but some days it can seem pretty relentless.
Every once in a while, I run across something that – instead of demanding my attention and trying to stretch my mind – I find to be quiet and calming. Some of the videos are designed to be relaxing, while there are others that probably aren’t intended to be that way but end up relaxing me anyway. Maybe you will find some of them useful to help unpack your brain at the end of a stressful day or perhaps they will help take your mind off of something that’s bothering you.
Some of the following videos are very long and I haven’t watched or listened to the whole thing so I can’t be sure there isn’t an interruption or something surprising in them somewhere. Watcher beware, I guess.
Riding Light
This amazing video by Alphonse Swinehart is a 45 minute journey at the speed of light through the solar system. It starts at the sun and ends just past the orbit of Jupiter. The music is good, the graphics are impressive, and it even shows the orbits of the planets as you get far enough from the sun for them to be put into perspective. You can download the video, too, and put it on your tablet or phone and watch/listen to it whenever or wherever you want.
Dan Gibson – Thunderstorm In The Wilderness
We have several of the Solitudes series of CDs by Dan Gibson. There are a couple of tracks that I really like but I think this one is my favourite out of all of them. It’s a thunderstorm, but it’s relaxing – slow rolling thunder and some rain falling at a pond or perhaps a creek. It’s not a wild ride with hail and crashing booms and coyotes blowing through the air. This is one of the two tracks I have been experimenting with listening to (along with a track of waves at a beach) to help blot out the real world when I’m doing my mindfulness and worry exercises. Seems to be working so far.
Guinea Pig Muffin Sleeping
I like guinea pigs. They’re cute, they each have their own personality, and (for the most part) they love snuggling up to their humans. This video here shows a very relaxed pig, ears twitching and mouth moving while it dreams. It’s not a very long video, but it makes me wish I was zonked out on a comfy bed, having pleasant dreams.
Beautiful Coral Reef Fish – Relaxing Aquarium and White Sounds 1080p HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umlh-DcWSps
I have always found it relaxing to watch fish as they slowly wander around in the water. Sometimes I’ll pull up a chair to Lloyd’s aquarium and watch him and Buddy leisurely go about their days. There are a lot of relaxing fish videos out there but most of them are set to music and I prefer the water sounds. You may want to turn the volume down a bit for this one – I like the sound but find it a little loud.
11 hrs. Healing Sea #1 – No Music – Gentle Ocean Waves – Soothing Sound Of Ocean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYXG9rG0Jf0
A camera perched on an empty beach, watching the waves roll in. The sound of the waves rushing up the sand and breaking. No beach umbrellas, no dune buggies, no water skiers. Just the sand and the water and the air.
I hope you find some of these videos useful and/or enjoyable!
Stay safe.