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    Occasionally someone creates a video that people can’t help watching over and over again.  The most powerful videos bring us back because they remind us of certain memories, or the resonance of their aesthetics puts us in tune with our biological rhythms.  They inspire us, motivate us, and relax us during stressful times.  Whether it’s for laughs, tears, or philosophy it matters not: every type of video is equally soothing.  As for me, I'm not a big fan of the popular clips in which idiots jump off buildings and babies bite each other.  Instead I am more captivated by clips with deep meaning, a lot of movement, and artistic quality.  If those are things you're also interested in then have a peep below.

Alegria Hoola Hoops, Cirque Du Soleil

    

Magical dancers disperse before an acrobatic bombshell slithering her way towards us on the stage.  Hoola hoops materialize out of the mist and she hypnotizes us with the sinusoidal calculus required by her body to keep them circulating.  Her movement is perfectly synchronized with the tantric music, its soaring notes complementing the range of her talent.  She seduces us beyond what we’re accustomed to by incorporating more than the required curves and circular motions that win our fixation.

Achilles vs. Hector

    The foul stench of death rises off the battered plain of Troy as Achilles goes out to avenge the murder of his cousin.  In The Iliad, Hector runs around the gates screaming for dear life when Achilles attacks him, but in the film adaption Troy we are blessed to witness one of the greatest fight scenes ever choreographed.  These two “unskilled” actors do an excellent job convincing us that they’d practiced weaponry for years, just as the heroes of Homer’s classic would.  We all knew Achilles would win, but we didn’t know the marvelous way in which he’d do it.

Best Earth Footage

    Timelapses and aerial shots serve as separate instruments in the spiritual music of this video.  Watching this, you get a sense that we are all connected, that everything on this glorious planet lives in harmony.  When the shot of the migrating birds widens I always feel a celestial union with the cosmic forces that direct all the cycles of nature.

Dances With Wolves Finale (spoilers)

    “Sunkmanitu Tanka Ob Waci!”  A profound feeling of empathy engulfs us after a slow, three hour long build-up to the Dances With Wolves climax.  It makes us cry because we’ve all felt the pain of loss and the man in this clip expresses it so well.  What’s even more heartbreaking about this goodbye is that their friendship had brought together two members of a divided people, who, after living on the same ground, once again had to separate.  The warrior is not afraid to expose the vulnerability that each of us keeps locked inside our hearts when saying goodbye.  Despite his bravery on the battle field we admire this aspect of his courage the most.

Ray Allen Celtic Mix

    His nickname isn't Jesus for nothing.  Ray Allen not only has the sweetest jump shot in basketball history, but may have the most finesse, graceful sense of movement in all the world.  The man has dedicated his life to perfecting the art of shooting by practicing it every day for hours on end.  In the video, the Middle Eastern rattle seems to imitate his movement accordingly, and there could not be a more suitable choice of music for what Ray does.

Lost Highway: Alice and Pete

    Desire is deadly, and only the Devil knows why.  There is no greater expression of how sex and love can drive us to madness than in this classic Lost Highway scene.  “You’ll never have me” means that the man will be facing the consequence of his material obsession for the rest of his life, and maybe even his afterlife.

Hurricane Charley Extreme Eyewall Category 5 Wind Gust

    Ever wondered what it would look like to be in a category 5 hurricane?  Witness one of the extremes of nature in this shocking video.  Another reason I like this is because the gas station is symbolic of our vain effort control nature and it gets utterly destroyed.

Good Will Hunting Park Bench Scene

    This scene inspires us to read, travel, and experience some of things we talk about as if we already knew them.  It’s the start of a deep friendship and is the heart of a great movie. Sean reads Will's mind and puts him in place for making presumptions about him after looking at a painting he made.  Will had ripped Sean's world apart, so Sean gave it right back to him.  What's great about it is that Sean isn't a dick about making his point. He takes him to a park and compliments his brilliant mind throughout the monologue, as if he'd instantly forgiven him and knew that they'd be friends.

Pearl Jam, Jeremy

    Five hundred years from now I think this video will be one of the best representations of American society.  After the Columbine shooting it was banned from MTV and VH1 for its insinuation that American ethics, or lack thereof, are what cause school shootings, and for the ridiculous notion that things like music and guns cause people to shoot others. What the video is trying to say is that the way people are brought up influences them to commit heinous crimes like this, making the point of banning it entirely contradictory.  The intensity and passion here will make some people feel uncomfortable, but if you've ever suffered the way Jeremy has then it will have more substance. 
    FYI a common misconception is that Jeremy shot his classmates, but that isn't the case; he shot himself.

Titanic Flying Scene

    Got in tune with my soft side for this one.  Simply one of the most romantic scenes in film history.  The colors, the waves, the wind, the thrill of stepping onto the bow of the largest boat in the world with the love of your life... her sash blowing backwards as if the moment were already drifting into the past, preserving itself in the iconography of romance stories... just breathtaking.


Pans Labyrinth clips (spoilers)

    It’s nice that my two favorite scenes from Pan’s Labyrinth were put in the same clip.  The second one is particularly amazing.  Ofelia’s death symbolizes the severance of matriarchy after the ancient pagan world yielded to patriarchal monotheism.  Her blood spills into the labyrinth below, which is flooded by water, and water is symbolic of the moon, which happens to be shining on it (both the water and the moon are representations of Goddess energies).  As the camera moves from the labyrinth of the soul to the Goddess monument we feel a sad, sentimental nostalgia for times long ago, when women were revered as much as men are today.  Despite these facts, the irony of the event is that Ofelia becomes a Christ figure by sacrificing her blood for that of an innocent.

Space, The Final Frontier (Will Ferrell as Harry Carray)

    Time for some comedic relief.  Forget the cowbell, I gotta have more Harry!  Will Ferrel’s imitation of the late Cubs announcer is priceless.  This act in particular is appealing to me because of the subject matter, and Jeff Goldblum’s appearance.

Sacred Geometry Mandalas

    Sacred geometry is not taught in school, so most people won't know how to relate to it, and will likely find the video boring.  However, with a little understanding you'll find that there is more truth about the world in this video than in any other.  Each image here is an ancient, esoteric blueprint for the cosmic order of things, including the Flower of Life, Kabbalah, Metatron's Cube, fractals, the I Ching, Knot Theory, transcendental ratios, and extra-dimensional string theory.  If you can appreciate what each image represents then this video will be spiritually gratifying for you.