It’s been quite a week. And that means another post with some of my favorite ways to bring calm into my life…
This time around I’m posting about a video instead of a livestream. It’s a 12-hour long YouTube video of the central tank at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in Osaka, Japan, and it is glorious.
The central tank is a massively huge aquarium, showcasing marine animals from the Pacific Rim. According to the Kaiyukan Aquarium Wikipedia page, the tank is 34 meters (112 feet) long, 9 meters (30 feet) deep and has a staggering capacity of 5,400 cubic meters (190,699 cubic feet) of water. Its enormous size enables it to house an impressive range of animals, including whale sharks!
The central tank at Kaiyukan Aquarium in Osaka, Japan.
As long as you don’t have a fear of ocean scenes, the blueness of the water is very soothing. It feels nurturing and safe.
The soundtrack itself of the video is a little surprising: it’s disarmingly upbeat and I would not have expected it to have a calming effect…but give it a listen. I turn the volume down a bit while still allowing the tune to fill the space around me—excellent for focus as I’m working. Not distracting or sleep-inducing, just an effective noise blocker that helps with concentration.
(Title image: still photo captured from “Between2Ears” Twitch stream)
I like finding some calming things to focus on when my brain is in overdrive. In my “Favorite Calm Things” series I’ve been mainly posting about streams on YouTube and Twitch.
Leyla, the star of Between2Ears. (Photo from Twitch page)
So here’s another one that I adore! It’s called “Between2Ears” and chronicles walks in nature from the perspective of a dog named Leyla from Germany. The scenery is lovely, both the environment and Leyla’s soft and furry head. It’s one of those puppy heads that you’d love to sit and scratch.
These are not live streams, but they do run almost non-stop on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/between2ears) so there’s always something to watch…and it’s always daytime.
For those who aren’t interested in setting up a free Twitch account, there are also a number of videos of Leyla available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@between2ears-virtualdogwal771/videos) featuring walks during different seasons of the year and in a variety of locations.
Leyla has a good camera set-up with an excellent gimbal that helps steady the image. There is a slight bounce to her step and while I don’t have any issues with it, check it out for yourself to see whether the movement is too much.
Watching the world between Leyla’s ears. (Still photo captured from stream)
The stream and posted videos do a great job of recreating the experience of taking a curious puppy for a walk. Because the feed is recorded and slightly edited, you get the get good parts without mishaps or camera issues.
For me, as someone who adores dogs (and animals in general) but whose living situation currently prohibits me from having a pet of my own, this is such a sweet, calm way of experiencing the joy of a walk in nature with an inquisitive puppers. Until I’m in a place where I can again have a pet of my own, I can at least have this.
[NOTE: I am not associated with nor do I get any kickbacks from writing about Snail’s House, Pirate Software or Heartbound (except for a sense of well-being) 🙂 ]
Continuing with my “Favorite Calm Things” series, I have found great pleasure in watching ferrets sleep.
Yes, Snail’s House Ferret Rescue stream (https://www.twitch.tv/ferretsoftware or ferrets.live) has a playtime about once a day where you can watch an amazing bunch of curious ferrets racing about, charging through tubes, sneaking off with little toys, play-fighting and pausing the chaos to indulge in a yummy snack. But in between these playtimes, I find great comfort in watching a large cage of about 15 or so ferrets (just a fraction of the actual ferret population there) cuddle together in hammocks and under mats and snooze away the 18-20 or so hours that they spend sleeping during a 24-hour period.
The cameras are always on. Full color overhead view during playtime and front nightvision as they sleep the rest of the time.
Photos of a selection of resident ferrets (more have already been added)
This ferret rescue is the forever home for these wiggly noodles, as the facility accepts ailing animals, rescues from bad situations, ferrets who can no longer be cared for by their owners and the like. These ferrets are provided with high quality food, nurturing environment, medical care and proper stimulation…but are never adopted out. Snail’s House is the loving home from which they will ultimately cross the rainbow bridge, comfortable until the end.
Faces like this are difficult to resist (this is not one of Snail’s House’s ferrets, but cute nonetheless). (Photo by Nikolett Emmert on Unsplash)
This ferret rescue is the pet project of game developer PirateSoftware (https://www.twitch.tv/piratesoftware) led by Jason Thor Hall and exotic vet assistant (and artist) Shaye Rehmel. Due to Thor’s diligent planning and recent explosive success on both Twitch and YouTube, the rescue is ever-expanding, as of this writing home to about 42 ferrets. Ingeniously, Snail’s House is funded by ad revenue from the FerretSoftware stream on Twitch. If you want to support them, all you have to do is tune in to the stream.
This is the only stream where the viewers get excited when ads come on because they know the benefit that advertising funds bring to the furry noodles.
We, the viewers, are the beneficiaries of the ’round-the-clock video because we get to watch the wigglers at any time, day or night. These snoozing ferrets are an anchor that I use to ground myself in the middle of a hectic workday.
For me, watching this stream is a meditation. While there is a varied soundtrack in the background (musical pieces from the Heartbound video game by PirateSoftware), sometimes I find it more peaceful to sit in silence as I watching the little guys sleep, piled up on top of each other. It feels like a perfect pause.
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The rescue is expanding! Snail’s House has moved to a new and larger location and is still in the process of securing fiber internet; until that time, the stream may occasionally be pixelated.
Let me begin by stating that I have no connection with Jason Stephenson or his YouTube channel, Relax & Rejuvenate with Jason Stephenson, other than that I fell in love with some of the music for which he has posted a (thankfully) loooong version on his channel. Nor am I getting any sort of kickback for writing this post.
The video is called “Happiness Frequency: Serotonin, Dopamine, Endorphin Release Music, Release Negativity”, which is a long title that smacks of click bait and sounds like just about every other positivity-enhancing, negativity-busting title available on YouTube.
But there is something about Jason’s music and this piece specifically. I have used it for yoga, meditation, pre-bedtime wind-down and as a calming backdrop for a stressful day.
What is it about this that is so soothing? (Relax & Rejuvenate with Jason Stephenson)
I usually don’t put much stock into the claims on these videos. You know, the ones that assure you they can increase positivity, bring you good fortune, pay off your student loans, cure your ingrown toenails and improve your gas mileage. But this one…there is something very special about it.
Everyone I’ve played it for feels the same way that I do, and inevitably, they ask me for the YouTube.
So, I’m curious. Do you have the same reaction? Give it a listen and let me know.
Frantic Shanti 