"What Was Said to the Rose" - Rumi (Read by Coleman Barks)

this is a simple video, just a gradual close-up on a rose.

but when these words wrap around my heart, i start to see more than the rose. i see my mother and my father. i see my heroes and sheroes, alejandra, carl, and stacie. i see my first love. i see my hardship and yours. i see my friends that i've known since grade school, and i see the woman working at the desk next to me. i see the universe and the heart. i see the rain and the earth.

but most of all, i see that rose unfurling, opening itself to the beckoning flirtations of the sun, sighing "ahhhh...." just under its breath.

this is where we live.

this is where we come from.

"We All Sing With the Same Voice"

BAM! back to back sesame street videos! UGH! a double-dose of positive messages for children!

BOOYAH!

but seriously folks, how do these kids lip sync so well? and to this day i cannot do a cartwheel... *sigh*

but that's alright, because i like to play the ukulele! we all have special gifts and talents! yay!

thanks to a sweet sweet special friend who sent me this last night. i know this video means a lot to her.

What's Better: Stevie Wonder or Sesame Street?

trick question: stevie wonder ON sesame street

my friend jake first introduced me to this video. it has layers of wonderful.

first off, the kids on the fire escape. do you see that little girl? i have no doubt that she has attained enlightenment by now. she epitomizes the transcendent power of pop music.

second, imagine that you're just hanging out, and you're six years old, and you're just watching sesame street, eating cereal, and stevie wonder comes on the screen to rock your world for almost seven minutes. SEVEN MINUTES! they don't just play this song. they play it, rage on it, end it, and start it over again while stevie sings, "sesame street. sesame street. that's where i will be"! life-changing....

third, stevie wonder! that smile! that voice! those sweet funky riffs! what else can i say?

fourth, the song itself. besides the fact that it might be the funkiest riff of all time, i'm still trying to wrap my ahead around being a little kid and really listening to the words of "superstition." i mean, i don't know if i fully understand them. i think they have a deep meaning that can only be attained after several dharma talks and intense periods of meditation. here they are for your edification:

Very superstitious, writings on the wall,
Very superstitious, ladders bout to fall,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin glass
Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past.

When you believe in things that you dont understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way

Very superstitious, wash your face and hands,
Rid me of the problem, do all that you can,
Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin strong,
You dont wanna save me, sad is my song.

When you believe in things that you dont understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way, yeh, yeh.

Very superstitious, nothin more to say,
Very superstitious, the devils on his way,
Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin glass,
Seven years of bad luck, good things in your past

When you believe in things that you dont understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition aint the way, no, no, no

at my current level of understanding, i think he's trying to say that we should not believe in things that hand over our Divinity, like curses, the devil, and bad luck. in truth, you are beautiful, and you belong here. it might be hard now, but your place in the universe is secure...

and its on sesame street for god sakes! there will surely be more from them on this site.

Dancing!

my dear friend, yvette sent this video out in an email update from geneva. her description of the video is a fine one:

"It gives me joyful goosebumps"

thanks, yvette. i miss you.

Dave End has a big 'ole heart

this is a music video that was made for dave end's song, "and by queen," off of his first album, "how to hold your own hand." the director's name is catherine please.

dave's music is self-described "queer cupcake-loving honesty pop."

thanks for saying what you need to, dave. and thank you for letting us listen in. as the great glen marla once said, "to know dave end, is to love dave end."

clamation dance party? i am so there...

"in order to fly, you've gotta have something to rise above.
and is it ok that you have to have hate to have self-love?"

beautiful words from a beautiful man.

check out dave's myspace: myspace.com/daveend
and support his music!

Amma, the Divine Mother

known as the "hugging saint," amma is beyond words...

the first video is the best introduction to her that i could find on youtube. the second video is a trailer to a documentary of her 50th birthday. amma hugs EVERYONE that comes to her. EVERYONE. the powerful, the weak, and all of us in between. we are all equal in her affection.

as far as i know, she's the real deal and living proof that a good hug is divine.

i hope that you're getting enough hugs.

at the camp i used to work at, we would say that people need at least 15 hugs a day for optimum health...how many have you had today?

amma is inside of all of us. at least, that's what i think.

"I'm ok to go."

say what you will about this movie, but this nine minute segment is beautiful. the only message is this: we are not alone. we never were. we never will be...

the images of the universe are also beautiful. its easy to forget that that is what it really looks like. and we live there, all the time, spiraling through infinite space.

and jodie foster sure can act. i believe her the whole time...

Yeasayer on Blogotheque: Part 1 and 2

these are the videos that started it all. the second video was perhaps the sole reason i was able to survive the new york winter. notice the faces of the people around yeasayer as they perform these songs, in the subway and in the apartment. the people in these videos truly transcend in these moments of drunken, joyful singing.

i also appreciate the insecurity that yeasayer expresses throughout both videos (on their way to the subway, walking up the stairs, singing by the piano). it's honest, and it's sooooo beautiful.

aren't we always humbled in the presence of the divine?

my partner and i ran into the drummer from yeasayer in bushwick, brooklyn, and we mentioned these videos to him. he thought that they didn't come out too well. we disagreed.

but whether you are a yeasayer enthusiast or a beginner, these videos show the hearts that these boys have inside of them. they have a commitment to communal joy...that's enough for me.

they make me want to shout, "watch out empire! we're coming for ya!"

who else is in?

ps i would do just about anything to be in the apartment in the second video...just look at those faces!

pps thank you blogotheque! there will surely be more of your videos on this site in no time. no one captures brooklyn indie music like you do...

This Life - Mystic

this is a gem that i found tonight and inspired me to start this blog. aside from the somewhat surprising profanity at the end, this video exemplifies a big heart...

Thanks, Mystic!

Welcome to Big Heart Videos!

hello friends!

this is the beginning of an ever-changing, ever-growing project that has been on my mind for a long time. i hope that you find it worthwhile.

first and foremost this blog will be a space for posting spiritually nurturing videos found on the internet, but it will also explore spirituality in a more general way, drawing on websites, articles, other bloggers, art, music, etc.

hopefully we will grow together throughout this project, finding a way to connect to the internet in a spiritual and radical way that breaks through our isolation from each other and from the divine.

PLEASE comment etc. as this blog continues to grow.

much love to all!

~ge