Spirited Away - by Hayao Miyazaki, is one of his many great films from Japan. This anime film is about a spoiled little girl, who is whirled wind into the spirit world and faced unusual circumstances. While trying to free herself and her parents from that parallel universe, Chihiro learns to become independent, courageous, loyal and spirited. Her journey helps her to learn who she really is and what she is capable of accomplishing. I can only imagine how much meaning is in this moving that is lost in translation. Become Spirited Away, and watch this must see movie! 
OKURIBITO (Departures) is a Japanese film directed by Yojiro Takita released in September of 2008. Okuribito has won multiple awards such as the 28th Hawaii Film Festival's Audience Choice award. What touched my heart about this film is it's subtle sensitivity in a culture that is misunderstood and epitomized as unemotional. There are so many intricate facets to this story: love, honor, culture, humility, modern lifestyle vs. tradition & enlightenment. The Japanese culture is rich with tradition, which in this film is the glue that holds all the character's together. Here's the trailer for the film.
FLOW, is a documentary film by Irena Salina, which focus on the global water crisis. Water is essential to life on our planet. Here in the United States we take clean water for granted. Our access to fresh water is as simple as turning on the faucet. In other countries, clean water is scarce due natural and unnatural factors such as water prioritization. Corporations are treating water as a commodity, not as a common resource. Selling water to the people who can afford it, but what about the people who need it? Without clean water there can be no life. We need to take a closer look at how to preserve clean water resources for our prosperity & the health of our future. Clean water cannot be taken for granted any longer. 
"What the Bleep do we Know?" is a documentary film about quantum physics, spiritual connection and consciousness; where spirituality meets science and how it affects our perception of the world around us. This intriguing film explains how positive and negative energy affects us and everything around us. An episode in this documentary makes reference to a study done in Japan by Masaru Emoto called: "The Message of Water". In his study, Mr. Emoto studied the molecular structure of water and what affects it. His findings were astonishing. In his experiments, Emoto took water samples and attached positive spoken and typed words, music and positive energy to each sample. For example, he attached the word "love and appreciation" to a water sample, then froze it and photographed the water molecules in it's crystalized form. Each water sample given positive words and energy made beautiful water crystals like the one in the picture to the left. There are several supernova images of water crystals formed by positive energies such as: love, zen buddhist blessed crystals, thank you, happiness, truth, soul, gratitude, peace and water samples that were prayed upon. Others with negative energy and words, produced misshaped blobs. This film is not entirely about Masaru Emoto's message, it is mainly about quantum physics, combined with kinetic energy and how everything around us is unified. For example, it explains how past events influence our perception of our future. It is a deep thinking documentary, and to some level it is kindred to the philosophy given in the film "The Secret". If you put the genuine positive energy out to the universe, the energy will give back positive results to you. I feel these films should be taken for what they are worth and nothing more than helping people open their mind-set to other ways of thinking about the world around us.
This photograph was taken by my friend of many years, Tony Zerga. Tony's keen eye and appreciation of nature's gifts flourished his passion for photography. His aperture captures the unique and intricate hidden beauties of the Hawaiian Island's. More of Tony's work can be viewed on-line at www.flicker.com/photos/tonyzerga
