Aware Guide - Your Guide to Life Changing Media

The Buddha never claimed to be God, or his emissary on earth. He was a human being who, in a world of unavoidable pain and suffering, found serenity which he said others could find too. Why do human beings suffer? What constitutes ethical behavior? How is it possible to find peace and serenity? These were questions which the Buddha asked, and which the film explores by giving an account of his life and spiritual journey. "The Buddha”, a 2-hour historic biography by Emmy Award-winner David Grubin/ David Grubin Productions and narrated by Richard Gere,

You finally get a seat at your favorite sushi bar. You order toro (bluefin tuna), bigeye, red snapper, and freshwater eel. They’re all delicious and all offer a daily dose of mood-boosting omega-3 fatty acid. But they’re also all nearly extinct, thanks to consumer demand, corporate greed, and modern fishing technology.

In fact all edible fish may disappear from our oceans by 2048 for these reasons; and a new documentary, The End of the Line, explores this impending disaster. The film joins the ranks of Food Inc. and The Cove in alerting unknowing consumers as to the loss of yesteryear’s safe, plentiful food supply; and it makes its case as slickly and as thoroughly as these films, too.

Lisa Merton and Alan Dater’s latest documentary, Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, begins with Maathai, a Nobel laureate and environmentalist, remembering a forest near her childhood home in the central highlands of Kenya. She loved wading through its streams to collect frog eggs she mistook for beads, gathered firewood to fuel her mother’s slow-cooked meals, and visited a towering fig tree where “God lived,” as her mother put it.

But by the time Maathai returned to the highlands 30 years later in the 1970s, her forest and even the fig tree had been clear-cut for cash crops by British colonialists, and her old neighbors were suffering from a host of consequent ills: the women had to walk long distances for firewood, risking rape;

Imagine one of the smallest, least urbanized third world countries on the globe and dare to imagine an inspired leadership that places Gross National Happiness before Gross National Profit. That place is Bhutan, located in the High Himalayas between India and China. This beautifully filmed documentary with original music respecting native instruments is a must see for any viewer concerned with global economics, a sustainable environment and the message of  hope and happiness coming from both a political and spiritual basis. The masterful presentation and inspirational message will gratify. Musical compositions such as the “Black Neck Crane Song” fall gracefully into the filming of a country called “a jewel of the earth”.