To be completely honest, I don’t actually use the Calm app. My main method of falling asleep generally involves drowning out my thoughts to the likes of a podcast, or, just getting drowned in my own thoughts. It’s healthy, I swear! However, I see the appeal of Calm – an app featuring “sleep stories”, meditation, and mind exercises for those looking to relax and focus on their mental wellbeing, even just for a short amount of time. While the Calm app isn’t necessarily suited for me, I found something that certainly is. It combines a few of my favorite things – HBO TV shows, beautiful visuals, and Keanu Reeves talking about trees. A World of Calm is a new original show on HBO Max that features the same type of celebrity-narrated stories found on the Calm app, except now played over immersive visuals and focused on various topics such as coral reefs, brooks, woodworking, and chocolate. Watch the trailer below:
Here’s the official description:
“A timely antidote for our modern lives, each half-hour episode takes audiences on an immersive visual journey into another world. Building on Calm’s Sleep Stories – bedtime stories for grown-ups – each relaxing tale is designed to transform how you feel. Viewers will be transported into tranquility through scientifically engineered narratives, enchanting music and astounding footage to naturally calm the body and soothe the mind.”
It can be hard, and frankly exhausting, to constantly think about everything that’s going on in our lives and the world. A World of Calm provides a means of relaxation for those looking for a slightly different experience from the original app, or perhaps for those who enjoy the app and want more content. In short, am I saying that I want Nicole Kidman to read me a bedtime story about bird migration? Yes, yes I am.
Just to entice everyone further, here’s a short description for all of the episodes that A World of Calm released for its first season:
1. The Coral City – Narrated by Lucy Liu
Description: As the breaking dawn illuminates the thriving underwater metropolis of coral in Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago, a multitude of tiny, majestic creatures work together to keep the reef alive.
2. The Glassmaker – Narrated by Zoë Kravitz
Description: Aided by a deep understanding of the natural world, one of the Netherlands’ leading glassmakers harnesses the elements – earth, wind, fire, and air – in order to transform sand into wondrous works of art.
3. The Birds’ Journey – Narrated by Nicole Kidman
Description: As spring arrives and birds around the world take flight for their yearly migrations, a system of interconnected moving parts help keep nature driving forward.
4. Snowfall – Narrated by Cillian Murphy
Description: After completing an epic voyage through the atmosphere, the real journey for snow begins after it touches down on earth, blanketing the world with promises of wonder and adventure.
5. Living Among Trees – Narrated by Keanu Reeves
Description: In order to fulfill a childhood dream, a Latvian man roots himself in the slow and steady rhythm of the natural world to craft a canoe from one of its massive, yielding tree trunks.
6. The Great Beyond – Narrated by Idris Elba
Description: As we take giant leaps in the advancement of space travel, the vast, complex beauty of galaxies reveals itself with a level of clarity and reach that prior generations could only dream of.
7. Noodles – Narrated by Oscar Isaac
Description: The story of a family recipe lovingly passed down through generations exploring the origins of the humble noodle from China to Italy and back to the USA.
8. A Horse’s Tale – Narrated by Kate Winslet
Description: Uncover the true magic of horses – free, beautiful, and calm spirits who embody power, gentleness, and adaptability.
9. The Gift of Chocolate – Narrated by Priyanka Chopra Jones
Description: Celebrate one of the world’s most prized and venerated trees, the cacao, a symbol of fertility and abundance once traded as currency¬ – and a gift from nature that, above all else, gives us chocolate.
10. Water, Giver of Life – Narrated by Mahershala Ali
Description: As water in all of its various forms weaves a tapestry across the globe and permeates every facet of life, take a moment to reflect on its journey and offer gratitude for all it provides.
Part of me wants to binge all of these episodes, but I feel like that might defeat the purpose of the show. Having watched the first few episodes, my recommendation simply boils down to: “yes, [enter name here], please tell me more about this fascinating topic.” The show doesn’t intend to solve the world’s problems (nor should it), but it certainly gives us a chance to press pause on all of it and refocus our minds after a long day. All episodes are streaming on HBO Max right now!