e74 letting go – laisser aller was recorded on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 6.40am. It’s a bilingual monologue about how I’ve come to realize that the main barrier to my re-education is… ‘me’, and that the solution, simply, is to let it go. To release it.

A soundwalk around the neighbourhood follows. 

e74 letting go – laisser aller a été enregistré le mardi 26 octobre 2021, à 6h40. C'est un monologue bilingue sur la façon dont j'ai réalisé que le principal obstacle à ma rééducation est... "moi", et que la solution, tout simplement, est de lâcher prise. De le libérer. 

Une promenade sonore dans le quartier suit.

Transcription of monologue (in English below but bilingual in the podcast)

conscient podcast (note: recorded robot voice says ‘you are trespassing’). I’m actually not trespassing. I’m just leaving the house here in East Vancouver. Good morning. It’s episode 74 of the conscient podcast on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. It’s 6.40am. This episode is called letting go.  

You might recall that I launched the conscient podcast in 2020 as a learning journey to explore the relationship between art and the ecological crisis, but a secondary goal of the project was also to learn how to unlearn and how to re-educate myself. 

My main objective with the conscious podcast is both to learn more about the issues of the ecological transition, and the role of art, but also to learn to relearn and unlearn.

So, the learning part has gone very well – and I need to thank my brilliant guests for that – but my re-education – that unlearning – have been an uphill battle. In fact, I’m walking up a hill as I speak right now, so metaphorically, it’s a bit like that. I’m a bit out of breath. 

I’ve come to realize that the main barrier to my re-education, and I might not be the only one in this situation, is… ‘me’. My personality, my baggage, and, that the solution, simply, is to let it go. To release it. 

So I have managed to learn a lot from my interactions with my brilliant guests, but I have not really managed to unlearn. 

I realize that the main obstacle to my re-education is… ‘myself’… that is, my personality and my baggage, and that the solution to this dilemma is to let it go. That is, to let go of all the baggage, including my ‘personality’.

So, I’m lightening things up, this morning and future forward. Letting go, bit by bit, of that baggage. 

I feel a little lighter already. And when I need a little reminder and encouragement, I’m going to listen to this recording again and remind myself that it’s all possible, one step at a time, to let go one element at a time.  

So, I feel a bit lighter already. Maybe you do as well, I don’t know. 

My plan is to listen to this recording again and again when I need a reminder, or maybe a bit of encouragement, that these things can be done, little by little.  

So, if you have time, I invite you to join me on a morning sound walk now. It’s 6.45 am. If you don’t have the time, it’s fine. We’ll catch up later, but for those who want to stay, I’m going to walk around the neighbourhood now and listen.

I feel a little lighter already. And when I need a little reminder and encouragement, I’m going to listen to this recording again and remind myself that it’s all possible, one step at a time, to let go one element at a time.  

Thanks for listening. Here we go. 

*

Transcription du monologue (en français ci-dessous mais bilingue dans le balado)

balado conscient (note : la voix enregistrée du robot dit “vous êtes en train d’entrer”). En fait, je ne suis pas en train d’entrer par effraction. Je quitte juste la maison ici à Vancouver Est. Bonjour à tous. C’est l’épisode 74 du balado conscient, le mardi 26 octobre 2021. Il est 6h40 du matin. Cet épisode s’appelle Laisser aller. 

Vous vous souvenez peut-être que j’ai lancé le balado conscient en 2020 comme un voyage d’apprentissage pour explorer la relation entre l’art et la crise écologique, mais un objectif secondaire du projet était aussi d’apprendre à désapprendre et à me rééduquer. 

Mon objectif principal avec le balado conscient est à la fois d’en savoir plus sur les enjeux de la transition écologique, et du rôle de l’art, mais aussi d’apprendre à réapprendre et à désapprendre. 

Donc, la partie apprentissage s’est très bien passé – et je dois remercier mes brillants invités pour cela – mais ma rééducation – ce désapprentissage – a été une bataille difficile. En fait, je suis en train de monter une colline pendant que je parle en ce moment, donc métaphoriquement, c’est un peu comme ça. Je suis un peu essoufflé. 

Je me suis rendu compte que le principal obstacle à ma rééducation, et je ne suis peut-être pas le seul dans cette situation, c’est… “moi”. Ma personnalité, mon bagage, et que la solution, tout simplement, est de le laisser partir. De le libérer. 

Donc j’ai réussi à beaucoup apprendre à partir de mes échanges avec mes invités brillants, mais je n’ai pas vraiment réussi à désapprendre. 

Je me rends compte que le principal obstacle à ma rééducation, est… ‘moi-même’… c’est à dire, ma personnalité et mon bagage, et que la solution à ce dilemme est de les laisser aller. C’est à dire de laisser aller tout le bagage, y inclut ma ‘personnalité’.

Donc, je vais alléger les choses, ce matin et à l’avenir. Je laisse aller, petit à petit, tout le bagage. Je me sens un peu plus léger déjà. Et quand j’aurai besoin d’un petit rappel et d’encouragement, je vais réécouter cet enregistrement et me rappeler, a moi-même, que tout cela est possible, une étape à la fois, de laisser aller un élément à la fois.  

Donc, je me sens déjà un peu plus léger. Peut-être que vous aussi, je ne sais pas. 

J’ai l’intention d’écouter cet enregistrement encore et encore quand j’aurai besoin d’un rappel, ou peut-être d’un peu d’encouragement, que ces choses peuvent être faites, petit à petit.  

Donc, si vous avez le temps, je vous invite à vous joindre à moi pour une promenade sonore matinale maintenant. Il est 6h45 du matin. Si vous n’avez pas le temps, ce n’est pas grave. Nous nous rattraperons plus tard, mais pour ceux qui veulent rester, je vais me promener dans le quartier maintenant et écouter.

Si vous avez un moment, je vous invite à marcher un peu avec moi ce matin. Il est 6h45. Si non, aucun problème. On se reparle lors d’un prochain épisode.

Merci d’avoir écouté. C’est parti. 

The post e74 letting go – laisser aller appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

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About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

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