• '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.'

Claude Schryer, October 26, 2021, Vancouver

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. 

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. 

East Pender Street. Vancouver, at 6.45am October 26, 2021

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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES

Hey conscient listeners, 

I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020. It’s my way to give back.

This Indigenous Land Acknowledgement statement was developed by members of the Algonquin community for my former employer the Canada Council for the Arts. I have adapted slightly to make it my own.

• I acknowledge that my studio, located in Ottawa, is on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.
• I recognize the Algonquins as the customary keepers and defenders of the Ottawa River Watershed and its tributaries. I honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.
• Further, I offer my respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land and honour commitments to self-determination and sovereignty that have been made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.
• I acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believe the Arts contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share together

In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I I publish a free ‘a calm presence' monthly Substack see https://acalmpresence.substack.com.

Your feedback is always welcome at [email protected] and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tik Tok, YouTube and Substack.

Share what you like, etc

I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. 

Claude Schryer

Latest update on January 9, 2026