conscient podcast

• a calm presence - 4%

  (note: to read the original a calm presence Substack posting click here)It’s Thursday November 27th, 2025, at about 10pm. I’m sitting by a fireplace at our cottage in Duhamel Québec and I want to tell you a story called 4%.  When I turned 50 on December 3rd, 2009, I decided to take 50 days off from my work, which was not easy at the time. My goal was to sort through the many boxes of stuff in our basement: letters, sketches, notes, articles, posters, booklets and so on.  At the end of the 50 days I wrote a Facts and Arguments article, ‘I took 50 days of when I turned 50’ that published in the Globe and Mail on February 18, 2010 about how and why I got rid of 80% of my archives during those 50 days off. Here are two excerpts from that article: I dug a hole in the snow and spent the next three hours burning the documents, page by page. Sometimes I would hesitate over an item but decided to see the process through. As paper transformed into ash, I internalized the voices and messages frozen in those documents. They will now die with me. I thanked the authors and my collaborators. This felt good and right. I smelled like a forest fire. I started composing music when I was 12 in North Bay and have been active in a number of cultural fields since, including music, arts administration, programming and event production. Like many people, I kept records of my work - photos, recordings, scores, correspondence, programs and essays. I'm not quite sure why I kept it all, but I figured one day I would know. Perhaps it was vanity, but more likely an act of self-preservation.It's 16 years later now and I have no regrets. In fact, as I turn 66 in a few days I’m about to get rid of another 80% or so of the remaining 20% of my archives which leaves me with about 4% of my original belongings and that feels just about right. Why did I do it?  Mostly it’s because I don’t want to leave a mess for my family when I die but there’s another reason…I’m currently taking a course called Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet(ZASP), which is a learning journey to nurture insight, compassion, community, and mindful action in service of the Earth, based on the work of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and has been developed by the monks at Plum Village in France. One of the course’s many teachings refers to the Diamond Sutra, a 9th century Mahāyāna Buddhist text that focuses on concepts of emptiness, reality and wisdom. What caught my attention during the course, and made me think about my archives, was how the Diamond Sutra questions the notions of self (separation), of what it means to be human, of our relations with all living beings and of one’s life span. As I processed these teachings, I felt it was a good time to let go of non-essential things. So, what did I get rid of and why? Gone are my cassette and DAT tape collection of field recordings from the 1980’s and 1990’s. Many of these sounds are in my compositions but the rest have no value. I threw out some back in 2010 but it’s now time to let them all go as the tapes fall apart. I create a little ritual to thank the voices recorded before letting them go.  Gone are piles and piles of articles and essays about acoustic ecology, climate change, environmental art and so on. I don’t think I’ll ever get around to reading them, so I gave away those that had value and burned the rest. Gone are documents and minutes from organizations that I helped to incorporate like the WFAE, CASE, SCALE and so on. I trust that my colleagues in those organizations have kept key documents in their corporate archives so my files are now redundant.I’ve streamlined my digital footprint on the internet, for example, I removed all 80 of my a calm presence Substack postings, which I now publish one at a time, this posting being the latest, which replaces erasure and so on. This lightens things up and keep me more anchored in the present. I love books but gave away most of my books in the ‘take one - leave one’ community library in front of our house and trust that they will find their way to the right people.  I also gave away unused clothing and objects around the house are no longer required but that others might be able to use.  I’m telling you this because you might go through a similar process at some point in your life. It’s good to think about what we leave behind and in what kind of order. So, what did I keep? A few binders, organized chronologically, with original manuscripts, photos, letters, certificates, etc. and an SSD drive with my digital originals (essays, podcasts, my Substack, electroacoustic compositions, etc.). I also kept a few t-shirts but that’s about it. It all fits in a medium sized box. That’s it. I plan to continue learning and engaging with issues I care about, of course, but it’s a bit of fresh start. I’ll be going to the library more. I might even buy a new book or audio book once in a while, but the idea now is to keep knowledge flowing in the present – to read listen to things as they come out - and to keep the archives very light.   *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It’s my way to give back.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, etcI 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 SchryerLatest update on December 5, 2025

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• e243 francisco rodriguez – amazon awareness

  Take care of the earth. We have grandsons and great-great-grandsons, and we have to, we, our generation, has to teach the young people what we lived, the beauty of the world that we lived, not the disaster we have today.Hello conscient podcast listeners,Many of us do international travel, probably a bit too much. When I travel, I consider it a privilege that comes with responsibilities. For example, whenever we can we try to give back by donating to local charities in the region where I’m visiting or maybe making sure that we tip appropriately and that the people we am with get a fare wage. We also try to by buy credible carbon offsets. That kind of thing. You might recall e235 lallan – art from the soil, which I recorded while in the Tirthan Valley in Northern India :My advice to artists would be drop every garb that you have, drop every piece of knowledge that you think you have. Head to the jungles, head to the rural places. We are living in a time of crisis.You might also recall e236 keiko torigoe – the power of listening, which was recorded in Tokyo, Japan:  The environmental issues currently at hand, including global warming, are related, but I believe that at their root lies the decline of our listening ability and the power of listening as humanity.Both episodes were recorded quite spontaneously on my iphone. I hadn’t planned to record these interviews, but as I listened to some of the stories around me and I thought it could be a gesture of reciprocity to make these voices available on this podcast to help raise awareness about activities in that country but also to point out commonalities between us all in the world. So, what you’re about to hear is my third conversation in this series, this time with Francisco Rodriguez, a Chilean born banker, who with his wife Sylvia, manage the Anaconda Lodge on the shores of the Napo River near Tena, in Ecuador, where my wife Sabrina and daughter Clara were doing some eco-tourism. So we had the pleasure of staying there and meeting Francisco and others from the region. I sat down with Francisco – you’ll hear some birds and insects in the background - about his relationship with the Amazon forest as a living entity as well as their collaborations with the Kichwa indigenous people who are the traditional custodians of these lands and waters. You’ll hear some beautiful sounds and good stories about the Amazon, which I found uplifting but you’ll also hear about some of the very serious challenges that they currently face, which call upon increased solidarity from the rest of the world, given that the Amazon is the lung of the earth. You’ll notice this episode is a bit more than 15 minutes. I added some soundscapes that makes it a bit longer than usual, which I hope you’ll enjoy.Warm thanks Francisco, Sylvia, all the guides and staff at Anaconda Lodge for their kindness and hospitality. Episodes notes generated by Whisper Transcribe AIKey Takeaways:Support Indigenous communities by living alongside them and understanding their challenges, rather than offering temporary aid.Learn about the Amazon’s diverse cultures and ecological fragility through reading and authentic resources.Reduce your carbon footprint by making small, conscious changes in daily habits to support global environmental efforts.Recognize the Amazon as a single, interconnected entity, not divided by national borders, but by Indigenous territories.Understand the impact of Western influences, such as processed food and consumer goods, on uncontacted tribes and their traditional way of life.Story PreviewDiscover the journey of Francisco Rodriguez, who left the banking world to dedicate his life to protecting the Amazon and working its Indigenous peoples. Hear how he and his wife Sylvia created Anaconda Lodge as a bridge between cultures, fostering understanding and solidarity for the ‘lung of Mother Earth.’ Chapter Summary00:00 Introduction to Amazon and Indigenous Voices02:44 From Banker to Amazon Advocate05:50 Living with Indigenous Communities09:58 Ecotourism and Amazonian Consciousness14:25 Understanding the Amazon from Afar20:00 Sustainable Living and Jungle CommunicationFeatured QuotesWe always hope that when they go back home, they use less fossil fuel.You have to think one thing, these people have been beating up by our, by we Western people for over 500 years.Our main goal is to make our guests to understand where they are.Behind the StoryClaude  shares his third recording from international travel, this time from the Anaconda Lodge near Tena, in Ecuador. He, his wife Sabrina, and daughter Clara experienced ecotourism firsthand which led to this conversation with Francisco Rodriguez. The episode highlights the value of reciprocity when traveling and making voices from different regions accessible to a global audience. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It’s my way to give back.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, etcI 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 SchryerLatest update on December 5, 2025

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• e242 roundtable - dissolving boundaries

  In an era where pressures on climate and environments grow even stronger, we should not underestimate the transformative power of art. (Ambassador of the European Union to Canada Geneviève Tuts)When you do the trigger, the emotional part, you can go down hope and fear both. Both lead to action but ultimately, we need to transform being passive into really active contributors to solving this and what a better way than art? (Akash Rastogi, Chief Capital Strategy Officer at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster) We want to activate the creativity of communities through the arts to create the cities of the future, basically, right, the cities we want to live in (Juan Eraso, leader of international programs at Culturans)‘Change happens. There's always going to be ways to adapt. That's not to say that the initial change might not be catastrophic but there was always going to be something left and you have to work with that’. (e208 clara schryer - science as story). Now it breaks my heart to hear that because for a young person to say that means that they don't anticipate there won't be a lot left and yet… (Claude Schryer)We know that when we work with green spaces, we work with life, we work with art, we can rebuild, we can regenerate, but we have to do it differently. (Claude Schryer)Yes, to doing things differently. Yes, to more evocative, emotionally resonant art.Yes, to dissolving boundaries.(Background sound from Jubilee Queen Cruise Ship in podcast)When I got an invitation from Jana Macalik, Director of the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University to participate on a panel about art and climate - one of my passions - I was excited and honoured to accept. This panel was part of an event called Dissolving Boundaries that took place on October 4, 2025, as part of Nuit Blanche Toronto, which of course went on all night. It featured the premiere of a large scale, beautiful large-scale art projection by Alessandro Gisendi and Marco Noviello of the OOOPStudio in Italy. Their work was projected onto the massive Canada Malting Silos on the shores of Lake Ontario in Tkaronto. Dissolving Boundaries was co-presented by the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University and the European Union (EU), through its Delegation to Canada. I want to thank them for their hospitality and congratulate them their vision in collaborating, partnering and bringing this work and this conversation to us. The timing was good for me. I was wrapping up season 6 of my conscient podcast / balado conscient after some 350 episodes since I started it in 2020 and I was about to take a break, but then I got a call to talk about how arts and culture can help move audiences from awareness to action and I could not refuse that. I felt good about speaking freely and really listening to the different points of view. We were on a ship called the Jubilee Queen Cruise Ship so it quite moving, literally, to be on a boat looking out onto the projection and talking about art, culture and climate. Here’s Ana Serrano, OCAD University’s President and Vice-Chancellor explaining what the event was about: But we can't stop, really. We don't really have much of a choice. So, convening like this, trying to figure out ways to create evocative, emotionally resonant works that will catalyze people into thinking about their relationship with the land, with water, with climate and their daily actions is what tonight is all about.First you’ll hear Ana Serrano shares some inspiring opening remarks, followed by an engaging speech by the Ambassador of the EU to Canada, Geneviève Tuts. You’ll then hear panelists, with Ana as facilitator, speak one by one. First Alessandro Gisendi, Akash Rastogi (Chief Capital Strategy Officer at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster) myself, Juan Erazo (Culturans) and Alice Xu (Director of Policy, Planning and Program Enablement; Environment, Climate and Forestry Division at the City of Toronto).  At the end of the recording you’ll hear a question from an audience member, who happens to be a friend of mine, Coman Poon (e202 coman poon - what are you doing with your life ?) ask about ‘extraction for the sake of economic autonomy’, which we all commented upon. The conversation continued until it was time to view the art projection!I want to express my warmest thanks to the organizers, fellow panelists, audience members and in particular to OCAD sound technician Omar Qureshi, who recorded this session for me.Enjoy. It’s good to talk about these things with creative energy. May the conversations continue.*Episodes notes generated by Whisper Transcribe AIKey Takeaways:Activate community creativity through art to design future cities and foster positive change.Bridge the gap between rational climate data and emotional engagement to motivate action.Reassess economic models to prioritize natural assets and foster international cooperation for scalable solutions.Integrate nature-based solutions into urban planning and daily life, celebrating local initiatives.Leverage cross-sector collaboration, including Indigenous wisdom, to address complex climate challenges with accountability and compassion.Story PreviewIn a world grappling with urgent climate pressures, this episode reveals how art can ignite powerful emotions, transforming passive observers into active contributors. Hear how artists, scientists, and policymakers converge to create evocative experiences that inspire hope and drive tangible solutions for a sustainable future.Chapter Summary00:00 Art’s Transformative Power in Climate Action05:42 OCAD U’s Vision for Climate Action12:55 EU’s Commitment to Sustainable Future18:11 Dissolving Boundaries: Art Installation23:02 Oceans, Innovation, and Emotional Triggers27:44 Art as a Tool for Community Creativity33:14 Nature-Based Solutions and Urban Greenery37:26 Reconnecting with Nature39:55 Cross-Sectoral Collaboration for Future Cities42:44 International Cooperation for Ocean Climate Solutions45:26 Art’s Role in Changing Habits47:40 Building Connections for Climate Action49:16 Addressing Societal Values and Economic Flaws52:05 Indigenous Wisdom and Future Paths53:41 Closing Remarks and Art Installation DetailsFeatured QuotesIn an era where pressures on climate and environments grow even stronger, we should not underestimate the transformative power of art. (Ambassador of the European Union to Canada Geneviève Tuts)When you do the trigger, the emotional part, you can go down hope and fear both, both lead to action, but ultimately, we need to transform being passive into really active contributors to solving this. And what a better way than art? (Akash Rastogi, Chief Capital Strategy Officer at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster)We know that when we work with green spaces, we work with life, we work with art, we can rebuild, we can regenerate, but we must do it differently. (Claude Schryer)Behind the StoryThis panel discussion, “Dissolving Boundaries,” was recorded on October 4, 2025 on the Jubilee Queen cruise ship during Nuit Blanche Toronto. It featured the premiere of a large-scale art projection by Alessandro Gisendi and Marco Noviello of Oops Studio, projected onto the Canada Malting Silos. Co-presented by OCAD University’s Global Center for Climate Action and the European Union, the event brought together diverse art and climate experts to explore the role of art and collaboration in addressing climate change. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It’s my way to give back.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, etcI 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 SchryerLatest update on December 5, 2025

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• a calm presence - erasure

  erasureemulating sand mandalas(note: you can read the original posting here)It's November 1st, 2025 and as you can hear, I'm not at home. We've been traveling for the last couple of weeks in Ecuador. We're now in the Amazon near Tena in the territory of the Kichwa people (Anaconda Lodge).I'm reading you this a calm presence posting called erasure. What I've just done, or I will do soon, is erase all 81 postings that I have made in French and in English, on this Substack.I’m starting from scratch, and it feels good.Let me explain…When I first launched a calm presence in February of 2024, my intentions were to share my learnings ‘for those in need of a calm presence’. That's a term that I borrowed from Dharma teacher Catherine Ingram.And it was successful. People would respond and I would essentially think out loud.But I've come to realize that these essays and opinion pieces - heartfelt as they might be - are snapshots in time that quickly become outdated. They weren't meant to be kept, really, but I kept them anyway, because that's the way we do things.We don't throw things out, partially because of vanity, but also to have a trail of one's work or thinking. A few days ago we were hiking in the Andes and the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of sand mandalas came to mind, so I went to Wikipedia. Sand mandalas are defined as :the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Once complete, the sand mandala's ritualistic dismantling is accompanied by ceremonies and viewings to symbolize Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life. The transitory nature of material life, which is more or less what a calm presence is about. This got me thinking : what if, with all due respect to Tibetan culture and any cultural borrowings, I emulated the creation and the destructive process of sand mandalas with the content and form of a calm presence. If not emulate, then at least be inspired by this way of creating, knowing that it will be returned to the Earth, so to speak.And since this is a digital art or digital project, I started thinking about what it meant for all those digits that retain the knowledge somehow, or at least carry it, what happens when they get dispersed? And so it opened up a whole new world, new way of thinking about writing and dissemination and memory and related issues. I was inspired by the sand mandala tradition. I'll read you a quote of how it's described : into flowing water to symbolize the cycle of life and the dissolution of the physical world.So when the sand is returned, it is through water and then dispersed back into nature. And there's the healing energy side to things that also interests me and that I will explore further. I think the idea is when somebody reads a calm presence posting, it is metabolized. They retain whatever they want to retain. It can be a word or two, a couple of thoughts, and then that's it. There's no need to go back to it. After a few weeks of it being present in our lives, it disappears.And another comes along when it's relevant and so on and so forth. There isn't the accumulation, there's simply an experiencing that goes on as part of day-to-day life. I like that and I'm going to give it a try. And if you so wish, you can continue to follow and hear or read these postings, which won't be much longer than this one today. And before leaving, I want to thank the 290 subscribers to a calm presence. It's been good to have the company and the exchange, but I also want to remind you that you're more than welcome to unsubscribe if you want to take a break. Don't feel obliged, I won't be offended.This is a kind of word-of-mouth activity. The way that I read and share, I think, is the way I like to work. If something inspires you or motivates you or resonates somehow, I just let that be shared in whichever way you want. Sometimes it's a story, sometimes it's an electronic transfer passing on. This is the first of these new postings, the Sand Mandela inspired series which will disappear soon. I wish you all the best.*Cover photo of moss at 4100 meters, Quito, Ecuador by Claude Schryer *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It’s my way to give back.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, etcI 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 SchryerLatest update on December 5, 2025

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• a calm presence - my arcanum

  This is my narration of October 16, 2025  ‘my arcanum’ a calm presence Substack.You’ll hear that I’ve added some keyboard music here and there generated on a Yamaha e353 keyboard which I bought to help me learn my tenor 2 parts for the Canadian Centennial Choir here in Ottawa but as I recorded the narration I started playing a muted banjo patch in chuck boom boom style and it reminded of listening to radio artist Joe Frank in the 1980s who often had this kind of marimba sound in his radio plays and it always mesmerized me and so I had some fun adding the different sounds of this synthesizer, integrating it with the narration and I think what I was trying to is to lighten up a bit as I narrate these rather dark thoughts. Excerpt from the beginning of the posting:  It was inspired by tea with artist and family friend Barbara Cuerden on September 27th, 2025. While chatting, Barbara mentioned Saul Bellow’s 1987 novel More Die of Heartbreak, notably this excerpt from page 27 : An arcanum is more than a mere secret; it's what you have to know in order to be fertile in a creative pursuit, to make discoveries, to prepare for the communication of a spiritual mystery.Ah-ha.I told Barbara and my wife Sabrina, quite spontaneously, and perhaps foolishly : I think my own arcanum is full. I don’t think I need to know anything more at this point… I didn’t mean to say that I know everything, not by any means, but rather that I have heard and produced so many podcasts, read so many books, seen so many films, read and written so many essays, organized and attended so many webinars and workshops, had so many conversations etc. so that I don’t think, at this point, more knowledge will help.My learning and unlearning journey with conscient podcast and balado conscient has come full circle and it was time to let all that knowing settle, consolidate and metabolize.However, one topic in particular continues to haunt me: How to be an activist in the context of societal collapse? How to genuinely stay positive and hopeful? How to behave normally knowing that our species is in freefall? I hope these words are helpful to you. Maybe some of them resonate. Feel free to share any comments in this forum or to me directly: [email protected] thanks to Kamea Chayne, Lyla June Johnston, Vanessa Andreotti, Shaun Chamberlin, Indy Johar, Clara Schryer and Riel Schryer for using their words with special thanks to Barbara Cuerden for telling me about arcana. *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESHey conscient listeners, I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). It’s my way to give back.In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I I publish free ‘a calm presence' 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, etcI 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 SchryerLatest update on September 28, 2025

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