e145 bear - what do you think about grieving our dying planet and sitting with this sadness?

when I got up on September 25th 2023, while searching for my glasses in the dark, I touched a little mechanical bear

TRANSCRIPTION OF EPISODE

(bell and breath)

Vancouver, September 25, 2023. 

You can hear the city in the background as I record this. 

When I got up this morning, searching for my glasses, I touched this little mechanical bear…

(Cranking up and unwinding of windup toy)

It startled me a bit but it was also enchanting and surprising in a good way. I enjoyed listening to it come to a halt.

That morning I was thinking about something  I published on my website on September 20th. I’ll read it to you.

On September 20 2023, I decided to step back from being ‘me’, in the sense of letting go of old habits and patterns and adopting other new ways of being and living. This being said, I will continue to respond to invitations when my presence is useful. 

What do you think about that, little bear? 

(Winding up and release of wind up toy)

Now this statement reminded me of traps of how I fall into tarps all the time and maybe you do too?

Episode 111 of this season presented two traps and I'll play back excerpts from that episode to you now. The first trap is essentially wanting the world to stop and get off. Stop the world I want to get off.

Observer: I notice that you’ve fallen into a trap called ‘exit fixation’ which is where people feel a strong urge to walk out on an existing commitment. For example, when someone realises that the path they are on is full of paradoxes, contradictions, and complicities. Often their first response is to find an immediate exit in hopes of a more fulfilling and/or more innocent alternative or maybe even  an ideal community with whom to continue this work. 

Me: Like an escape?

Observer: Ya, something like that

The second trap is about wanting to erase the past and to find some kind of spiritual haven, which, of course, is an illusion : 

Observer:. It’s called spiritual bypassing and it happens when spiritual ideas or practices are used to sidestep, avoid, or escape sitting with analyses of historical and systemic violence and the difficulties of one’s complicity in historic and systemic harm. Do you know what I mean? 

Me: Yes I think I do but I don’t think I do this.

Observer: (interrupting) maybe not consciously but spiritual bypassing often manifests itself alongside with cultural appropriation which is something you think about every time you record a soundscape with that microphone of yours, right?  

Me: I see what you mean. You’re quite a good observer. 

Observer:  thank you but right back at you. Think of me as a guardian angel.

Me: Or the devil… 

Observer: Whatever (laughter) Now one of the dangers with spiritual bypassing is to project interpretations of ‘oneness’ that erase the realities of historical and systemic inequalities, and interpretations of ‘Enlightenment’ that tend to reinforce exceptionalism and you tend to do that…

Me: Yes, sure, I do, but it’s all part of being an artist.. 

Observer: (interrupting) True but that does not necessarily make it right, does it? Something to think about...

Me: (interrupting) That’s a lot to think about, to learn and unlearn.

What do you think of that, little bear?

(Winding up and release of wind up toy)

Do you think it’s ok to lose one’s mind in a mad world?

Do you think it’s ok to embrace failure as a path towards learning and unlearning?

What do you think about grieving our dying planet and sitting with this sadness?

(Winding up and release of wind up toy)

*

Written spontaneously on September 25th 2023 in Vancouver, this episode brought me comfort. Maybe it will bring you comfort as well?

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

My gesture of reciprocity for this episode is to the reseed podcast.

*

END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES

Note : I'm currently 'pressing pause' and am not producing new content until further notice. 

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 claude [at] conscient [dot] ca 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. 

Thanks for listening. 

Claude Schryer

Latest update on March 21, 2026