Daily Inspiration: Meet Heather Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Jones

Hi Heather, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always had a passion for music as long as I can remember. I come from a long line of musicians and vocalists. I feel that music is in my blood. I first started to pursue my music journey by creating my own songs at the age of 15, when I was a sophomore in high school. Music for me started as an emotional outlet. That still rings true to this day at 25 years old.

I first started performing for high school talent shows. That really sealed the deal for me, as I realized I love to be on a stage. In college I took it to the next level and would perform cover songs and a few original tracks with my electric and acoustic guitars or piano at the local college bars. In these same college bars, my desire to become a DJ was born as well.

Near the end of college after basically losing every close friendship I had, I met my best friend of now almost 4 years, Bison Dewey. We met at the show where I performed my original tracks for the first time, and I am a very spiritual person so this feels like absolutely no coincidence to me. We both have a deep love for music, self expression, and creating community.

Not long after we met, Bison and I decided to start throwing shows together in Kansas City. It was actually my boyfriend who really pushed me and believed in me to do this and start throwing my own shows in the city. That’s when Bison and I realized we share a similar vision and believed that our efforts would be much for powerful and impactful on our community if we joined together. We also didn’t fully resonate with the gigs and shows that we’re available at that time, so we thought “hey, why not throw our own shows so we can play the music we want and give other people the chance to do the same.” Thus, birthing our collaborative event — “Wavelength.”

Wavelength is a community based art and music event showcasing various underground DJs and producers, as well as artists of all kinds. It’s a collaborative space to come and express your authentic self and meet others who are interested in doing the same. We wanted to create a safe space for people of all kinds to come and enjoy community and the love of dance music, while respecting the roots and cultures of where the various styles of dance music originated.

Throwing shows really helped to connect me to other like minded individuals in the community who share a similar vision. It brought me so much closer to the music scene here and it feels so special to be able to help shape the scene in some ways and put my own special touch on it, too.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The way I feel about my life is like I have been climbing mountain after mountain. Climbing mountains is no easy feat, but my path has also been about learning to follow my heart, and my heart has lead me through it all to this very moment. To live an unconventional life and to forge your own path forward with no blue print is difficult.

My senior year of college was the deciding point for me to either pursue music with all I have, or to invest my life into a corporate career path of some sort. I have a Bachelors degree in Psychology with a double minor in Communications and Business. I went to college because that was what was expected of me and I did want to see what it was like.

As I neared toward the end of senior year, I was being pushed more and more to pick a career. Choosing the path of pursuing your art is a risky and uncertain path to follow. I have come across many nay-sayers, limiting beliefs, and obstacles, especially in the beginning stages of me choosing this path. But as you expand and grow, new challenges and obstacles appear. When all the evidence you have of your future success is a deep knowing in your heart, it causes some to doubt or question you because you do not have tangible evidence to show. However, in my heart I knew that I would never be satisfied with my life and myself if I did not at least try and see where my music career would take me– and at this time my music career was a couple tracks I made in my college bedroom and some gigs to perform cover songs here and there. But I had a vision and an unshakable pull within my heart and soul to follow my big dreams. I would rather try and fail, than to never try at all. Thankfully both of my parents encouraged me to pursue music, even though I would have anyways with or without their blessing, but I still feel very thankful to have their support and belief in me.

A big challenge that I had to overcome was choosing to follow my heart instead of the external sources around me. The world is full of people with so many loud opinions. People who tell you what you can and can’t do. What is and isn’t possible. People can be really convincing. I have ADHD, which comes with a whole slew of challenges on it’s own. One of the most challenging parts of dealing with my ADHD has been working through Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which is really common in people with ADHD and autism. Cleveland Clinic describes it as “a condition that causes people to experience extreme emotional pain or sensitivity when they feel rejected or criticized.” When you feel extreme emotional pain at the slightest whiff of criticism or rejection, it makes putting yourself out there to the world really scary and it feels threatening to your emotional well being. I felt unsafe being myself. In this day and age, if you don’t put yourself out there then you do not really have a chance! Thankfully I have spent years learning techniques on how to cope with this and to rewire my subconscious mind which has helped, but growing up I struggled with it a lot harder. I still definitely have my days, but I have done a lot of important work and healing that I can now say I am really happy and surrounded by exquisite people who love me not only deeply, but they love me well. And I am cultivating a strong relationship with myself and my inner critic.

I was bullied some in high school. I felt like I didn’t belong. I did have some really solid, close friends at the time, but I still did not feel like I fit in. I have always felt a little different. Also, people were just cruel in high school. I know I am not the only one.

I am going to be really vulnerable here— feeling rejected and like you are an outsider is a really sad, difficult place to be in, especially when you are younger and all you want is to feel loved and accepted. I did not understand myself very well either because I was so young. It destroys your self esteem because you allow other people to define who you are instead of deciding for yourself. I also struggled a lot with shame. Truthfully, I would say I was really unhappy with who I was and my life until a few years ago. Up until that point, I was feeling a lot of deep sadness from the trauma I had been through throughout my life. When you have poor self esteem, you tend to attract partners and friendships that reflect that, thus the cycle of pain and suffering continues until you begin to heal and learn. I have spent a lot of nights alone crying myself to sleep.

Although I experienced vast amounts of darkness, I wouldn’t trade a second of my life for anything. Every single challenge has led me exactly to this moment, and I feel so grateful to be who I am today.

When my parents were getting divorced and I was in the seventh grade I remember looking in the mirror crying and hearing in my head: “you are going to get through this and grow up to help people just like you to get through hard things. You are gonna show them things will be okay.” I do not know if that voice was me or God/a higher power, but ever since that moment I have had this knowing in myself that I can help others overcome challenges by overcoming my own. This is why I was attracted to Psychology as my major in college. I love to learn about myself and about people and why we are the way we are. It’s been a driving force in my healing work I have done as well. I believe that in order to help heal the world, you must first heal yourself. Knowledge is power, and compassion is key.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a music producer, DJ, vocalist, sound healer, and energy practitioner. My main genre of music is dance music. I also have a Youtube where I post sound healings and guided meditations. In my music, I like to try and create healing melodies and words for the listener. I incorporate things such as words of affirmations and quartz crystal singing bowls that help me to feel connected to myself and to love within my projects. I incorporate my love for learning and healing into a lot of my music and creative projects. I want my music to move you.

There is so much information being constantly bombarded at us whether it be social media, advertisements, the news, etc that make us feel hopeless and dis-regulated. If I am going to be putting anything out into the world, I want it to leave people feeling more uplifted and connected to love than before they found it. Art is one of the most powerful forms of rebellion. Any artist has an opportunity to share something meaningful or impactful with the world. As someone who has spent majority of their life thus far feeling so dark and sad– and who feels that I have a heart calling to help other people with what I learn through my own life experience — I want what I create to impact people for the better. I believe you cannot save the world, but you can positively influence it. If you have been conditioned to feel bad or negatively, then you can condition yourself to feel hopeful and good. I hope that people hear my music and feel my message of love.

I am most proud of myself for still being here today and choosing to express myself with love and an open heart amidst it all. There were infinite reasons I had to close myself off and choose to not connect with love again, but I am so glad I did, and continue to choose to every single day.

I don’t feel that I am here to be better than others or to be the best at anything. I am just here to be me, and I hope that inspires others to do the same. The opposite of depression is expression.

What makes you happy?
There are a lot of things that bring me joy. I love animals so much. I want to have a big plot of land one day with horses, cows, chickens, birds and more. I plan on utilizing my animals in my energy and sound healings because I feel that each animal has it’s own healing energy. They are truly so special. I want to play my guitar and singing bowls for the animals. My dog Kuzco loves my singing bowls. I can only imagine how awesome it would be to do that for cows and horses, for example. The more time goes on, the more that the little and simple things bring me the most joy.

I love being in nature. Being in nature and being enveloped in music is when I feel most at home and connected to myself. I find immense joy just going on walks around my neighborhood with my dog. There is so much beauty and joy in the small, mundane aspects of life. I love to be able to cook myself and my boyfriend meals. It makes me happy to nourish and take care of us in that way.

The people I love bring me joy, too.

Going to shows brings me so much joy. I have found a really beautiful community of people and it is still growing today. The dance music scene has really given me such a solid sense of community and acceptance I had never found anywhere else before. It is full of beautiful, vibrant misfits. People who are very unique and different, but we all celebrate our differences which creates a strong sense of belonging. Dance music and the way it brings people together is sacred. I feel I am connected into a true community now, which is something I was lacking majority of my life. It has helped me to understand the importance of community and connecting with like-minded souls. Community building is a big reason why Bison and I started Wavelength ( our events ) in the first place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://twinnflameonline.wixsite.com/twinnflame
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twinnflame333/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073289318665
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sacredflamehealing
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/twinnflameofficial/tracks
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pjYz8bl2zcjEYnqQKMMaA?si=ff8N_aZfRSSGHvZYVDMNyA&utm_medium=share&utm_source=linktree&nd=1&dlsi=7ca23d73a9d540bb