We recently connected with Jeremy Dion and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeremy, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

According to my mother, I came into the world singing. I started playing piano at age 7, and took lessons for several years. I never did learn how to read music, but instead learned to play by ear, and those skills continue to serve me to this day.

My father bought me my first guitar for my 18th birthday and thirty years later that continues to be my primary source of musical inspiration as well as joy. I took a handful of initial lessons to learn the basic chords, and from there I relied on jamming with friends and playing by ear to take me where I wanted to go.

Lyrically, I really didn’t have a concept of what I was doing as a songwriter for the first 15 years, other than writing the words that came to me in the moment. I still adhere to this to some degree, trusting the intersection between intuition in spirit to guide me to those deeper truths. But more recently I have begun to hone my lyrical approach, studying other songwriters and exploring different ways of approaching the art.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

A quick google search of my name usually pulls up three things: My online presence as a singer-songwriter, where I have released four independent albums, won a few awards, and play regularly, especially around Boulder.

The second aspect of my life involves my other career as a practicing psychotherapist. I graduated from Naropa University in 2000 and have been working with kids and teenagers ever since. It’s incredibly rewarding work, and my therapy/music life balance is always evolving.

The third element you may discover is that I’m also a published author, and wrote “The Art of Mindful Singing” which was published by Leaping Hare Press in 2016. Apparently there are some books written by another Jeremy Dion, which focus on Zombies. I am sorry to say that I cannot take credit for those.

One aspect of my life that I have been especially grateful for lately has been the fact that I am feeling more like the seasoned veteran. One glance at my hairline gives this away, but as I approach my 49th birthday, I relish the wisdom that those birthdays afford. The lessons learned the hard way have a way of informing the bigger decisions later on, and I love being this age.

Younger me was in a hurry. Older me takes his time and breathes more deeply. You can’t live too much life without suffering loss, and the longer you go the deeper and more numerous those losses get. But if we can do the proper work of grieving as we go, to really allow ourselves to feel the hurt of what’s being lost, we grow. And that growth enriches our lives each moment.

Remember that scene from Avatar when the beautiful glowing animals came alive at night and created a mesmerizing picture of these new, strange lifeforms doing things that made it impossible to look away? I took a trip to someplace new recently and felt a bit like that, fascinated with looking around in all directions, all of the time. It’s a wonderful feeling, like a kid in a candy store. We tend to lose some of that wonder as we age, but we don’t have to. It’s always there, waiting for us to find it again.

That’s the best summary I can find for what I’m about right now. Wonder, bliss, fascination, feeling my feelings, writing great songs, being really present in my relationships, and feeling and endless supply of gratitude for it all. ALL of it. Even the stuff that I don’t want in the moment. That helps me grow too. Just don’t get too enamored paying all your attention to the stuff that sucks. That keeps it alive.

We are here to sort through life, decide what we do and do not want, and move forever into the direction of the life we love. We sift, we sort, we create, and it’s supposed to be a fundamentally joyful experience. And now that I’m approaching the big 5-0, I’m really starting to hit my stride. As a therapist, I’ve gotten pretty good at helping others hit theirs as well. And as a songwriter, I’m just getting started.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

What I have come to realize about my life is that much of what I am about (as a songwriter, therapist, parent, human) has to do with helping people to feel their feelings. I haven’t always thought about it that way, but my own personal sensitivity, coupled with my love of people has inspired me to want to help others in meaningful ways. It is also true to say that many of the challenges plaguing our society – from mass shootings to environmental degradation to mental health concerns has to do do, at its root, with an inability to feel (and process) our feelings. This is a dynamic we all struggle with, and shows up in our daily lives. It’s the parent, feeling rejected, who resorts to sarcasm to cover their hurt. Or the student, feeling invisible, who compensates by doing something ostentatious. The more we are able to feel our true feelings, to understand what they are trying to tell us, and make peace with them, the better we do in the world. And to the extent that my music/therapy/human spirit plays a role in the facilitation of our growth in this regard, I’m in.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes, there are three: meditation, meditation, and meditation. I was first exposed to Buddhist Psychology and meditation as a freshman at U.C. Berkeley, and I was immediately fascinated. As someone who grew up spending all his time “doing” it was an alternate reality to spend even a moment simply being. Since that time, I have meditated off and on, attending Buddhist-based Naropa University in Boulder, and learned more about the ancient practice.

In addition to enjoying benefits such as experiencing more mindful moments throughout my day and feeling more present in my relationships, I have also come to learn what a vital tool meditation is for connecting with my inner being – that place in each of us that knows. For me this is synonymous with nebulous concepts like soul, or spirit, or higher self. It’s the place where the songs come from. And where my best ideas come from. And my intuitive hits and impulses and sparks of creative genius. It’s the source of all things, and it’s rooted inextricably with love.

I meditate every morning for 10-15 minutes, simply keeping as much awareness as I can on my breathing, and what it feels like here and now to breathe. The mind wanders, I bring it back to the breath. Again, and again, and again. Tedious? At times. Frustrating? Certainly. But the more you practice, the better you get, and the more able you are to spend time in the space in between thoughts. Without the typical chatter, even for mere moments at a time. It adds up to something meaningful. And the more I practice, the better I get at hearing those impulses throughout the day. And the more I follow them, the happier my life has become, full stop.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeremydion.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremydion/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremydionmusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeremydionmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtWcchIStWgGHbuWM-3MG8w

Image Credits
Kirsten Cohen & Daniel Herman