John Jinks

Hi, I’m John.

I am a Guitarist, Composer, Songwriter, Recording Engineer, Music Producer, Music Publisher, Multi-Instrumentalist, Teacher of Music and Philosophies, Student of Music and Life, Spiritual Being, Lover of All Life and Death, Believer and Practitioner of Universal Laws, Yogi-Jedi, Pickleballer, and Husband.

I came to music as a practice at 11 years of age when I decided to join the middle school band to play trumpet. Transitioning to high school, I was torn between my love for aviation, NJROTC (a high school preparatory path to the Navy), and my love for playing music, high school band (a preparatory path to living in a bus with stinky people). My father was a pilot in the Navy, and though I had a strong feeling the military wouldn’t be the life for me, I believed I wouldn’t be happy unless I flew jets. Now, I’d be stoked to even fly a paramotor (...look it up). Either way, even then, I recognized the magic in the mysteries to be discovered in music, sound, and vibration and knew in my heart it would lead me to the same places.

Music is my spiritual practice. Specifically, playing and composing music, but my ego doesn’t like the word “play.” I could say “making music,” but that could be referring to music production or studio work. I mean the act of presently organizing sounds into living expression. I’ve spent many hours honing my technical abilities so I can music without thinking. It becomes a deep meditation; a flow state. I’m certainly not perfect at it. The point isn’t to be perfect. For me, the point is to experience the joy I find in that moment as much as possible. The more I find joy, the more joy finds me.

The act of sharing this joy, this luminous state, with other open beings creates a feedback loop of energetic connection, which compounds the experience exponentially. I feel the listeners resonating with my state of meditation as I hold space for their journey. There’s always a special connective magic when people deeply share experiences. When people have the intention of being open, even if they’re not good at it, a shared experience can be very healing. You could say I play and share music to “heal” myself, though it’s really just maintenance.

(For some, the word “heal” may imply that there’s something broken or wrong. I don’t think of it like that. Everyone has trauma, and it doesn’t even matter to what degree. It’s all real and valid. There’s nothing wrong or broken about any of us. So, “heal” becomes an easy replacement for “finding a way to love your journey.”)

I’m getting older, and my body regularly reminds me of its impermanence. I’ve never been a very physical person, typically choosing music over sports, taste over nutrition, and comfort over exertion. Around my Saturn return, I became more motivated toward health and fitness. I started going to the gym, which led to attending some yoga classes. From the beginning, I thought of yoga a lot like I think of God: a personal exploration of self. I understood, in my own way, the principles of the body postures. There’s always a contraction and an expansion in every pose; an inhale and exhale, a push and pull, yin and yang. I was attracted to the balance of it all. Doing yoga—not that I even call what I do “yoga”—is always about embodying a physical awareness of the present moment and connecting with my body as a conscious participant of its brilliance. The practice supports my connection to spirit and personal recognition of myself as a manifestation of God. Not apart from; a part of.

The movements and meditations are basically a way to bio-hack my way into my body’s control room and take over. I’m also the type of person who’ll take a technology like yoga, reverse-engineer it, and use its fundamental principles (as I understand them) in creating my own practice. I jokingly call it Johnga, but it’s a lame joke. Being a tall, shy person and choosing poor posture through the years, I was also attracted to the many physical benefits to be found with a regular practice. I intuitively connected my breath with my movements and began a fantastic journey of mental, emotional, and physical self-exploration that empowers me to experience joy at will. I’m certainly not perfect at it. The point isn’t to be perfect. The point is to experience joy as much as possible. Think of something you wouldn’t typically find joy in doing. Now imagine what your life would be like if that thing brought you true joy.

For now, I will continue to live my life as a student of my body and the natural world. I live to experience joy through sharing music with myself and others and being free.