Meet Xenia Marie Ross Viray | Imagination Healer, Multidimensional Artist, Creative Midwife

We had the good fortune of connecting with Xenia Marie Ross Viray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Xenia Marie Ross, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I actually started Myths of Creation as an entirely different business. It began as an affordable clothing store that featured a mix of local makers and highly unique clothing and shoes. Now Myths of Creation is container for those who exist at the intersection of creativity and mysticism, where I host workshops, offer 1:1 sessions, and create for those who are here to pioneer new forms of creativity and have their own personal connection to spirituality that is outside any formal framework.

What I find so interesting is that the seed of both ideas is creating a business that solves a problem for myself. When I had the shop, I was frustrated that there was nothing local I could afford in my neighborhood, so I created that place. It evolved into a community space, a new-makers incubator, and a collective at different points in time. When I opened my creativity meets spirituality business, I wanted to be able to talk about how all things interrelate: science, creativity, culture, and all the spiritual modalities I had been studying, so I created that space.

I can always feel when a business comes from a passion, whether it is large or small, and I feel that if you create something where the process itself is enjoyable, it will transform you and the world around you.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I feel that we really need to change the way we think about art and creativity. Art is inherently sacred, and I think of nature as the earth’s art and the cosmos as the art of the divine. When we are creating from our true authenticity, we are allowing a force much bigger than ourselves to channel through us, whether we are creating in the form of writing, fine art, parenting, problem solving, or creating our relationships.

I know deep in my soul that I am an artist, but I do not identify with traditional definitions or cultural associations of art. I think a lot about how science is deeply creative, how mathematics can veer in to philosophy, and how perception itself is a creative act. I believe that our inner artist is actually our soul, and that all that we create is here to share a perspective that is unique to us. In this sense, my creative workshops are an artistic medium for me. I actually treat everything that is traditionally associated with business as a medium for experimentation and art, from my newsletter to my social media.

I like to push the bounds of every medium so that it feels less boxed in. I try to add movement or motion where there normally isn’t any and because we are in this era of technology advancing very quickly, I find it very exciting to be a creative person. My art is all about dissolving boundaries, in particular those created by hierarchy, and the boundaries between the sacred and the mundane. I feel that being a human being is extraordinary, even when it is challenging and that leaning into wonder resources us so that we can transform anything about the world we know can be different.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To me the most exciting places in New York are unexpected places where you can have a really unique experience. One of the best experiences I have had in a while was at a little theater called Under St. Mark’s Theater. A friend of mine Nelly Reznik has a show that blends spiritual mediumship and comedy which she is calling CoMedium. I also really love the American Museum of Natural History and their Butterfly exhibit in their new wing is probably one of my favorite places on earth.

For food my favorite place to eat actually only has about 10 seats and it is called Okonomi. They serve a traditional Japanese breakfast, and eating there is like eating art. I also recently tried ABCV Kitchen which is a vegan and vegetarian place a friend took me, and the spinach spaghetti is so good, and their deserts are fantastic. My favorite beverage in New York right now is at Land to Sea, which is a community space and cafe. They have a lavender butterfly pea flower matcha that is my go to afternoon pick me up.

I would definitely want to take a ferry ride if it was nice out because I think it is by far the best way to travel in New York. Book stores are also like church to me, so I would love to take a friend to Spoonbill Books in Williamsburg, because their selection is so good, and I have found some of the best independently published books there, many that are now out of print. If they were into music, I would take them to Union Pool, which often has really amazing shows in the back, and is one of a few places that I feel retains the spirit of the artist in Williamsburg now that so many venues have come and gone. For bigger shows, my favorite music venue by far is Brooklyn Steele. I really don’t like to be in crowded spaces, and that venue manages to feel spacious, comfortable and somehow no matter where you are standing or how short you are, you can see the stage.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It is really hard to narrow down who to dedicate my shoutout to, but if I had to I would choose my family who immigrated here with me in the early 1980s from the Philippines and left everything they were familiar with to give me as many opportunities as possible. They had strong opinions about what I should do with my life, but they always let me follow my own inner guidance, even when it was risky. They sent me to school, and made it clear that no matter how different we are, that I would always be loved and cared for. That helped me feel it was safe to take risks which is not a privilege that everyone has, so for that I am deeply grateful. The second group of people I need to thank is all the other friends who started their own small businesses. Their existence made me feel that that my dreams were possible, and normalized the idea that we can all create our own path.

Website: https://mythsofcreation.com/

Instagram: @mythsofcreation

Image Credits
Photos by Ashley River, and Mike O’Shea