Meet Marion Ruta Segal

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marion Ruta Segal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Marion Ruta, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I discovered my purpose through the chaos of struggle, when the fabric of my soul unraveled, only to weave itself into something more whole. Born in the Soviet Union, I grew up with the unshakable belief that I could face any storm in life. But in 2005, I found myself lost—truly, deeply lost—for the first time. I was in Germany, living with a lover who had left New York for a job, his presence a fragile tether to a life that no longer felt mine. I had grown disenchanted by the career I had once chosen, and I wandered in a foreign land, unanchored, untethered to any sense of purpose or community,

It was in this quiet desolation, this moment of disconnection, that the spark of change came. One morning, on an impulse I could barely explain, I boarded a train to Heidelberg. There, in the hushed stillness of an art exhibition hall, I encountered a collection of works born from the therapeutic process itself—art that was not just made, but created to heal. It was as if the universe whispered to me in that space: this is the union you have been searching for—art and psychology, two passions intertwined, not as separate worlds, but as a force that could heal and transform.

And so I returned to New York, to a city that had once held all my dreams, and I enrolled at The New School in their Creative Arts Therapy program. It was here that I found my true calling—not as an artist, not as a therapist, but as both. This was the beginning of a journey that would heal me as I helped others to heal, a path forged not from certainty, but from a profound surrender to what was waiting to be discovered.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I create art after journeys into expanded states of consciousness—those moments when the veil between the known and unknown becomes thin, and the soul can speak in colors, shapes, and symbols. These states, in my experience, are portals to transformation, places where the raw material of the self and the collective can be sculpted, reshaped, and illuminated.

I invite others to engage with this art—not as passive observers, but as active participants. With their own hands, eyes, hearts, and voices, they respond creatively—through movement, through image, through sound, or through words. It is in this act of creation, of giving form to the ineffable, that we come into a communion of shared expression.

And then, in a circle, we gather. Each person offers their response, their truth, their art, and we weave these offerings together into something greater—a tapestry of human experience, raw and real. Art, in this sacred space, becomes not just an individual act, but a relational one—a bridge between human beings, a force that binds us together in our shared vulnerability, our shared beauty. In this way, art is not merely created; it is lived.

I also facilitate workshops through my organization – The Heart of Us. There, I co-create an atmosphere where people can reconnect—not only to each other, but to the deepest parts of themselves, by engaging in creative, hands-on activities that open the door to authenticity. It is in this gentle, shared vulnerability that we find our common humanity, as we hold space for one another with compassion and care.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

When I meet someone who feels lost, trapped in the fog of uncertainty about their life’s path, I ask them one simple question: What did you love to do as a child? There, hidden in the innocence of that early love, is often the key to their soul’s desire. The clue is always there, in that unfiltered, untainted passion—before the world told them who they should be or what they should want.

It is when we return to these primal, unbridled joys, these loves we carried without fear or inhibition, that we begin to come alive once more. The first step is finding it—discovering what stirs our heart, what makes us forget time and space, what makes us feel most ourselves. That is where the journey begins.

Then comes the crafting of our skill, the gentle honing of that innate impulse. I, myself, am a self-taught artist. While I’ve taken a few classes over the years, it was through the quiet practice, through the intimacy with my own hands and heart, that I learned to translate my visions into form. It is through this dedication, this dance with the craft, that we allow our passion to take shape in the world.

But there is a third, and perhaps the most crucial step, in my view: believing in oneself. It is not enough to know what we love or to have the skills. We must trust in the quiet, persistent whisper of our inner voice, the voice that does not shout or demand, but gently guides us forward—one step, one breath at a time. This is not the voice of the ego, nor the cacophony of doubt that the world imposes upon us. No, it is the voice of our deepest intuition, that sacred force we are all born with, waiting to be heard beneath the noise.

It requires courage—courage to break free from the constraints of culture, to untangle ourselves from the inner critics, the ancestral shadows that haunt us with their expectations. It is not an easy path; often, it feels as though we are walking through brambles, through uncertainty, through a thousand doubts. But when the path is true—when it calls to us from the depths of our being—there is an undeniable pull, a force that will support us, even when the way is unclear.

And in those moments, when everything aligns—when we take that step forward in faith, despite our fear—that is when we find that life has been waiting for us, all along.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

My ex-partner, Kevin, was a man whose quiet presence held the depths of a thousand unspoken worlds. I fell in love with him, in part, because he was an artist, because I could feel his soul through his music, through his art.

Together, we wove stories as we wandered through the mist of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, our footsteps following paths known only to us. We invented worlds with our words and melodies, as if the very earth beneath our feet had become a canvas, the trees our silent witnesses. He awakened in me a dormant spark, a flame that had long been hidden, obscured by responsibilities and doubts. He taught me how to make art in ways I had never imagined, stretching my understanding, building my confidence.

For many years, I longed to be like him—devoted to art, to the sacredness of expression—while my own path led me into the world of healing. I wanted to embody the purity of his passion, the depth of his talent. But the truth, I realize now, is that in him I was seeking the artist within me that had long been asleep.

When our relationship ended, I could no longer hide behind the idea that I needed him to fulfill my creative dreams. He was no longer there to sublimate my desires. In his absence, I stepped into my own. I took ownership of the artist within.

He used to say that art saved his life. And in the end, I understand now, it saved mine as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.theheartof.us
• Instagram: the.heartof.us
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpiritMoonArts