Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth A. Muñiz.
Ruth, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Although I was born in the small city of Victoria, Texas, I grew up in the Fourth Ward area of Downtown Houston, and I’ve continued to live throughout the surrounding areas of Houston to date. I’d always been a creative, such as an artist (primarily with oils, but also watercolor, acrylics & charcoal); poet & writer – even writing a complete book as my own personal therapeutic effort to put away some of my older traumas (it’s a compilation of selected poetry and specific traumatic events that stood most fervently in my life, along with images of my personal artwork); and crocheting jackets, hats, booties and blankets for my children when they were babies. I’ve even written lyrics for songs (but I’ve yet to find an artist to create the music for me).
By the time I was 26 years old, I had already experienced the loss of two children and a husband due to completely different and extreme circumstances, each of which came with its own individual brands of pain and trauma. While this simply merged and flowed into events I’d already experienced through my upbringing and then experienced again afterwards (including molestation, physical abuse, neglect, and rapes), it eventually snowballed into something unmanageable. Additional abuse and assaults that took place between 2014 and 2017 became the ultimate triggers that brought me to a desperate point of seeking relief on my own. I genuinely hesitate any approach on the discussion of how close I got to making a choice to end my suffering by any absolute means. I was so very fortunate I managed instead, to find that relief through hammering copper and fashioning it with crystals into wearable art. I needed to find a way out of the antiquated cycles, by going within. It was here that I could safely learn to express my emotions freely. I had never quite connected with my expressive art until I began handcrafting jewelry only a handful of years ago. There’s truly an underestimation of the healing effects of art on the mental and spiritual body—creating something from nothing.
Yes, it’s true…I’m one of THOSE women. I believe in personal growth, and evolution of self. I consistently step out of my comfort zone, it’s a solid facet of who I choose to be. I avoid stagnation like the plague because of how crippled it can render me. When I fail—as I do and will—I forgive myself with subtle kindness, then autocorrect and move TF on forward. Trust, there will be tears and brief moments of painful evaluation, but my confidence in who I am allows them to freely pass. I am one of those women that will hold you to the same standards (at the very least) that I hold myself accountable. My faith and core values ARE NOT (I repeat…are NOT) up for negotiation. I have far too much actual life experience, hands-on, effective proof of my capabilities to be convinced otherwise. I suppose I come off as somewhat eccentric for following what moves me in all the ways that I do. But we should all consistently ask ourselves: Who am I when no one is looking?
My business name is Universal Inspirations by Bazillionheir. I am Bazillionheir, the artisanal creator of handcrafted crystal jewelry. I’m self-taught, trusting my intuition and personal gifts as they are.
BE INSPIRED. BE BOLD. BE CREATIVE. BE FEARLESS IN YOUR PURSUIT TO EXPRESS YOURSELF FREELY.
As I have been known for reciting quite often, it is the tagline of my brand with respect to my own inspiration and dedication to my craft. It has become somewhat of a mantra for me when I veer off the course or step back into old paradigms that no longer serve me or my path. And this is how I have learned to take bold steps into the unknown by myself, to speak my truth regardless of whether or not anyone is listening, and to create a proverbial platform for healing that hopefully encourages others to do the same for themselves.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My happiness has compounded exponentially since I began investing in my own vision. Of course, any endeavor approached without skill or previously-known capabilities will also have its own unique share of obstacles and challenges. My greatest challenge would certainly be my compulsion to second-guess my thinking to the point of remaining stagnant in my actions. It took so much effort to truly comprehend and remember who I am and all I am capable of achieving. I learned that trusting the process is what has played the greatest factor in leading me to believe in myself, to love and trust myself, to appreciate my wins and losses, and to take calculated risks on my own efforts. My Universal Inspirations by Bazillionheir brand set out as a viable path to healing each of my past emotional traumas. And it has increasingly become my validation as to why I should never give up and to always keep moving ahead. I have a firm belief that the unique challenges faced throughout our lives set the precedence for the level of inspiration and dedication that we might strive to achieve. But the choice we make to forge ahead, in spite of adversity, is the determining factor of success overall. I am no exception to this, as I passionately and intentionally handcraft artisanal crystal jewelry. It’s my own personal art and muse to life.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I think the desired takeaways when I describe my work, my journey, and my brand…are the sheer intentions and absolute efforts made to overcome what damn-near caused me to implode, and the inevitable rewards that are bestowed for following your intuition, trusting your gifts, and allowing oneself to wholly trust the journey.
Time has proven that I have a high risk-tolerance for success. I wasn’t born to this, nor was I nurtured into it. The tragic situations I’ve faced in my lifetime required this characteristic in order to overcome them. My ability to heal and adapt has been crucial to my evolutionary flow. Failure was never an option for me. While it often seemed it was clearly inevitable, it was never meant to be the final chapter in my story—because I am still here, I am still standing…and because I have a raging flame of determination and motivation that is consistently fueled from within. If I ultimately do fail to achieve what I’ve set out to do with my business, it will NOT be from a lack of impetus. And in that regard, I’ve already achieved my overall, personal goals to be fearless in my pursuits to follow my insatiable desire to create.
There’s power in the discovery of your passion and purpose. I think it goes beyond fueling and motivating the spirit. When I imagine another generation cherishing something I fashioned with my bare hands, from the depths of my imagination (and even long after I’m gone)—perhaps only because it was something that had once adorned an elder or loved one—it warms my soul. That particular concept of leaving behind a “legacy” occurred to me one day, and it resonated so beautifully. What if my purpose was simply being the thread (of sorts) to a much larger tapestry of life, connecting souls to one another, from one generation to the next? While we can never be absolutely certain, the fact is that it’s what it is to you. That is all that will ever matter. And it’s through this journey that I am learning to surrender to the intelligence of my own soul.
How do you define success?
The leverage I’ve had in this industry is having a great network of people surrounding me, individuals that have personally invested in my success: my children and grandchildren; my family; the entire team (a family-owned business) at Body Mind & Soul; Donna Casey at Serenity Studios in the Heights; close friends; my customers; and even the common nay-sayers that continuously expect me to fall flat on my face. They all inspire and motivate me to be more, to be greater than I was yesterday, and more than I will be today. But most importantly, being able to rely on my own efforts—is valuable beyond comprehension. My emotional intelligence is often underrated and horribly underestimated. Only I know what I am capable and willing to do to achieve any and all things that I see in my mind’s eye. My potential is limitless. And my knowledge of this is powerful beyond mortal understanding. There really is nothing quite like those momentary instances when I’m met with a certain silence and awareness of the peace and calm experienced at my soul level.
Being able to finally speak my truth without fear of consequence is monumental. My Universal Inspirations by Bazillionheir brand has served as an outlet for my truths, a platform for self-expression at a time in my life when suffering in silence could no longer placate my pain. I knew that my children and grandchildren were watching and observing my struggles. I was always aware. And yet, I wanted so much more for them, for them to feel the peace and compassion that I had never been shown. And that’s what I have always strived for. Being able to witness layers of our ties to familial trauma in them loosen and altogether unravel in certain areas has given me hope. I’ve learned that it takes a lot of courage to speak openly about fears and pain, to seek out help when the load becomes too heavy to bear alone, and to verbalize needs and boundaries. These are levels of success that this peace and calm has birthed in my life and within my family as a whole, but especially for the women. I unknowingly planted a seed, unaware as to whether or not it would ever take root, much less if it would ever produce fruit. But I had faith in the process, however slow or uncertain. And since then, my family now too acknowledges the potential. All of this is what has helped stir the motivation behind my business, to see what possibilities it holds for the future; to step outside of comfortable paradigms; to create, love, evolve, inspire, and empower.
At the end of the day, we all just want to matter. To leave a legacy, to make a significant change or contribution, to be remembered. And I personally believe that when you have children…it matters so much more to be able to leave them with something beyond the massive failures of our forefathers, the attempts, the abuse, the fears, the efforts, and of our own past. We want to know that we have something to look back upon in our final hour, with pride and reverence—and yet, with the slightest bit of humility for what it took to get there. It is so important that all of the suffering; all of the pain; all of the loss my children and I experienced were not in vain. Whether any of them fully comprehend the extent of it throughout any of their lifetimes, this brand I created, Universal Inspirations by Bazillionheir, inspires us to successfully achieve all of this with every passing day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BAZILLIONHEIR.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/universal.inspirations www.instagram.com/bazillionheir
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bazillionheir
- Local Shopping: Serenity Studios 1331 Yale Street, Houston, TX 77008 | Body Mind & Soul 7951 Katy Freeway, Ste. N, Houston, TX 77024
Image Credits
Ruth A. Muñiz
