Last October, Heart, Body, & Soul opened its doors to spirit seekers, fellow travelers and anyone else interested in spiritual or self-discovery paths in Columbia. The shop is designed to offer a judgment-free zone for people from all backgrounds and belief systems to come together, talk, learn and grow with one another.
The shop sells a wide variety of books, herbal teas, incense, essential oils and shelves of other products to offer outlets and information on spiritual journeys and religious beliefs. What sets Heart, Body, & Soul apart from other metaphysical stores in the area is that it truly is a center for conscious living. The store is home to classes, drum circles, tarot readings and book clubs. You can check out the center’s monthly calendar [here](http://www.heartbodyandsoul.org/classes-events/) (the list of cool stuff happening in February alone is six pages long).
Among the items found within Heart, Body, & Soul’s welcoming walls is its jewelry. All of their jewelry is made of precious or semi-precious stones possessing metaphysical properties. On one of the store’s several display tables, customers can find an impressive collection of natural stones, geometric crystals and other sparkly treasures meant to bring different qualities to those who carry them around (often in a medicine bag or just a pocket).
“Crystals are used in lasers to focus energy,” co-owner Cat Kelly says. “That’s what they do in science because they draw in and hone energy and focus them, and so you can use crystal energy in your own life to do the same thing.”
Among some of the shop’s most popular offerings are Reiki classes, crystal healing, astrological workshops and readings, psychic readings and Tai Chi.
The idea for the store came out of a six-person book club that Kelly and her co-owner (and MU alumna) Deborah Carney were both part of. Last summer, Kelly and Carney’s 40-year friendship turned into a business partnership when both women decided they wanted to start something new together. Kelly said the book club helped define what exactly this would be.
“It was really about opening up and being real with people and talking about the things that you don’t talk about in everyday life,” Kelly says. “It’s hard to have conversations with people about the things we talk about (in the store). From people talking about past life stuff to chakras and energy work, and struggling with this or whatever; there should be resources for all of those things.”
Among the original members of Kelly and Carney’s book club was Mary Cruise. Cruise was included in the beginnings of Heart, Body, & Soul and now works as an acupuncture apprentice, massage therapist and Tai Chi and Reiki master.
“When you do things that are rather tactile, whether it’s movement or massage or acupuncture, I think it’s a way to get a body awareness,” Cruise says. “It gives (the person being healed) an opportunity to be a part of it. That’s a visceral way of getting in touch with this kind of healing. I think it’s very natural, but at the same time you have to connect to it.”
Cruise has been doing Tai Chi, a gentle, stress-relieving martial art form, for about 15 years, and through that she learned about Reiki. Reiki is a healing technique centered on the idea that the therapist can focus certain energies in a patient’s body through touch in order to activate the body’s natural healing processes. Later, Cruise got involved with massage therapy and now studies acupuncture.
“I get to bring eastern philosophy into a western society; that’s what I think is wonderful about (my job),” Cruise says.
Heart, Body, & Soul encourages its customers and other individuals to take the first steps toward discovering whatever way the divine seems to speak to them by talking about it with people who share similar traditions or beliefs and learning from those who don’t.
“I think life is about relationships,” Kelly says. “It really is. It’s about connecting with other people and I think there’s something in all of us that calls to or is filled by the mystery of the divine, however that’s defined by people. I think there are many paths to the mountaintop and it doesn’t really matter which you choose as long as you’re not hurting people along the way and as long as it’s pointing you to the direction of something greater than yourself.”
On Feb. 26, Heart, Body, & Soul will be hosting a “medicine jam night,” an evening that focuses on the idea that music is medicine, centering on a group of musicians playing tunes from different traditions. The evening’s setlist will include Peruvian chants, modern day spiritual songs and everything in between.
This month, the store will also introduce a free “coffee and conversation” every Saturday morning, where anyone can show up to chat or listen about a topic of the day.
