Silver & Scents (and messages from God)

SILVER & SCENTS (AND MESSAGES FROM GOD)

WORDS BY Shelbie Goulding

PHOTOS BY Tessa Poulain

An abundance of musty yet pleasing smells hit me like a wave as I open the blue door of a small shop in Acorn Alley. The first two things I notice are the overbearing amount of oils creating the thick aroma, and the sterling silver jewelry set upon many shelves and tables to my right. The sign “Silver & Scents” does not lie. A fixture of over a hundred sterling silver earrings catches my eye on a rotating stand. The pairs are a mix of authentic and bohemian styles representing different cultures. As my eyes wander the intimate shop, I notice it carries a lot of cultural and spiritual items, especially art.

I hear a woman’s voice coming from behind the shelves where an office space is hidden. I make my way back, passing the shelves of oils and candles, to find a woman sitting at a desk going through various-sized packages containing even more boxes of merchandise waiting to be opened. She’s wearing a long brown velvet skirt with a brown spaghetti strap tank top pulled over a long-sleeved turquoise shirt. A charcoal headband pulls her white-blonde hair out of her face, revealing a grin and steady eyes looking up at me.

Laurie, who prefers not to share her last name, also goes by a spirit name, Zalla. To her, the name Zalla means “energy channeled from higher realms or heavenly realms into the earth.” I ask her how she came to get such a name, and she responds, “I heard it from God calling me that and then I found it existed in different languages and places on earth.” I nod at her response and go on to ask what kind of store Silver & Scents is.

“It’s an artistic boutique store,” Laurie says. “It’s geared to be accommodating to all walks of life, all kinds of people, whether they’re conservative or spiritual. But to appreciate the store, you got to be artistic.” The store is all things art, beauty and health – everything that’s good for a person. Laurie continues talking about how she sells over 500 sets of oils and most of her items are made with real stones, one of the store’s specialties.

She’s been in Kent for almost 10 years, but she’s had her business for almost 30. “It can be busy, it’s got its own dance,” Laurie says about her shop’s circulation. “There’s no logical factor as to how things go, so you just got to be filled with faith, which is what I’m learning to do. It’s like our weather, you just never know.”

Suddenly, Laurie asks me, “Do you like taking pictures?” I’m confused, thinking she thought I was going to take pictures of her. I assure her I didn’t have a camera and wasn’t planning on taking pictures of her today. She asks again but asks if I have a physical camera or if I use my phone for taking pictures. I tell her I use my phone. She looks down at the package she’s handling. “Sometimes things come to me, and when they come to me I pass on the information. I believe that I’m used as a message giver by God. Anyway…”

Symbolic necklaces hang in Silver & Scents featuring the “Tree of Life.”

This just took a turn. I’m taken by surprise and she has my full attention now. I ask what she means by “a message giver.”

“I don’t know, things just come to me out of the blue,” Laurie says. “I can’t do it on purpose, but when I’m supposed to tell someone something, it’s just ‘boom’ right there. And for you, it’s just ‘camera.’”

To be fair, she’s not wrong. I always wanted a nice camera I could use to be a photojournalist, but it’s expensive. Laurie repeats that I should get one. “Take it for what it’s worth. I don’t get messages in complete sentences, but maybe you should buy a camera.”

“Also, garden! Do you like nature?” I tell her I love to hike and camp, but I don’t garden unless I’m home helping my mother with her garden. “Well you could plant flowers or something like that,” she says. I jot down notes wondering if I watered the iris sitting in the center of my table back at home.

“And the ocean, do you like the ocean?” Laurie asks. Suddenly I feel as if I’m the one being interviewed. I tell her I’d rather be in the mountains than on a beach, but I do like the ocean. She asks if I was going to the ocean for spring break, and I say I’m not. “You’re gonna be visiting the ocean soon.” She’s starting to get my hopes up that I’ll be on a cruise or laying on a beach somewhere, but I don’t think it will happen.

I believe that I’m used as a message giver by God." - Laurie

As her messages seem to slow down, I go back to observing the store. It’s unique with various cultures spread along the walls, shelves and ceiling. “There’s stuff from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Peru … I mean, God only knows where this stuff comes from,” Laurie says. “I do wish I had more stuff from Africa.” The store also carries boots, scarves, hats, gloves, tops and bottoms. There’s something for everyone, or at least things Laurie believes people will like.

“You know, you should really think about getting a camera,” she says again while rustling through packages. Baffled by her continuously going back to me getting a camera, I ask when these messages started coming to her. She says it’s been happening since she was young and it took her years until she “figured herself out.” “Mostly I’m used by God to help people realize their abilities and talents,” Laurie says. She says she feels the need to share the messages with the person they’re for because “the more you use your ability, the more you’re flourishing.”

My curious mind wonders what she means by God and the religion she follows. “I use the word ‘god’ as an ultimate source of holy divinity in which life brings forth,” Laurie says. “That’s how I use that word. I do lean toward Christianity because I feel the presence of Jesus. I have recognition and realizations, and I haven’t figured out yet if Jesus is spiritual or, in a Christian sense, my savior. I do feel the literal presence of Jesus at times, and it’s kind of in my soul.”

Growing up, her household wasn’t religious. She was born Jewish, but doesn’t recall her parents ever talking about God. “We just did the traditional holidays and were sent to Saturday school.” She says she found God on her own. “I have some visionary stuff that happens sometimes,” she says about her messages, but it’s hard to put into words. “It’s not something I like to exploit. I have to be super humble when it comes to gifts and messages from God. You can’t really get your ego in there. It’s meant to be sacred.”

“Why am I feeling like you’re going to be on a beach?” Laurie asks me. I laugh and tell her I don’t know but I hope it happens soon.

As I attempt to walk around the store and observe the oils and incense, Laurie has another message come to her.

“Did you ever play any musical instrument?” she asks. I tell her I have no musical bone in my body. “Piano? Why am I seeing the word piano?” she asks. I shrug and laugh without an answer. “I wish they’d come in complete sentences, but it just comes up.” She thinks maybe I need to play or listen to piano music more. Laurie feels like she has a responsibility to mention the message in case something is coming or happens. She doesn’t know what it could be, the messages only come in one word.

I notice a shelf covered in stones and crystals on the left side of the store. “Ever since I was young, I’d go to my mother’s jewelry box and put on different stones and I’d feel different with each stone,” Laurie says. “For me, it’s an experiential thing. Everything I wear is because of a feeling I get from it.” She’s wearing more than three crystal necklaces around her neck along with various stone bracelets covering a third of her forearm.

The storefront of Silver & Scents, located in Acorn Alley of Downtown Kent, offers only a glimpse of what can be found inside.

Laurie says customers come in asking what each stone is supposed to do, or if a stone does what someone else says it’s supposed to. “It’s almost like they’re killing it to me,” she says. “It’s almost too exploitive because I tell people the truth.” She tells customers that she believes each person has their own personal relationship with a particular stone. Which means each stone gives each person a different feeling or energy; it’s not the same feeling for everyone. “Everyone has their own experience, so I encourage people to feel them and what they’re drawn to is what’s good for them.” She says she’s always liked the spiritual feeling of the stones, so she got involved and started selling them.

“Now I’m seeing the word prayer. I’m supposed to mention the word prayer,” Laurie says. “I don’t preach to people. I just mention the words that come to me. However you apply it or don’t apply it, it’s just fine.” I reassure her that I don’t mind her sharing her thoughts with me.

“Do you exercise or work out?” Laurie asks as I’m about to leave. I tell her that I run a lot, and she says the word gym came to mind. “It felt more like g-y-m and not j-i-m.” I laugh and tell her it’s probably because I need to go soon. “It makes you feel better, right?” I say yes because running helps me relax and reduces my stress. She grins as if she knew what I was going to say and continues to unpack her products.

I walk back to the entrance and continue to observe the shop one last time. On the left side of the store, I notice she has reading cards hidden on a shelf that touches the floor next to a small chest. I ask her what oracle cards were like, and she says I should try one for fun. I walk back over to her as she pulls a deck out from her desk. “Stand a little closer,” she says. As she shuffles the deck, she tries to tap into my aura in order to pick the card that resonates with it. “I’m feeling this one,” she says without looking at the card.

“Pueo, Guardian of the Aumakua,” the card reads. It’s Hawaiian and is meant to be the guardian owl spirit. Laurie hands me a book to look up the meaning of my card. It’s a powerful protection of the soul securing safe passage through a challenge and into fulfillment. Honestly, I have no idea what that means for me, and neither does Laurie, but I’m interested to see if this actually makes sense in my future.

I left Silver & Scents with the experience still swirling in my mind. I learned more than I planned about Laurie and still wonder who she is. I leave with various scents knit into my shirt and thoughts woven through my brain. Should I get a camera if God wants me to, or am I really going to a beach soon? I wonder whether or not a piano is going to drop on my head, and maybe I should pray it doesn’t. Ultimately, all this uncertainty and strangeness has me worked up, but one word, one message, will come to fruition: I’m going to head to the g-y-m for a relaxing j-o-g.

SHELBIE GOULDING | sgouldi1@kent.edu