Couple opens eclectic store on Shaker Road, A Wondering Spirit

Oct. 18, 2018 | Payton North
payton@thereminder.com

A Wondering Spirit is East Longmeadow’s own spiritually guided retail store.
Reminder Publishing photo by Payton North

EAST LONGMEADOW – They’re hoping that the Shaker Road section of town will soon be “the new Northampton.”

Husband and wife duo Wesley (Wes) and Sheila Crouch, residents of Hampden, are celebrating the opening of their new East Longmeadow business, “A Wondering Spirit,” which they describe as a spiritually guided retail store. Reminder Publishing met with the couple to discuss their backgrounds, spirituality, the business itself and the partnership that they’re looking forward to forging with the community.

Wes originally hails from Martinsville, Virginia. Post–high school, Wes went into the Navy and simultaneously earned an engineering degree. Sheila on the other hand is a life-long Massachusetts resident who grew up in Worcester. She shared that when she was young she wanted to be an artist, however, as many parents note to their children, becoming an artist is challenging work and doesn’t always have the best payoff. Sheila took two years of cosmetology school, and simultaneously was honing her skills of sewing and creating custom clothing. Additionally, Sheila and Wes are both involved in real estate.

Both Wes and Sheila told Reminder Publishing that they’ve been interested in spirituality since they were young, however in different ways. Though a bit hesitant to share, fearing people would think she’s “crazy,” Sheila relates herself to a psychic medium. Since the age of five, Sheila explained that she’s been able to see spirits. This was not something she shared freely until recent years.  Sheila related she was raised Catholic, and in fourth grade after being told that spirits were evil, she decided against the theory.

“I figured, if I help people, how can Jesus or God create evil if I’m helping someone, how can that be bad?” Shelia said. “It’s like a quest, you want answers, you see things, you feel things, and you don’t understand why or where they come from or explanations.”

As she grew older, Sheila became interested in tarot cards and learning how to read them.

“It was another way to learn. I’ve always been intuitive since I can remember,” Sheila said.

On readings, which will be offered at A Wondering Spirit, Sheila explained that she prefers to read someone that she doesn’t know. “If I know you very well it’s hard for me to read, I like complete utter strangers and I don’t want to know what you want to know. If I’m going way off the crazy train, just let me know, ‘hey, no,’ but if I’m getting it right don’t tell me anything until I’m finished, because it’s kind of a kick for me too to see.”

Despite believing in tarot card readings and the spirituality aspects, Sheila noted that she looks at the readings as a tool. “I tell people to take it with a grain of salt. It may or may not happen, it could be telling you that if you continue on this path, this might happen. Everybody’s in control of their own destiny, I usually tell people it’s for fun. I’m not telling you it’s etched in stone and this is going to happen, that’s not what I’m about.”

The couple related to Reminder Publishing that much like their lives, the opening of A Wondering Spirit has been a journey. The pair often travels to Nova Scotia and enjoys the area for meditation. As the two were exploring in a nearby town in August of 2017, they stumbled upon a holistic shop, which had an advertisement for a woman who did tarot card readings. They decided to take down her number, and the woman made a house call.

Backtracking, Wes explained that he’s approaching the age where he’d like to be slowing down and thinking about retirement. The store was “never in his psyche,” he said.

“She did simultaneous readings with both of us. The way this lady worked, I’ve never seen anyone do this. She did three decks, to verify the first message, second message and third message. They were three different decks coming up for the same thing, and we said–this lady is for real,” Wes explained. “I was going through this situation where I’m like, there’s got to be something different. You get that feeling like, I’m on the wrong path, I’m not ready to quit. Usually you go into a card reading with an intent, so I asked, “What do I need to do?”

“In a nut shell she [the reader] said, ‘Wes, you can do anything you want to do right now. There’s going to be an opportunity or something is going to come into your life this fall [of 2017] or by the early spring [of 2018],’ and she said, ‘It’s going to be big. I can’t tell you what it is, but when you see it you’ll know it. Here’s how you’ll know when you see it: one, your kids are going to think your nuts, two, people around you are going to think you’re nuts, and three, Sheila is not going to want to go into this thing full throttle.’”

Wes continued, adding that the woman told him that he wouldn’t have to take the ‘calling’ when it came to him, but it’s something he has always wanted to do, and he’s always wanted to provide for his family doing spiritual work.

After Wes related the story, Sheila said that she believes the reason she and Wes are together is they’re meant to do something big.

One day, Sheila called Wes and asked him to go with her to a spiritual store that sold crystals among other items. She told him he had to go with her, and though normally Wes said he would protest, he decided to go with Sheila because of her persistence. The pair walked around the store testing crystals and talking when Wes heard a voice in his head, what he calls his guide (some may relate this to intuition). The guide told Wes, “Someone is going to ask you a question–pay attention.”

At the stores checkout, Wes explained that the owner said to him, “I’ve been watching you. I normally don’t do this, but do you want to buy my store?”

“So I said, sure, how much?” Wes related.

Currently, Wes and Sheila are in talks of buying this store, while simultaneously opening their East Longmeadow location. Wes said he envisions them owning three spiritually guided stores, as “everything comes in threes.”

The two spotted the site of A Wondering Spirit, a former gym at 169 Shaker Rd. in East Longmeadow, and began the process of opening their own store last fall. Now, a year later, A Wondering Spirit has begun offering yoga classes. Soon, the store will be functioning fully, offering a wide range of experiences including yoga and hot yoga, barre and hot baree classes, reiki, crystals, hypnosis, a Himalayan rock salt room, holistic nutrition/health coaching, a juice bar, magical practitioners, tarot readings, psychic development classes, shamanic training and over 20 additional spiritually guided courses.

“A Wondering Spirit is a spiritually guided retail store which offers a range of products and services to support our guests’ unique spiritual path. We will assist our guests’ curiosity of something out of the ordinary and beyond themselves. It’s your journey; we meet you where you are,” their mission statement reads.

“This thing [opening a new business] is a big lesson for us. We’ve been very humbled through this whole process,” Wes shared. “Our intent is to raise and uplift the community. We have people looking down at their phones, we need to look up.”

The pair explained that A Wondering Spirit is a no–judgment zone. They have welcomed local artisans and artists to sell their work, and are open to adding more. The space has a large, comfortable seating area with a cozy stove, and an expansive bar, which will serve custom juices. The Himalayan salt rock room is a unique offering where individuals can go to meditate and soak in the benefits of being surrounded by salt. According to organic spa magazine, dry salt air is more powerful than moist air. The magazine conveys that the negatively charged ions in salt improve our health and mood, and inhaling the particles can reduce inflammation and mucus in the lungs, improve respiratory conditions such as asthma, allergies, bronchitis, sinus congestion and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

For more information on A Wondering Spirit, call 224–1008 or visit their Facebook page.

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