Odd encounter at a New Age store.

So, one of my students in "Round Two" of my art school freshman writing class came into class and said that she had not only found out about this New Age store near the south end of downtown, but had also already attended a free class there, and was wondering if she could maybe do her fieldwork there for her site visits for my class, since the place offered a ton of free classes.

I appreciated her enthusiasm and said I'd look into it for her, and so I trekked over there one Monday during lunchtime when I was downtown.

The place was tucked away on the 2nd floor of this prominent old rehabbed train station downtown, and had plenty of crystals and books in the window looking out on the mezzanine area.

I walked in, introduced myself to the person at the counter, and she immediately said that I should talk to the owner, and this short-haired (older) (white) woman popped out of an office opposite the counter.

I told her that I was teaching a class on new religious groups and students had to go out and observe an organization and a student had attended a class there and was interested in maybe doing her research paper on them, and she quickly walked me over to a table, handed me some fliers on the classes that they offered, and was like, "But we're not a religion."

"That's cool," I was like, "We try to involve a range of organizations so that students have to question what they think they know, and spiritualities are very cool, in fact..."

"We're not a spirituality," she was like.  "We're a science."

Then, she strode me over to a rack of books on the Akashic Records and was like, "This is all quantum physics," and then started telling me the ins and outs of how classes are run.

"Now if students could attend a class, who should they run that by, the instructor?", I was like.

"If they came, they'd have to participate," she was like.

"That's cool," I was like, "I can flag that participation is expected here.  But who should they talk to, like if they want to talk with the other students in the class, like if they did research on why people seek out this organization?"

At that, the woman got tight-lipped.  "Talk with other students?  We don't need investigative reporters in here."

"That's cool," I was like.  "Students write on a range of topics, from beliefs to stuff like why people become teachers.  Maybe there's some other topics that could be open to them?  That's fine, if that's a boundary for this organization."

At that, she started to say something in a very brusque and clipped way, so I was like, "...or maybe this isn't a good fit?".

"No, it's not," she was like, "It's not a good fit."

"Okay," I was like, "That's cool.  Anyhow, I have a letter here explaining more about the course that I can leave with you, in case you have any questions that you'd like to email me about later, since I just popped out of the blue like this."

At that, I set my bookbag down and went to take out a folder, and the woman was like, "You can leave that at the counter," and she turned around and strode into her office.

So, I went to the counterperson and gave her the letter.

"I used to work at an acupuncture office," she was like.  "We had a lot of privacy issues, and sometimes people I knew from the neighborhood would come in, and I had to reassure them that it was okay, that I wouldn't say anything."

I then started chit-chatting with her about ethnography ethics, what a yoga place and a New Age bookstore had felt comfortable with, etc., and this went on for quite some time, then like five to ten minutes later, the owner strode out of her office again, went to a shelf and grabbed something, then walked behind the counter and slammed some crystals down as she stood with her back to me and facing the counterperson and was like, "Here, price these, I need some help."

She then said a few things more while holding her back to me and my convo with the counterperson was obviously cut off, so I said a pleasant goodbye in the direction of the counterperson through the owner's back and left...

As soon as I got back to school, I started googling the shop's and owner's name and "lawsuit" to try to figure out if they were in trouble with the FDA over claims about science, and I turned up nothing but one weird Yelp review from someone who was told to pay cash for a $14 purchase but couldn't complete that purchase unless she gave her name and contact information, and the owner got snippy when she said that she thought that was very weird.

Interestingly as well, according to the place's website, the owner teaches a class about overcoming emotional barriers from your past lives.

Also also, during break the next time that class met, I explained to the student why it didn't pan out, and that if she ever went in there out of personal interest, to maybe not say that she was associated with the class, and even if she did, to be careful that they weren't exploiting her for money somehow, since the situation just gave me a bad vibe and something seemed really off.