Inner Journey shop helps people travel through life
By Shari Kaplan
The inside of Los Gatos' new metaphysical shop is a symphony of sensation--candles and incense to smell, faceted crystals and jangly jewelry to touch, relaxing music and bubbling fountains to hear, and shelves of books to read.
Wandering through the store is an experience not unlike its name, with something new and unusual on every square inch of space. "We're small, but we try to pack a punch," owner Cathy Young says.
Inner Journey, while a newcomer to Los Gatos, is not a new business. Young started following her bliss in 1994, when she opened the first Inner Journey in downtown Mountain View. The dream was in the making long before that, however.
In the 1980s, when Young worked full-time as a professional respiratory therapist, her patients included many young people dying of AIDS. The stress and disillusionment of the job--which included her distaste for the bureaucratic direction in which she felt Western medicine was heading--began to affect her emotionally, while physically she was troubled by ulcers and high blood pressure.
"I realized I had to figure out what I believed in," she says. "Organized religion never really did it for me."
"Inner Journey is a collection of some 20 years of my personal journey. My journey--in this lifetime--is for peace of mind," she adds. While studying comparative religion, she recalls, she came to believe that all religions were basically "saying the same thing," which struck a chord.
"There are so many people out there questing for peace of mind, or for some way to better themselves. Ultimately, you have to look inside yourself," she says.
"I've come to believe there is magic in every one of us. Once you surrender into the arms of your own divinity, you can bring happiness and abundance into your own life. We all have the god-given, or goddess-given, power."
Inner Journey in Mountain View was the result of Young tapping into that power--and also tapping into savings she'd accumulated from her respiratory therapy job, which she continued to do part-time until last month.
In 2001, following six years of success, Young had to relocate Inner Journey, as her landlords decided to turn the building into a noodle house. She'd always liked Los Gatos, she says, and even rented in town for a time while attending college. This affinity, combined with N. Santa Cruz Avenue's large amount of foot traffic, led her to relocate here.
It's impossible to list everything Inner Journey carries--not only because there's so much, but also because it varies. Currently, manager Jahna Michaelsen points out, one area in the store has a romantic Valentine's Day focus, but that will change as the calendar does. "We love holidays--everybody's holidays!" she says of the observances and rituals celebrated by people of different religions.
Among Inner Journey's most striking stock is crystals and gems in a rainbow of colors, ranging from 10-cent chips to large shards worth thousands of dollars. There's also jewelry, essential oils, flower essences, bath and body products, yoga supplies, incense, candles, feng shui accessories, wind chimes, tarot card decks, runes, buckwheat pillows, fountains, lamps, goddess statuary, books and a music center where visitors can sample or buy CDs.
For those who want to extend their journeys a little further, the store also schedules events in the evenings, led by Young and various colleagues and friends. These include Reiki sessions, massage therapy, astrology and tarot workshops, intuitive counseling sessions and even lessons on the didjeridoo--an aboriginal Australian wind instrument.
Inner Journey is at 222 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Information is available online at www.inner-journey.com, or by calling 408.395.2766.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
