Heart of the Cards – Heart Of The Soul

Tamborine Mountain is also a hub for spirituality and healing. Tracy Hawkins, owner of Heart Of The Soul, provides some insight as to why— as well as how her shop fits into the picture

by Kyle Hitchmough

What made you want to open this store? How long have you been doing this?

I started down at Tamborine Mountain Relaxation Center, and then we moved up here when it became available, changed the name and revamped it. It’s been four and a half, five years? It’s been a twenty-year dream, years of trying other businesses and really wanting to do this. There was a need for it. People are struggling in life, and we can help. That was the whole idea behind it.

For those who might not understand, what is it you do here?

We’ve got spiritual things that people can buy. We provide incense, books are a really big seller— it’s one of our main lines because we’ve got a really good range, one of the best in Queensland, also  crystals… What we provide more of is heartfelt compassion, kindness, and a true connection for people. We provide that through tarot readings, helping people to see what’s going on in their life and what’s coming up for the future, but we also can also assist to get people focused on a better, more positive path, so that they can actually manifest that into their lives.

Our massages are therapeutic, I’m not like a regular massage therapist that just does a one-hour same treatment for everybody. I’m actually looking for problems and doing everything I can to fix them. Reiki is a healing modality that we offer. But while I’m doing reiki or massage I’m often talking because quite often there’s an emotional underlying issue that’s showing up in the body as a problem. We also do spiritual guidance and counselling. We also offer courses for meditation groups, psychic development, tarot courses, and healing circles, plus personal spiritual development.

Heart of the Soul is not the only store on Tamborine Mountain with a focus on spirituality. What do you think draws so many people with this focus to the area?

The mountain has a spiritual energy. It’s always had that—the Aboriginals used to come up here as it’s a healing place. I moved up here 20 years ago and there wasn’t a spiritual center, and I was looking for it. I feel that people come up here to get in touch with who they really are, their authentic self. We’re getting customers from not just the Gold Coast but Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Ipswich, plus the international travelers…

Can you explain more about what the services you offer like counselling and spiritual guidance entail?

In general people have got the option of seeing a counselor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, all trained in the mainstream… They’re all good at what they do, but I get a lot of psychologists and counsellors in here because they’re all up in their head. What they do is all about thinking and the mind, and they’re forgetting about the body connection. So, with spiritual guidance, we’re looking at combining the heart with the head, bringing them back into alignment. Plus… the mainstream isn’t allowed to give people a hug. That’s probably one of the biggest things. Science knows that human contact is vital, and in this society there’s a lot of that missing. People can come in here and we can see that they’re trying to hide their pain, and we can give them a hug if they need it.

What is the most popular item or service you offer?

Books are one of our popular items. The little crystals especially, kids love those. Most people are here for a tarot reading, because it’s not just reading the cards: you’re reading the person. In fifteen minutes I can pick up a lot about a person.

Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the Tamborine area?

Yes, I moved up here December 2000. Twenty years ago, when I was thinking about moving here, everybody I spoke to— whether they’d been here four months, four years, or forty years— said “I would love it”. I don’t know another place on the planet where if you ask anyone in the community how they like living there they’ll say just those three words, “I love it”. There’s no graffiti here! There is support, the community is fabulous. If you look at the positive aspects of the community, there’s no better place to live.

What do you think your store provides to the area?

It’s a sacred place where people can be nurtured, basically. Underneath everything else, it’s nurturing. They can learn stuff, they can unload their troubles, they can find hope, and that’s what most people are looking for. Everybody needs a little bit of hope.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

Helping people. That’s it. Making a difference.

Do you have any standout stories from your time working here?

One thing that really fascinates me is that I’d like to, and I wish that I’d done it time and time again, is take before and after photos. People walk in and they look like one person, they interact with us and we do our thing, and they walk out looking like almost like a different person. Their face changes and everything. That’s the most interesting thing.

 

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Or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com, and follow me on Twitter @realcasualrvws.