Peace Of Mind Bookstore

Normally I absolutely love this place. They have a wonderful selection of incense and candles (I rarely visit the book area upstairs, not my type of reading) but the gift shop downstairs is what kept me coming back. This visit on the other hand was not as great.
Upon walking in, the 3 women behind the counter who are chatting at a very high volume, barely turn to greet us and say hello. Before my «hello» reply had even finished leaving my lips, they are back to talking to each other. After selecting my items that I was there specifically to purchase, I walked to the counter. It took quite a long uncomfortable pause of me standing there for one of them to realize that there was a customer trying to pay them. The woman rang up my items very slowly, she was preoccupied with her conversation, and even stopped between each item to turn and keep talking. After we finally made it to the end of the transaction, I was able to give her the money and be on my way. I felt like I was putting this woman out to make a purchase.
Coming to this store is a 45 minute drive for me, and I used to feel like it was quite worth it. But I actually feel like I would rather see if I can find the same incense somewhere online, rather to come in there again just to be ignored. I’m still giving a 3 star rating, simply out of respect for the fact that I had been shopping there for years, and their products are rather unique and wonderful. But I believe I won’t be making en effort to come back, at least any time soon.

Tulsa Landmark. Longest running business on Cherry St yet it is constantly evolving. It’s the trifecta of holistic healing. Start upstairs in the bookstore to find all your esoteric readings and browse through the herb room. Go downstairs to book a massage w/​steam & sauna. Then have a look through the shop of oils, soaps, statues, clothes & purses, incense & large selection of stones & jewelry.

I was in Tulsa for few days. The city seems extremely «Evangelical Christian» with its big megchurches. What a surprise!
The bookstore is based on eastern and mystical experiences, and in that case they have more than books.
This is a place for progressive person of any religion. They have large collection of great thinkers and spiritual leaders like Thomas Berry, and Matthew Fox… giftshop too. Great place!
And yes, it is mostly used books.

I’m always a little disappointed when I go to a city and see that their coffee shops and bars have received 100’s of reviews, while the bookstores get little to no attention. I guess that’s just the direction our culture is headed these days. Oh well.
I have a book addiction, which is why I try not to go to bookstores. I’m trying to travel frugally and have with me at least two dozen books. Also, most cities have decent libraries, so why buy anything that I don’t have to? Still, my first full day in Tulsa I had some time to kill and it was stupidly cold outside, so I googled the nearest bookstore and found Peace of Mind. I was blown away. I’m seriously surprised that, in a town as nutty about Jeebes as Tulsa, this place hasn’t been burned to the ground.
As someone who is into Magick, Mysticism, Witchcraft, and the likes I rarely find more than a section on what interests me. This was a whole store full of weird shit that I love. Not only that, but I was able to browse to my heart’s content without being harassed by annoying sales people or other customers. The seating was comfortable and encouraged spending time checking out potential purchases. If I lived in Tulsa I would definitely spend many hours walking around Peace of Mind in a trance.
My only complaint (which may actually be a good thing) was that I couldn’t buy the book I wanted, as the store was unable to break a hundred dollar bill.

I lived in Tulsa many years ago, as a teenager, and I used to love to while away the hours looking at all the mystical books and gifts in this beautiful old shop, often with my best friend at the time in tow. It was so fun to rummage through the musty old volumes and get lost in the labyrinthine shelves, looking for (and, more often than not, finding) a treasure. There were always cool alternative types of people working there you could chat with for a while too, which was so important to us as young seekers looking for a break from the constant recruitment efforts of local churches.
I’m giving three stars out of loyalty to the store I loved as a youth, but my recent visit a couple of months ago left something to be desired, and honestly merits a very low rating. I visited with that same friend from childhood, and my husband and her boyfriend. We had talked the place up the whole way over, and were brimming with excitement to return together and show them our favorite shop.
I don’t know if it’s under new ownership or just new management, but when my friend and I visited the shop again, we both agreed it has a totally different feel to it. We started upstairs in the bookshop, where two women, possibly managers, were rushing around, apparently preparing for some event and moving shelves, which were no longer that cool old «forest» of books that almost made time stand still as you wandered through them. Most of the tall shelves were gone, and now there’s a big open space in the middle where apparently yoga classes take place? There seemed to be fewer books as well, but maybe it just seems that way because of the layout.
After a few minutes of looking around and finding the space lacking in allure (read: reeling from disappointment), I didn’t much feel like browsing any more and went downstairs to look at the little crystals and gifts. There was a group of employees chatting and gossiping loudly in a huddle around the cash register the entire time I was in there, which was a good thirty minutes because I was waiting for my friend who was talking with her boyfriend upstairs in the bookshop.
I smiled and said hi whenever one of them caught my eye, but no one responded. I’m sure someone must have said hello when I walked in, but no one asked how we were doing or if they could help. In fact, I felt like I was intruding on their conversation whenever I looked over at them. There was one woman in particular who was super loud. It seemed like at least some of them were massage therapists for Aquarian Age in the back. It’s cool with me to chat with each other and have fun at work, but totally ignoring the people in the store and yelling instead of keeping your voice at a reasonable volume? I’ve worked in customer service for years, and this is elementary «How To Treat Your Customers» stuff, people. I’m not the type who complains about customer service, because of my work experience in that field, but their behavior did feel exclusive and almost hostile, like I wasn’t supposed to be there.
I bought a little crystal, and I told the girl in the counter how I bought my moonstone necklace I always wear at this very store thirteen years ago, and it was a fond memory. She barely responded. I guess I should have known better than to chat a little while paying at what (used to be) my favorite store? One of them was kind enough to show me to the restroom before I left. But all in all, there was none of that camaraderie I used to experience back when this beautiful store was an unofficial refuge of sorts for us «new age folks».
If you’ve never been there before and are looking for a little respite from the ultra right wing, evangelical Christian culture that dominates most of Tulsa, then by all means, go to this store and check it out, you can relax and browse without judgement. But if you had been there in years gone by and are looking for that same sense of welcome, community, and the occasional Druid shopkeeper to chat with you about sage and sweetgrass, I fear those days may be over. For now, anyway.

Definitely a religious bookstore for all religions, majoring on the eastern and mystical sorts. Those, however, are not my sort. I was a little surprised to find a decent section of Christian books and the selection wasn’t all too terrible. In fact, though I had to rummage through a lot of stuff I didn’t care for to find it, I did pick up some worthwhile volumes. I also think that they’re not so familiar with this genre, so the pricing didn’t always match the value of the book. That means good deals.
If you’re looking on boosting your karma, aligning your chakras or in some other way developing your mystical inner presence or whatever, I’m sure you’ll find what you want here. If you’re looking for a good book on Christianity, Peace of Mind might only be worth stopping by if you’ve got nothing better to do. Besides, I already took all the good stuff.