Yes it is indeed a store filled with books as the category would suggest. However, it is much more than that. It is filled with bulk wholefoods including hemp seed powder, cocao nibs, pumpkin powder, chia seed and much much more at a very reasonable price. The basement is sometimes filled with introspective art; exploring spirituality, mindfulness and life. It is though-provoking to observe the way of being in an art form. My favorite part about the store is the little cafe at the front with organic whole food takeout - lentil mushroom salad, chili, pesto white bean kale salad, oat apple bar, kombucha, and raw pumpkin and chocolate cheesecake. Again, endless selection of healthy delicious choices. Each slice of raw cheesecake is made from soaked cashews, hemp heart and coconut milk as base and topped with mulberry or goji berry depending on the type of cheesecake. A well balanced guilty pleasure with healthy fats and protein to heal your body. Although it is important to note that no basil was harm in the making of the pesto; the pesto more than made up for it with an array of superfood: parsley, high quality olive oil and hemp hearts. Each carefully crafted salad is made as a balance meal with protein, antioxidants, , complex crabs, fats, greens, fibers and most importantly love. The chef expressed the importance of cooking with love. Food cooked with a positive frame of mind and love nourish our physical and etheric body. Alternative Thinking explores mindful eating to the next level. read more

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I stopped by this store when I was in the area and I really liked it. They had tons of spices and supplements that I haven't seen in other stores. It was really fun to walk around and read about the benefits of all the different supplements and herbs they sell. In addition to all of the spices, herbs and supplements, they sell books, spiritual items, home items, snacks and so much more. I really enjoyed walking through this store and would definitely go back on a day I am looking to buy new superfoods. read more

I'm not one who's huge into new age stuff, but I never turn down a chance to check out a new bookstore. Alternative Thinking welcomes you into the door with the scent of incense and some beads, jewelry and trinkets for sale. Once you're in, it maintains that mellow little vibe. Look, if you're into this thing, then yes, there's a lot for you there. Even if you aren't, there's some interesting stuff to be found. As an example, I found an entire shelf dedicated to Robert Anton Wilson. For those of you not up on your fnords, he wrote the Illuminatus trilogy as well as a couple spin offs. There were books there for him I'd never heard of. If they cover the variety of esoteric stuff they specialize in in that much depth, I think they will be able to provide you with what you're looking for, if you're looking for that. read more

I love the cheezecakes here! I can't even believe they are made from raw products and is totally vegan based! I've tried four cakes here and each one has their own distinctive taste and flavour. I've tried the date rose pedal, lime ginger turmeric, cherry almond, and pumpkin spice. My fave so far is the lime ginger turmeric one because the sour taste of the lime provides a good contrast to the ginger and turmeric. The base is nice and chewy. The second one I liked is the cherry and almond slice. The sweetest of what I tried, but still not as sweet as regular cakes. So good! All the cakes are light, creamy, and filling. The base gives more texture and adds a nice compliment to the filling. They are also all really pretty looking! Complimentary colours and nice placement of ingredients on top of the cakes, and all healthy! The cake is $6 a slice plus tax. I recommend buying one to share because it is pretty filling. read more

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I popped inside this store for the first time in over a year (I used to love this place & was a regular customer) while I was out on a walk. I was looking at their selection of crystals, not overly aware of my surroundings. A staff member came right up to me (way too close by the way- COVID times) and asked kindly if I needed any help. I was about to answer, then to my horror, I realized this staff member was not wearing a mask. I looked around and realized no other staff in the store (there were a couple of others) were wearing masks either, and neither were the two other customers in store. I froze and speed walked out of the place- never to return again. I understand that businesses are struggling during these times, but that blatant ignorance and lack of effort was shocking. Not a way to make people feel safe. I won't be returning to Alternative Thinking again. read more

Think modern-hippy-granola-acid-trip, throw in some organic vegan yummies, meditation tent and led art frames and you've got yourself this place. Originally I'd gone in awhile back when they'd first opened and was pretty much beyond ignored after looking around for awhile and wasn't really impressed. It seems that since then they have way more stock, it's definitely more customer friendly (don't expect people to leap on you like they're working on commission, they leave you to browse around unless you need help) and the nice woman at the cash was super friendly and helpful. She also told me to check out the downstairs - great tip - go see! I purchased some cool stones (to help against emf, if you must know - there are some fancy ones - I need to ask about those - that are more expensive as well as some humble little stones (3 different sizes and prices) on the table. The prices are great - am secretly hoping for a geode for my birthday so I can pretend to be an archaeologist for five seconds. They also have things like teas, herbs,protein powder, almond milk, TONS of books, clothes for when you need to hula hoop at a Bjork concert, decorated hoops and super fab foods (ALL organic ALL vegan ALL the time)! I bought a great greens and quinoa salad which was really tasty (the dressing was fantastic - wish I'd had more of it!) as well and am planning on going back to buy a slice of the raw cake (it looked really pretty, reminded me of Neapolitan ice cream, except without the dairy, sugar, guilt and stomach cramps). I think this might be my new hang out. read more

If you want to be harshly judged by a bunch of white privilege upscale women who sell overpriced clothes and jewelry, go here! One lady specifically with blonde hair was extremely rude to me and my friends and the other women who worked there were greeting us with snarky comments about what we were wearing and dirty looks. I was going to buy a ring from there but was treated so horribly that I just had to put it down. I hope they get shut down. read more

I have never bought anything here, but I love to browse. To get into the store you walk through a little cafe/greenhouse that smells like the tropics. I've never seen anyone working in that part. The store itself has books on all sorts of flaky esoterica. It reminds me of the old Omega Books in Yorkville except with less emphasis on health and healing. Alternative Thinking is more about New Age "Woo" and I find that more interesting. The back of the store has the type of clothing that one could wear to psy-trance raves. My favorite part of the store is the basement art gallery. It features black light and glowing art which is trippy and incredible. After visiting Alternative Thinking I feel like I've taken a mini-vacation. read more

This place is AWEsome!!! 1st time there was on fri. For 11:11:11 meditation, amazing spot & great nrg! My gf told Me its a new owner (Revaz mekvabishvili) & he previously had a small bookstore in the back. Well he now has the entire store & has done an AMAZING job OPENING this place UP! He kindly allowed the space to be used for free, last minute for 11:11:11 gathering & meditation by Collective Evolution, what a gift! (www. Collective-evolution.com to hear FREE recording of the event). And Stephen Aube, a gifted healer & author of "the language of creation" has been using the space for some time to give free or pay by donation healings & workshops w. his wonderful wife, Laura. There is A LOT of LOVE here & u can feel it. The movie THRIVE was also screened there Friday night, it premiered world wide on 11:11:11. Please go check this incredible positive vortex (meaning "the meeting place") out - u will love it! I plan on spending lots of time there - incredible books, products, services & ppl to assist w. Spiritual Awakening. Much love & blessings to all! Namaste, Shar (www.sharminigana.com) read more

This is such a nice space with a very good energy. The store has added much needed character to the area, which has already seen way too many starbucks and St. Louis Wings opening up. The weekly events is a really good way to get people in the community gathering together as well. read more

I like wandering into shops like this now and then to see what the other team is up to (I'm a grad student of physics) and Alternative Thinking does not disappoint. Before you even get to the actual books you have to go through this sort of airlock thing which presumably is there to allow the clouds of incense filling the store time to reach municipal standards of concentration before wafting out to the street. A reasonably friendly pair who appeared to have stolen Dr. Strange's clothes - the lady even had a giant brooch tied to her forehead - smiled at us on the way in. So far so good. The store itself contained a few more sorcerers, plus probably my favourite thing ever, the frame of a massive copper pyramid, dominating the centre of the room. This is good because my life is otherwise woefully lacking in frames of massive copper pyramids. As soon as I walked in one of the magi looked sort of past my shoulder and told me I had "come to the right bookstore". It was a bit ambiguous whether he was talking to me or into his cell phone, and he put on a mysterious look and sort of glided away right after, heightening dramatic tension. A bit past the pyramid there's a sort of lecture hall, which was occupied when I was there. The lecturer was asking his audience how many fundamental physical constants there were. An unheard question from the audience prompted him to clarify that he wasn't ready to get into multidimensional alien DNA just yet. It turned out there are 26 constants - this is sort of true, but most of them are quark and lepton masses which will presumably be predicted by a future theory so it doesn't make too much sense to make a big deal of them - and this had important connections to the Kabbalah! I left as he was elaborating on how the sounds of Kabbalistic terms and those of certain German words having to do with perception were too similar to be coincidence. The actual books are pretty much what you'd expect from any New Age book store, with a dose of conspiracy theorizing. Keywords: "consciousness"; "quantum"; "Deepak Chopra"; "intention"; "extraterrestrial". If these are words that books you enjoy tend to contain, then come to Alternative Thinking. There was even a surprisingly extensive selection of popular physics books; I estimate about 60% of these contained all or mostly legitimate science, which actually is a lot more than I was expecting. All in all, exactly what I was looking for and more. read more

Such a nice place to find vegetarian/vegan stuff. Great selections of books, clothing, yoga stuff...

This place needs to get their stuff together in regards to hours. Whoever has been working there this last week has shown up late to open the store and I just went there this minute and there was a sign on the door that read Closed Today with no mention of this on the website. Pretty pissed off. read more

This place pumps something that could be incense out their door all year round, but it is absolutely the worst in the summer. The "incense" smells like burning hair and rope and makes me cough every time I walk by because it wafts out of their door and onto the street. I have never wanted to go in because I would not be able to be in an establishment that smelled that bad for very long. I especially don't want to leave smelling like the awful "incense" they force passers-by to smell. read more

Thank you so much Alternative Thinking for having my daughter and I as guests to experience the crystal bowl attunement and merkaba teachings. What a fantastic energy among all! The most welcome I've ever felt. Feel renewed and reconnected and safe. And your crystal shop is wonderful. All the crystals sing with happiness. Love to you all. read more