Scenes from Joshua Tree: The Integratron

My friends and I decided to drive two hours east to Joshua Tree a couple months ago. Here’s the first post on what we did during our 36 hours in the land associated with Gram Parsons, hippie artists, and Joshua Trees.

One of the reasons I wanted to go out to the desert was to get away from the city and relax. From LA, you can travel 1-2 hours and be in a setting completely different from where you left from. After you past the suburbs (takes about an hour) then another 45 minutes past the outlet and the wind turbine farms, you end up in Joshua Tree. Our trip to Joshua Tree centered around the Integratron. No, it’s not a ride, it’s more of an experience. The place is about 30 minutes from Joshua Tree’s city center.

Since 1953, meditation sessions have been happening here. Musicians often find their way to the Integratron because of the awesome acoustics inside the dome. It’s common for musicians to rent this place to record. To find out the history of the Integratron and it’s claims to communicate with UFOs, go here.

I’m not sure about all the alien and UFO stuff, but we went to take a sound bath to relax. I had no idea what I’d be in for but from others, I heard it was a relaxing and memorable experience so I was open. When you walk in, you see that the dome is actually two floors. The first floor is cozy and has articles and tidbits of what the Integratron is about a well as instruments.

Above is one of the operators of the Integratron telling us about the construction and background of the building.

We had to walk up the ladder to the second floor without our shoes for our private sound bath. You can also go to a public session in the afternoon for a lesser cost. When I reached the top of the steps, I turned around to see this…

The massive dome gave way to some amazing acoustics. When you went to the center of the room and spoke, you could hear the sound bounce back and you were in stereo sound. I tried to get a recording but it’s something I couldn’t replicate – it’s something to experience yourself. Below, Joanne is setting up the sound bath. During the session, she places these quartz bowls that each make a different sound. It’s very soothing. By the end of the session, I felt like my brain got a massage through the vibrations.

Outside, you can see that there’s not much out there so it’s easy for the stress of daily life to melt away out here. In the evening, you can see endless stars twinkling in the sky because there’s no light pollution. If you want to check out this place and make a reservation to go, here’s the info: The Integratron.

(Night photo by Vahan Baladouni)