I don’t consider myself the least bit “woo woo” (read: New Age-y), and I don’t tend to like “woo woo” things, but when my friend contacted me and said, “Hey, do you want to go get a sound bath at this place out in the middle of desert?”, I thought to myself, “This is SO California, I totally have to do it.”
And that’s how I ended up having one of the coolest experiences of my life.
Located at 2477 Belfield Blvd in Landers,
The Integratron “is a resonant tabernacle and energy machine sited on a powerful geomagnetic vortex in the magical Mojave Desert.” Which I guess is a fancy way of saying that it’s a building with absolutely amazing acoustics. It’s sort of out in the middle of nowhere, about 16 miles outside the town of Yucca Valley (and 42 miles from the nearest “big” town, Palm Springs). I loved the scenery, but then I’m a sucker for stark desert landscapes. We had no trouble finding our way there. Once we arrived, we found a lovely little oasis, complete with a gift shop, cafe, hammocks, and lots of cool artwork.
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| Me, chilling in a hammock. |
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| Cool topiary. |
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| Cute artwork. |
The appointment ahead of ours started late, which made ours start late, but none of us seemed to mind because there was so much to do and see (plus those hammocks were pretty darn relaxing). You share your “bath” with a bunch of strangers (I’d say there were perhaps 30 of us max), but the site provides you with a mat and blanket. You just lay down and let the experience wash over you. The woman who did our bath said that it’s supposed to align the two halves of your brain. I can’t say that I felt aligned afterward, but I still loved every second of it.
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| My friends in front of the Integratron. Candid shot. |
We’ve been raving about it ever since. All of us want to go back. I could see myself doing it at least once a year.
After the bath, we decided to head out for some lunch. One of my friends had a place in mind. On our way there, we stumbled across the
Desert Christ Park. It was too unexpected for us to pass it up.
It’s a statue garden full of not only various Jesuses, but also several other characters from the Bible, some of which I recognized (Mary Magdalene, the disciples) and some of which I didn’t. (There is a map that identifies the statues. I didn't really look at it.) We took a turn around the park, took some pictures, and perhaps, in the process, solidified our respective places in Hell. In all honesty, despite the bad state of some of the statues, this place was really neat, and it had some amazing views.
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| Me, having a think with Jesus (?). |
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| Arty shot of sunlight through tree. |
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| Last supper. |
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| View from behind Jesus's head. |
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| View overall. |
Then it was off to
Pappy and Harriet’s, where the food was excellent, and the photos I got in the waning light were pretty cool too:
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| Arty sunset shot. |
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| Desert view. |
On our way home, we got stuck in terrible traffic, but it was well worth it. It was a fantastic day trip, one of the best times I’ve had since moving to California, and I can’t wait to head back out there some time next year.
2 comments:
I have no idea what a sound bath is, but I totally want one.
Also, from a cold, wet and dreary December, those pictures are killing me.
A sound bath is where someone plays quartz bowls of varying sizes. They all have a different tone. It's really cool.
And if it makes you feel any better, it's "cold" for here now (down in the 40s overnight). The pilot light on the one heater in our apt went out and, since we get almost no direct sunlight (surrounded by trees), our place is currently an icebox.
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