Integratron

Whatever you’re personally given to, a predisposition to the metaphysical or a good hearty rolling of the eyes in the midst of what is said but cannot be seen, this is the place to engage. I came upon it quite by accident during a visit to Palm Springs on a photographic adventure. Started out in Joshua Tree then as I made my way back to the Springs happened upon the Integraton, next day I returned with my entourage and we took the ‘bath’. For me it was more the history of Tassel and extraterrestrials and mystical Indian tribes that carried the day. Anyway you look at it, for its tumultuous history and solid new age cred, its a must visit.

***** CONSERVE WATER. TAKE A SOUND BATH *****
I had saved this old newspaper article [about the Integratron] in my wallet… It frayed and turned yellow until, one day, I finally booked an appointment for a sound bath on
[$ 25 weekdays, $ 35 weekends]… At first, it seemed like an off-​the-​wall idea, but I thought it would be better than falling asleep on the couch at Central Perk, on my day off.
The Integratron literally sits in the middle of «nowhere» (Landers, CA), about an hour drive from the Coachella Valley, off of California State Route 247 [aka Old Woman Springs Rd N].
Arriving early, I checked in and eventually walked toward the mysterious, 35-​foot, saucer-​like, white dome. Once inside, I climbed up a sturdy wooden ladder to its second floor, where hand-​crafted blankets and pillows were scattered around various-​sized quartz bowls. The dome’s all-​wood skeletal interior appeared perfectly constructed, with a hole at the top and 16 rectangular windows at eye level.
A humanoid leader prompted me to claim a spot atop a blanket, then lie down on my back or side with my head resting on a pillow. We were advised to refrain from snoring once the sound bath had commenced.
For 60 minutes, I was abducted by harmonic sound frequencies produced by the quartz bowls in an acoustically-​perfect sound chamber. Calming, eerie, odd, soothing, unfamiliar sounds…
No one promised me anything prior to embarking on this sound bath experience, but I did hear the accounts of other «sound bathers» who had experienced healing effects afterwards… I will admit that, even with my eyes closed tightly, I saw lava-​lamp colors of blue, purple, red and yellow inside my veiny eyelids. Afterwards, I felt invigorated, and the stress in my body had disappeared. My partner relayed that his thoughts had reverted from English to Russian (his second language) and that his hearing had improved.
I’m feeling kinda dirty, right now. I’m going back to the Integratron for another bath, very soon.

I made a visit to the integratron about a year a ago for the first time. At the time, I had injured my foot on a run a bout a week earlier. I had trouble walking the first 3 days after my injury. Although I was walking fine by the time we went to the integratron, I was still experiencing pain. During the sound bath, I could feel in no particular order the different vibrations of the singing bowls that resonated with each energy center in my body. The energy clearing of your chakras is pretty profound. It does get quite cold during the sound bath. I would dress in layers even if it’s hot outside. My foot got especially cold during the process, but when I was done, my foot was completely pain free. Oh! And I do recall during the sound bath the feeling like you are in a space ship. Lol
I am planning to make another trip out next month. The integratron is calling me back !

I love this place and I’m ready to go back! Felt the buzzing and vibrations in my head and throughout my body. Felt like I was going under into a deep sleep midway in sound bath but by the end I felt wide awake and alert. It’s 25 minutes but feels longer than that.
Stopped by here on the way back to LA and just barely made it. Told them I’d probably show up a few minutes late and they said I would probably miss it; they are pretty strict on start time so get there early.

This place is definitely worth the drive. I went on a Saturday, which was a little crowded (about 30 people) and would probably go back on a weekend day. The actual sound bath (the quartz bowls) is 30 minutes then it’s about 15 minutes of relaxing music to «come down» from and a 15 minute intro and settle in. The structure is made entirely of wood so the acoustics are great. You have to climb a small ladder go get up to the loft and there are cozy Mexican blanket mats for you to lie down on and surrender to the sound bath. We had Dreyton perform the sound bowls and it was such a wonderful and uplifting experience. It’s absolutely worth the drive, money and time.

Magical. Always look forward to a visit.
Bring crystals. Lots.
Drayton has always been my sound bath guide. He needs to have his own meditation CDs if he doesn’t already. I would buy them all. The resonance of his voice is serene and instantly calming. Perfect host for such a special and amazing experience.
If you are very sensitive to energy, you might feel it immediately when you first walk up to the second level. For me, my heart races like feeling very anxious and it makes me feel a bit woozy, but my boyfriend doesn’t feels that at all. Once I lay down, relax, and get acclimated it goes away.
TIP: While there’s not a bad seat in the house, the closer you lay to the bowls, the more intense the sound and experience. I’ve heard being directly opposite of the bowls is a favorite way to experience by many.

I came up to Joshua tree with a group of seven women to experience the sound bath. On our way up we got stuck in a bit of traffic and were running a bit late. We call them to let them know we were right down the street but would literally be a minute late and to please wait for us. Our appointment was at 3:30, we arrived at 3:31 and they would not let us in. We were one minute late with a party of seven and they would not let us in. This was the biggest disappointment ever. I highly suggest finding other options with better energy if you want to be opened up on an energetic level. I’m sure this comment won’t deter business to this place since it is a land mark but be aware that they could care less about the people who are attending these sound baths. They also would not refund my money and they offered a CD. I didn’t want to take anything from here.

Awesome and interesting experience. Beats the canned mainstream excuse for entertainment and education by a mile. Our host’s introduction and explanation was superb. I got the impression that this man has been paying attention for many years. I went elsewhere when the bowls were played. It might take a while for me to get an idea of what actually happened. My only regret is that I did not socialize more since I was obviously among many kindred spirits. Don’t miss the Integratron! Thank you George!

I’ve been here 3 times so far! I also had 3 totally different experiences.
I’ve always been a skeptic for this kind of stuff so I had to tell myself to keep an open mind when experience something that I don’t understand… I still don’t fully understand what’s going on haha… just keep an open mind, relaxed body, and just let the sound bath take you (probably as hippie as i’ll sound this whole review)
My first visit was the best visit. We sat at the opposite side of the quartz bowls, which will give you the fullest effect of the sound bath because the sound waves move perfectly from one end of the building to the other due to the perfect acoustical construction. Our «sound bath spirit guide» was this woman, I can’t remember her name, but she did a great job the first time I experienced it and the second time around. I stayed awake the whole way through (i think… my eyes were closed but I felt like I was going through a trip) and I was able to see different colors flash through my eyes lids throughout the whole sound bath. I think it was from the resonating frequencies and some of the dissonant tones being played from the quartz bowls «massaging» your chakras. After the whole adventure I felt totally balanced/​relaxed from what I think was a «perfect nap» and my skin (mainly my hands) felt really tingly.
The second time we went in a large group of 11 and had the same lady playing the bowls. I enjoyed it more because we were there with people we knew and were excited to see how they would translate this journey with us and they all had fun with some funny stories from the whole experience.
The third time, which was just this past weekend, was done by someone else. I felt like he went too deep into the psychology of the Integratron to the point it was overbearing with information that muddled the understanding of the place. I even fell asleep while he was talking about the building, it wasn’t as relaxing as my other two trips but I left feeling balanced. I was probably fighting off the food coma from Pappy & Harriet’s hehe… I brought my hypercritical sister and she was just staring at the dust particles in the air. I also brought my mom and my aunt who likes meditation/​relaxation and just chilling out so they had a blast.
So my take away from this is to sit opposite of the bowls and try your best to open up your mind and body to this whole experience. Completely letting go helps you enjoy this a lot more.
Wow I sound so hippie here.

Looove the new implements at this magical place!
Now you can make a sound bath reservation online and avoid a big crowd!
Drayton is definitely my favorite to «ignate» the crystal bowls and experience what
a sound bath really is!

I saw a fellow Unilocaler’s review on this place and just had to try it out. My husband and I visited about a month ago… with our three kids. I made a reservation at 10:30 a.m., and his was at noon. When we arrived, we checked in and spoke to Travis. He’s a wealth of information and is very, very helpful and friendly. The check-​in place/​gift shop has some crazy acoustics itself. It was cool, I must say! After check-​in, we hung out in the hammocks in the courtyard for a little bit. My kids were actually behaving well. I was a little nervous about them being noisy (and I bet the people trying to relax were, too), but they were great! Water is available to everyone via a fancy fountain in the courtyard, and you’re able to fill up water bottles. I must add that the restrooms were pristine…
While inside, my experience was nothing short of amazing. I’m not sure if I fell asleep, but my mind definitely went somewhere else far, far away! They provide enough blankets for you. Please use these and don’t bring your own sleeping bags. The ladies behind me (four of them) would move around a lot in the beginning, and all I could hear were sleeping bag noises. Luckily, that stopped eventually. The bowl-​playing was over before I knew it, and then the recorded music started. On the first note, people were already getting up and leaving. Yes, it was distracting, but it didn’t bother me too much.
When it was my husband’s turn, I took the kids to what I thought was Giant Rock. It wasn’t, but we ended up at some different giant rock. It was really awesome for the kids to run around and climb up the rock (s). All of a sudden, I realized it was time to pick the hubby up.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience. I’d do it again… maybe with the kids next time.

It was such an emotional experience; I had to ask for a tissue. The staff offered something even more amazing — with a tap on their glass bowl and a hum of a mystic melody a butterfly was summoned. With a flap of its wings, my teardrop dissipated into a double rainbow.
Experiencing life in FernGully was at the top of my bucket list. My life is now complete.

I went to the Integratron with a large group of friends during a desert weekend getaway – it seems to be one of the salient when-​in-​Rome activities in Joshua Tree. I had very little idea of what it was before I got there, and I do think it’s one of those things that you have to visit to fully understand.
It’s a cool place from a purely architectural standpoint. The white structure looks a bit like a spaceship, which makes sense given that its creator was a ufologist who claims to have gotten the plans from Venusian visitors. (What doesn’t make sense is that Venusians would hand over blueprints that look like sci-​fi imaginings of a typical earthling.) So, kooky! Fun! Howard Hughes-​financed! The whole thing is apparently made of wood, and it’s more or less a giant sound chamber with a hole at the top of the dome (which does create a UFO beam kind of effect). Probably the closest I’ll ever get to hanging out inside of a cello.
We bought tickets for a noon sound bath, at $ 35 apiece. We checked in at the main desk/​gift shop, which was in a smaller structure that mimicked the acoustics of the Integratron. The man at the desk was friendly and very enthusiastic about his job. The grounds around the Integratron were pleasant and relaxing, with a pod of hammocks in addition to some bench seating on a clean patch of desert dirt. Unfortunately, I was forced to eavesdrop on the most obnoxious man I’ve encountered in recent memory – a white dude in toe shoes and a fucking rice hat, talking about yoga and proclaiming things like, «I don’t do Facebook.» He was in our time slot for the sound bath, and his presence did not help me relax, particularly since he started us off by asking questions about how best to pose to maximize his experience, et fucking cetera.
The sound bath took place on the upper level of the Integratron, up a steep stairway/​ladder that could only handle one person at a time. We left our shoes in cubbies and went up to claim mats in the domed space. It was a really remarkable room. It smelled like rubbed wood and spices, and the acoustics were fascinating. My husband and I whispered at each other across the dome and the sound traveled perfectly.
We lied down, and a woman gave us a quick introduction (she answered rice hat dude’s questions and warned us about snoring), then went to work bathing us in sound. This involved playing a series of quartz bowls in different sizes and tones, which sang out and resonated in the chamber. It was pretty relaxing, and definitely an interesting, worthwhile experience. The quart singing bowls were only part of the program, though, taking up twenty-​five minutes of the hour-​long sound bath. The rest of the hour was devoted to recorded music, i.e. a CD of ambient music of the sort you might hear at a spa with Buddha statuettes and Sharper Image fountains. I napped. I think almost everyone did, except my husband, who was afraid of snoring.
I guess a part of me was hoping I’d have some kind of epiphany during the sound bath, but it was more of a cool experience coupled with a refreshing nap. I don’t know that I’d pay $ 35 to go again, but I’m glad I went once and would recommend it to anyone visiting Joshua Tree. On my way out, I saw the rice hat sitting on top of the cubbies and fantasized about stealing it or setting it on fire. Maybe that was my missed moment. If I’d done it I might have found inner peace.

I have to say I’m not sure what the heck I experienced. I mean, the sounds are amazing. That part is wonderful. It’s relaxing for sure.
Now, all the stuff about time travel and aliens and blah blah blah… I could have done without! The guy playing the bowls talked endlessly about that crap and I just wanted to get my sound on! So that was annoying. For me. If you’re into that, and that is part of why you’re there, I reckon you’ll dig it!
After the sound bath, they play cd music. Here is where my experience turned from fine to completely pissed off. All the stupid mofos we were with started moving around and TAKING PICTURES the minute the guy stopped playing the bowls/​left the room. They specifically tell you all sound travels around the room and can be heard so to lie still and be silent. I heard the guy’s camera shutter from the other side of the room. Can you not wait 10 minutes before taking pictures? Can we not relax and meditate on what JUST happened? I couldn’t fully process what I’d just experienced because all these idiots were walking around, taking pictures, rolling on their mats, etc, making NOISE. It was infuriating. They need to keep that alien guy up there to monitor the room because clearly adults have 0 respect for anyone else.
I tried not to let that spoil my experience but it put a very large damper on it. I can see why people pay the $ 200 price tag for a private session. I was in with strangers for the cheapo pop up.

Although Tassel never finished this project to his complete vision, it is still an amazing work of architecture and an amazing acoustical experience. Originally constructed to be a high speed time travel modem and to extend ones natural life span, it has turned into a place of spiritual healing, and musical sound baths in the middle of Joshua Tree.
This is not a place one happens upon. Located deep within the sun-​strafed landscape of Joshua trees and bare-​rock outcroppings on a series of progressively smaller roads you wind until you finally see it. A bright white dome jutting out from the Mojave desert. The Integratron was constructed without nails, screws, flashing or weather stripping, yet it is weatherproof.
The inside of the building is an engineering marvel in itself. You enter through the double doors and a small stairway takes you from the ground floor where there is a plethora of items to peruse that share the history of the Integratron. Upstairs you will find the open, airy space composed of 16 rectangular windows that offer 360-​degree views of the desert. The building’s wooden ribs, fashioned by shipbuilders, vault to the top of the dome. With the exception of a one-​ton concrete ring that fixes those ribs in place, the whole thing — floor, walls, ceiling — is made of wood, old-​growth Douglas fir from Washington State.
It’s not only the shape of the Integratron that is the draw. .. it’s the sound. The amazingly created natural surround sound. This is the space where sound moves «through» you. Moves you and transports you. It is an acoustically perfect space. It’s curvilinear dome and reverberating wood, act as natural amplifiers, a surround-​sound stereo system in the shape of a building.
For a reasonable fee, you and a few closest friends can rent the space overnight. Partake in the incredible sound bath, camp outside, sleep inside upstairs /​downstairs or in the comfy hammocks. This is one of my most memorable moments. A spiritual connection shared with some of the most amazing people I’ve ever been blessed enough to have met and am privileged to call my friends. Everyone should make the pilgrimage once in their lifetime.

Found out about this sacred place and couldn’t stop thinking about it. We booked our spots early and got there right on time. Almost late. But they still let us pee. How gracious.
The whole compound is terrific and as you get there and all your Spidey senses start going off. You can lay in a hammock and enjoy the sun. Meditate on the shade of a tree.
When you enter the integratron its very much how you would expect to feel when entering a church. It feels hushed. Quiet, serene. A warm sense of well being is even more welcomed as you climb up stairs and are greeted with other guests and Crystal bowls. An altar and the smell of Paulo Santo or yerba Santo Im not sure. Sagey…
As far as the history and the experience itself Id like to keep that a secret for you to discover.
If you are going to travel there may I recommend that you stay at the dragon fly retreat on air b n b.
Its magical.

The Integratron is pretty rad. It’s hard to describe the experience; you just have to go get a sound bath and see for yourself! I went in as a mild skeptic; I’m down with the metaphysical, but I don’t put all my eggs in that basket, if you get my drift. Whether you’re looking for a life-​affirming experience, a solid meditation, or just some deep relaxation, you’ll enjoy this. I definitely experienced some profound clarity during the sound bath. As a bonus, my insomniac tendencies disappeared, and I’ve been sleeping like the dead ever since (about a week ago).
Tips: Arrive early so you can lounge in the hammocks and enjoy the grounds. Bring cash to get yourself a sweet T-​shirt or hat, and DEFINITELY make an appointment. They do not take walk-​ins, and it would be a shame to drive all that way to be turned away.

Expensive nap.
Just half kidding.
Heard about this place through a few friends who had recommended their sounds baths and also Anthony Bourdain’s short feature on it (
). After an impromptu backpacking trip at Joshua Tree, my girlfriend and I decided to drive the half hour it takes to get from Joshua Tree to Landers to see if they had any last minute cancellations/​openings. Luckily they did, and we were booked for the slot. I must have drifted off because I don’t remember much in between (and my friend had to nudge me a few times because I guesssss I snored once or twice). Walked out feeling amazingly refreshed. If you’re in the area, I’d give it a shot :)

no public sound baths anymore.
weekend sound baths increased to $ 35
It has been fixed up really nice.

Amazing experience.
I don’t even want to explain it, just go. Even if you aren’t into meditation, you will appreciate the unique opportunity to relax to the sounds and vibrations that put you in touch with the Earth’s loving and magnetic energy.
We spent the weekend in Joshua Tree experimenting with hallucinogenics and doing some deep soul searching. Our visit to the Integratron brought everything full circle for us. I am forever grateful for that entire weekend and especially to our meditation leader for zenning us out so authentically.
Call ahead and make an appointment. This place fills up. $ 25.00/person cash.