Sound Bath at the Integratron
“If you ever wondered what it would be like to crawl into a wooden instrument and listen...this is it.” Drayton, Integratron Crew member
The Integratron is made entirely of wood (inside). There are no nails or screws - only wood dowels and glue hold it together. (Wendy’s father and brothers make furniture this way - no nails!) There is a concrete ring for the foundation. The outside, as you’ll note in the picture, is white and made of plaster and paint for weatherization.
The Integratron. The sound bath takes place inside, in the upper part of the building, where you see multiple windows (16 in all.)
Waiting for the soundbath to begin. I'm not sure what that woman is doing, exactly. Her hair is wild!
The sound bath takes place in a loft (with a 28ft ceiling), which you reach by traveling (one at a time, please!) up a steep set of wooden stairs from the main floor of the building. It's a bit like a really cool yoga studio. There are yoga mats and Mexican blankets arranged in two circles around the space (the sound bath is enjoyed laying down), with quartz bowls on one side. Oh, and the smell! Palo santo and rosemary. It was not overpowering at all - it was awesome.
The acoustics of the entirely wooden space are such that sound really amplifies. The quartz bowls are LOUD when played. The tones are wide and long at first, and then reverberate. At times, it is quite similar to the “alien spaceship noise” you hear in B movies, or the sound of feedback just before it becomes high-pitched and sharp. At other times, it’s pretty peaceful. The sound changes throughout and we found our experience did as well. We came in and out of semi-sleep during the 30 minutes or so that we were there. The other aspect of the acoustics is that you can hear everything the person across the room is doing and saying - which is fun unless the person is snoring during the sound bath. (Curt’s experience on our first go round. We went back for another bath three weeks later, and it was even worse! Everyone was sawin' logs!)
If you want to hear a sample of the sound bath, you can find both here.
The outside space is also really nice. There is a "hammock village" and couches and chairs to lounge in while you wait. There is a small gift shop, and some tasty well water, but really the only reason to be there is the sound bath.
Curt lounges in a swing, overlooking the "hammock village", while we wait for our sound bath.
The water is, in fact, very tasty!
Wendy poses on what we thought was a stage, but then as we sat on it, feared was an art installation.
"Flight" waiting area. (They play a lot on the time travel theme.)
Finally, it's worth noting that there is some talk of aliens, electromagnetic fields and time travel during the introduction. There is also talk of humor and gratitude. Take what you will from the experience...we chose gratitude (and some palo santo!)
From the Integratron website!
Some additional details in case you find yourself in the area...
- The sound bath in a group setting is $25 - it gets a lot more expensive if you want to book a private session.
- Plan ahead -- there are set hours and reservations are recommended. We were surprised how many people were in our group at 2pm on a Wednesday in February (maybe 20?!) Our group directly followed another large group.
- We saw all kinds of people there - literally all stripes and many ages. It’s seems to be a welcoming place for everyone -- except pets, kids under 12, and folks who have trouble with stairs.
- More info here.