The California Dome That Combines UFO Lore with Sound Bath Healing in the Desert

The Integratron, California

The Integratron wasn’t built by a hippie or a new age guru. It was the brainchild of a straight laced airplane mechanic who swore aliens taught him how to reverse aging.

His desert dome never became the fountain of youth he promised, but it found new life as a sound healing center.

Here’s the story of this Joshua Tree oddity.

George Van Tassel’s Extraterrestrial Inspiration

George Van Tassel worked as an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed and Douglas Aircraft before moving to the desert. His position as a test pilot for Howard Hughes at Hughes Aviation provided technical expertise for complex structural design.

Van Tassel claimed aliens from Venus contacted him in August 1953. These beings, whom he called “The Council of Seven Lights,” gave him blueprints for the Integratron.

Allegedly, an extraterrestrial named Solganda explained humans die just as they gain wisdom, and the Integratron would prevent that from getting wasted.

Architectural Marvel in the Desert

The Integratron contains no nails or metal fasteners of any kind. Builders joined the materials using glue, wooden dowels, and a 1.5-ton cement ring as the keystone.

Los Angeles architect Howard Peyton Hess created structural plans from Van Tassel’s vision. The sixteen-sided design features Douglas fir beam “spines” supporting a wooden dome of plywood and fiberglass.

From a distance, the brilliant white exterior resembles a spacecraft landed in the barren landscape.

The Science Behind the Structure

Van Tassel believed every biological cell produces a unique electromagnetic frequency. Aging cells lose their proper electrical charge over time.

The Integratron would generate negative ions to recharge these cells, essentially reversing the aging process.

To achieve this goal, Van Tassel based his design on the Multiple Wave Oscillator invented by Georges Lakhovsky in the 1920s.

This device combined Tesla coil technology with a split-ring resonator to generate electromagnetic frequencies.

The Integratron featured a rotating armature mounted with 64 aluminum collectors. This system would gather up to 50,000 volts of static electricity from the atmosphere.

Geomagnetic Properties of the Site

Van Tassel selected the Integratron’s location for its supposed powerful geomagnetic energy. Supporters claim magnetometers show a significant spike in earth’s magnetic field at the center of the structure.

The Integratron’s website describes the building as situated on a “powerful geomagnetic vortex.” Some believers suggest the area sits at an intersection of earth’s “ley lines” – theoretical alignments that channel mystical energy.

From UFO Research to Sound Healing

Van Tassel died suddenly in 1978 without completing the Integratron as intended. The building passed through multiple owners during the next two decades, falling into disrepair at times.

The Karl sisters purchased the property in the early 2000s after already working on its restoration. Their vision transformed the Integratron from an electromagnetic rejuvenation machine into a sound healing sanctuary.

Crystal Bowl Sound Baths

Today’s visitors experience “sound baths” featuring quartz crystal singing bowls instead of electromagnetic treatments.

Manufacturers create these bowls by crushing and heating 99.99% pure quartz to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Each bowl produces a sustained tone corresponding to one of seven chakras or energy centers in the body. Players arrange these tones in sequences creating binaural beats that induce meditation-like states.

The Integratron’s wooden dome creates exceptional acoustics.

Sound waves reflect perfectly within the parabolic structure, allowing visitors to feel vibrations throughout their bodies rather than simply hearing them with their ears.

Karl Sisters’ Preservation Efforts

Joanne, Nancy, and Patty Karl purchased the Integratron after participating in its restoration for over 30 years.

The sisters promote the structure as “acoustically perfect” rather than focusing on Van Tassel’s electromagnetic theories. This approach makes the site accessible to contemporary visitors seeking wellness experiences.

Visiting the Integratron

Find the Integratron at 2477 Belfield Boulevard in Landers, California, 20 miles north of Joshua Tree National Park. Sessions require advance reservations through their website due to high demand.

Public sound baths cost $50 per person while private sessions for groups start at higher rates.

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