Joshua Tree, California -
Institute of Mentalphysics

In February 1997, I was camping out at Joshua Tree National Park in California's Mojave desert. On the way back on Highway 62, in the town of Joshua Tree, I was fascinated by something called "The Institute of Mentalphysics." I drove around the complex, got out of the car, wandered around, and even tried to find anyone at the building marked "Office." Based on the signs and the building names (Caravansary of Joy, Church of Mystic Christianity -- a round building with a tall spike, and Meditation Center), I got the feeling that their doctrine, apparently originally promulgated by a Rev. Dingle, mixed various things together including the ancient Gnostic Christian heresy and various Hindu beliefs. I think I scared off the inhabitants who probably saw me as a scruffy, long-haired freak (Hey! I was out camping!). Oddly enough, a lot of the architecture was designed by Lloyd Wright, son of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. [Paul McGinnis, 09/01/1997]