Harbin Hot Springs — Middletown, United States

Spirit-oriented hot springs retreat center near Middletown, California

For hundreds of years, the land around Harbin's springs was a sacred healing place for the region's Native people. According to the property's own history, the paths to the water were collectively held as neutral territory, where members of all Nations could come safely, enjoy the waters and abide in peace. A non-Native owner, James M. Harbin, is believed to have taken control around 1856, and his name stayed with the place. Over the next century it was a Victorian resort, a hunting lodge, a boxing camp, and a free-form university. In 1972, Robert Hartley, known today as Ishvara, bought the neglected property. He and the community that gathered there began repairing the springs, pools and buildings. In 1975 he sold it to Heart Consciousness Church, Inc., the non-profit that still owns and operates it. The church says it is not a church in the traditional sense of buildings, congregation and dogma. It calls itself a living embodiment of Oneness, drawing on the Human Potential Movement, the Natural Holistic Movement and Universal Spirituality. The Mainside Pool Area has eight pools, fed by springs ranging from hot to cold. The Hot Pool holds at about 113°F, and the Warm Pool at 96° to 98°F, with no man-made heating. The water is treated with peroxide, ozone and ultraviolet light instead of chlorine. At the center are the Silent Meditation Pools. The pool areas are clothing optional, electronics are not allowed there, and the whole retreat is alcohol and drug free. Guests can camp, stay in the Grove Cottages, the Domes or the Creekside Caravans, or eat at the Stonefront Restaurant, whose menu is predominantly vegetarian. In 2015 the Valley Fire destroyed more than 35 buildings and thousands of mature trees, but the springs kept flowing. Rebuilding continues, including a poolside dressing room and steam sauna and the Azalea and Walnut hotel buildings, planned with 26 rooms. The church service at the Serenity Chapel is free and open to the public, hosted by Harbin Ministers. Other offerings include 12 Step recovery meetings, sound baths, Watsu and other bodywork in the water, and workshops led by visiting facilitators.

Traditions: Heart Consciousness, Watsu, Kundalini Yoga, Sound Bath, Qigong, Shiatsu

Programs: Heart Consciousness Church Service, 12 Step Recovery Meetings, Massage and Watsu, Sound Baths, Healing Dance 1 workshop, Ministers Ordination Training, Prayer circles, Multi-faith celebrations