The wreath above the pool, shaped like a peace sign, was the only indication of the holiday season. As we floated naked in the hot pool with 30 strangers we were sure that this was the oddest Winter Solstice we had ever experienced.
We had come to Harbin Springs in search of California culture and knew we had found it immediately upon checking in. Despite its location in the California wine country, the rules included no alcohol. In fact we were warned that if we went into town for a meal, we couldn’t bathe in the pools for at least 2 hours because others would perceive it emanating from our pores. The other rules: no drugs, nudity only in the spa areas and absolutely no cellphones. In fact there was no cellphone signal at the top of this mountain that was the centerpiece of the 700 acres just north of Calistoga. No televisions, no radios, no clocks and only two pay phones, one of which was broken. But as darkness fell on our first night there, we started to get the idea. This was a retreat from modern civilization. The cool drizzly night was uninterrupted by sounds of any kind. Deer roamed the pathways between the cabins and dining hall. Stars filled the sky. People tiptoed quietly, speaking in whispers.
“I don’t know about this.” Mark had said nervously
that evening. “C’mon” I urged him. “We’ll never see these people again in our
lives.” We’d mustered our courage and
made our way down the hillside to the brightly lit dressing room filled with
naked men and women of all ages and sizes.
Our discomfort was in contrast to the ease of the others. A man in stood in front of a seated woman
engaged in quiet conversation about their recent fasts, her head at his waist
level. We undressed quickly and darted through
the chilly night to the pool.
Once we were submerged in the body temperature water, surrounded by deep breathing, we tried to relax. Cold raindrops fell. Crystals hung from tree branches overhead. Then Mark whispered with trepidation, “Uh-oh, What’s going on here?” Crouched at the side of the pool was a woman lighting candles embedded into a wreath. She placed the wreath on her head like a crown, lit a bowl of smoking leaves that smelled like incense, slipped into the water and began a ceremony.
“We welcome the winter solstice”, she preached. Solemnly turning to each of us she asked, “Would
you like to be smudged?” I thought “no way!” Mysteriously I said “yes”. Perfumed smoke billowed into my face. She set the mood by prompting the group to hum
“Santa Lucia” over and over again. The she
directed us all to turn towards the east.
Confusedly, the bathers turned in one direction and another until she
said, “This way is east.” “We raise our
hands to the east from which all wisdom flows” Obediently we reached from the
warm water into the cool night air. “We
raise our hands to the west,” we all turned, “where the radiant sun that warms
us sets. We raise our hands to the south
from which the summer heat comes, warming our bodies. And to the north from which the winter winds
blow signaling nature’s cycles. Now
let’s all look down towards the earth, honoring the Mother, our female
nature.” We were glad to plunge our arms
back into the warm water. “And now let’s
raise our faces to the sky from which the cool semen falls.” We tried not to giggle as the other bathers opened
their mouths to catch the raindrops.
Then at her direction we circled the pool like
children holding hands and singing
“Amazing Grace how sweet the sound…” Then Santa Lucia, hefted a large
basket of grapes into her arms. “Take a
grape and feed it to the person next to you.
As you do, give them an incantation for the new season.” The woman to
Mark’s right, a well endowed college aged woman with a big blond ponytail, took
a grape and fed it to him. He eagerly turned
towards her with his mouth opened like a baby bird. “For love and family”, she crooned as he
gladly accepted the sweet grape and took one to feed me. He plopped it into my
mouth sneering, “May God have mercy on your soul”, with only a hint of
humor.
As the weekend went on, we explored the resort. Hiking until we got lost in the network of trails, taking yoga classes and trying some of the tasty vegetarian meals served in the dining hall. We perused the selections of massage and body treatments, many we had never heard of before, Watsu, jahara, lomi-lomi, ayurveda, and fantasized about coming back for workshops such as “Tantric Massage for Lovers” or “An Evening of Ecstasy”.
On Christmas night the “Unconditional Dance” was
well attended by visitors and residents.
Mesmerizing music boomed from speakers.
Strobe lights flashed. Dancers
spun and twirled, some with hula hoops or scarves. Some stood on their hands; some fell to the
ground ecstatically. A heavyset women in
loose clothes pranced by with a strand of Christmas lights woven through her
hair. As she danced, the lights fell
around her like tentacles. As the
music’s rhythm intensified, she threw off her shirt to free her large, pendulous
breasts. A man danced up and artfully
draped the lights around her breasts and over her shoulder as they twirled off
together. A California moment.
I tried to call my family since it was the
holidays. The only operable payphone had
a sign that said, “Please don’t use this phone right now. We are meditating in the adjoining room”. At first I was frustrated, thought about defying
the rules and finding a signal. But then
I reconsidered. OK. I get it.
Silent night. Peace on
earth. Really.
Postscript: Harbin Hot Springs
was developed as a spa by settlers in the 1860’s, run as a commune in the
1970’s and sold to a New Age Church of Being in 1975 to become a retreat center
and intentional community. Since we
visited in 2004, the resort was devastated by a fire in 2015. But it is
rebuilding and accepting limited guests now.
A full roster of classes and events will be added soon. Creating guest
experiences that are “consciousness-altering and deeply transpersonal, with a feeling of unity, and mental and physical calmness” is their mission. For more information: https://harbin.org/
