In 1941 the founder of Mentalphysics, Edwin J Dingle ventured to the desert in search of the perfect place to freely study and live the teachings. In the late 1940’s with a square mile of land, he began to build a City of Joy with his students. Within 4 years several remarkable buildings emerged from the collaboration between Dingle and architect Lloyd Wright.

Today the main campus comprised of the original buildings is used for spiritual and education retreats with accommodations that can sleep up to 250 participants. We are known to many as the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, but the founding legal name is The Institute of Mentalphysics which currently owns and stewards 385 acres marking the west entrance into the unincorporated village of Joshua Tree.

We are blessed with open spaces, sacred meditation locations, and serene vistas, native plants, and the magical presence of Joshua Trees. Several locations on the property hold energy vortices – some came with the DNA of the land, and others have been created from the amazing lineage of spiritual teachers and thought leaders who have left their imprint on the land for 70 years.