Ojai | California Coasting, Part 6

Prior to my visit, the best I could gather about Ojai was that it was a small town with a lot of farm land, and that people also like to go there for high end spas and relaxation. Both of those things seem to hold true. Ojai also happens to be where the Gardner family now lives, and so I drove over from Ventura on my road trip, and I visited them, the town, and Meditation Mount.

The Gardner family!

The chalk picture on the left is Isla’s portrait of me. I’m quite lovely in purple.

Isla was about to go to her swimming class too. Summertime in Ojai.

Aaron told me, “If there’s one place you need to go when you come to Ojai, it’s Meditation Mount.” So off I went, past orchards full of Sunkist oranges and a small neighborhood road where it says the road is about to end, but you just keep driving.

So what is Meditation Mount? It is what it sounds like– a mountain just dedicated to meditation– with meditation rooms and a whole series of gardens overlooking the Ojai valley. It’s not that I am very spiritual, but an entire place dedicated to slowing down and reflecting while looking at gorgeous views all around? It sounds a lot like my kind of place.

If it feels like life slows down a notch when you drive into the town of Ojai, then stepping into the space of Meditation Mount certainly slows everything down by ten notches. It is beautiful there, but more than that, it feels beautiful there. It’s kind of amazing what a bit of consciousness and intentionality can create.