The People

Although the seed of The Journey Tree concept has originated in the minds of just two people (though inspired by many), it's forward path is not limited exclusively to them. Our hope is that the values, and way of being, that The Journey Tree represents will inspire and attract those of a like mind & heart. 

As others step forward we will create profiles in this section.

Founder members: Antony & Nikki

Antony was originally trained in micro-electronics and in his early twenties did a short spell with Smith's Aerospace before becoming disillusioned and leaving to try his luck as a singer in a rock band! During this time Antony became increasingly aware of mankind's impact upon the environment and in 1994 enrolled upon an Ocean Science degree at the University of Plymouth which covered subjects such as oceanography, meteorology and climatology. It seemed worryingly obvious, even back in the 90's, just how possible it was for the climate to literally 'run away' beyond our control - something we are now increasingly hearing about in the media. On leaving University he has been involved in several projects (focusing on computer software and internet solutions) the main one being an ethical music industry project (known as muZonet.com) designed to support local music shops across the UK and to avoid their widespread collapse due to large companies cutting prices and the inevitable effects of economic globalisation. muZonet has now been dissolved due to lack of support and Antony is now able to focus his time on The Journey Tree and it's vision of a more sustainable future. (Please see our web design page if you are interested in utilising Antony's IT skills)

Antony & Nikki have been following their spiritual path for a number of years, a path which eventually lead to the apprenticeship of a Native American Ojibwa/Chippewa Elder from New Mexico. They spent the next three years, under the tutelage of senior apprentices here in the UK, learning a blend of both his inherited and personally intuited knowledge and wisdom**. Their hearts lie very much in the 'Earth Medicine Way' and believe that we are all related and interconnected within the Sacred Hoop of Life. Antony is currently completing a two year training period of Earth Wisdom teachings with the Ehama Institute, New Mexico, and will continue to deepen his understanding of these beautiful, life-changing gifts with the help of his Ehama teachers. It is hoped that through the Journey Tree computer software, articles on our website, and with the ongoing guidance of our teachers, we will be able to make these ancient teachings more accessible.

Antony and Nikki do not claim to be life 'experts'. They are not here to lecture, dictate or to impose any kind of doctrine. They simply wish to share their knowledge, experience and perspectives on Life. It is important to remember that we are all teachers - we all have something of value to share.

Also, their experience as parents has strengthened their belief that we do all need to work together as a whole, to heal each other and our beautiful planet Earth. They strongly feel that earth-based communities, be they local, or interconnected via our hi-tech telecommunications systems, are now a vital aspect of the new millennium, this exciting and challenging new age.

We will continue to update these pages but in the meantime if you would like to ask us any questions about us or The Journey Tree you may email us on info@thejourneytree.org.

** The apprenticeship was geared primarily to carrying the rituals of Medicine Sweat Lodge(a bit like a ceremonial steam bath) and of the Sacred Pipe (often referred to as the peace pipe by us in the west) out to people living in our modern day society who have had little or no prior knowledge of earth based spirituality. It is important to note here (especially to any traditional Native Americans reading this) that we were taught to do ceremony in a format not representative of any particular Native American tradition. The insights and training we received were a mix of our teacher's heritage and of his own personal visioning. We never made any claims to the contrary and would describe our path as neo (or new) traditional. It was a vision of providing us peoples of modern western society with a base from which to start formulating our own earth based traditions. A place from where we could begin to find our own spiritual paths and communities, and to discover our own individual ways of relating to ourselves and all of Life.