Born in Forest Gate, London with the nickname ‘Oak’, sylvanian links were signalled from the start–though it took a while for the seed to germinate! Elé is a Bwiti name meaning ‘tree that stands tall.’
I studied AI, psychology and philosophy of mind at Edinburgh and Birmingham, breaking from convention thanks to the writings of Carlos Castaneda. Practising his Magical Passes led me to the Concord Institute in London, where I took journeys in yoga, macrobiotic cooking and transformational group work.
I attended Howard Lawler’s legendary SpiritQuest retreat in Peru in 2007. There I was initiated into Amazonian shamanism by Huitoto maestro Rober Acho Jurama, star of the book Singing to the Plants, and made my first pilgrimage to the 3000BC medicine centre at Chavin de Huantar.