nikki “Firefly” Armstrong

As a child I was always outside.  I didn’t grow up rich but I was abundant in creativity, family, and the vast outdoors.  Some of my fondest childhood memories were captured while attending Willson Outdoor summer camp; I spent every year at Wilson from a baby camper at 8 years old to a teen camp coordinator at 21 years old. From swimming in the lake as a child to becoming a lifeguard, the thrill of the rock wall and horseback riding, and the community of the mess hall each made the weeks spent at camp some of my most cherished.

As I graduated college in 2007 the conditioned perspectives of adulthood took over and I felt as if I lost myself in my twenties.  I went out on my own and explored, experienced, learned many lessons the hard way, and was very much operating within this “ 3-dimensional physical” perspective.  I worked as a bar tender and a volleyball coach, and I buried my essence deeply underneath so many filters in order to please everyone around me that I became numb.  Although it was difficult at the time, this part of my journey was necessary; necessary in order to see how dark it can get before you spark your light the brightest it’s ever been. In 2009, after hitting rock bottom, I made a massive shift and I up and moved to Nashville!

Even through the filters I had maintained an insight and curiosity for Astrology, the cosmos and self discovery. My curiosity was about to fully blossom, and this rupturing bloom was going to take me places.

In 2016 I was working for a craft beer company producing events, and moonlighting with a network marketing company which didn’t get me anywhere financially but did empower me to explore my own inner strength as a woman. It was at one these events I had what some might call an “awakening”, but for me it just felt like I could finally SEE. In this moment I shifted, I made a choice, and I began a journey. It would be a journey into the unknown and one that could’ve felt scary, but I was ready and I was full of excitement. This is the moment I chose to allow in the opportunity to collapse an old timeline and ascend towards higher learning.

I quit drinking, began meditating, reading, journaling and doing yoga all before my “normal” day started. I saw 5am everyday and I began to fully cherish how amazing a sunrise is.  These habits came from within and I am so grateful for the strength that 2016 Nikki had to endure and evolve, because they changed my entire life .  Long story short, this lead me down the entrepreneurial path, which allowed me to see beyond the “working system”. I began to explore energy healing and worked with an amazing master who taught me so much about so many things I couldn’t even begin to list them. I didn’t stop there. I kept working to expand, to understand the healing powers of nature, universal laws, human design, more in depth knowledge of astrology, esoteric religions, ancient systems and belief patterns, alchemy, mystery school teachings and the list goes on.  I kept seeking my own truths by allowing myself to experience wisdom through so many lenses.  Through this journey I was able to SEE how all of this is connecting.  YES, it all connects.  When you open your eyes to connecting it will.  

In 2017 I had a sacral response ( human design explains this) to a beautiful strong female entrepreneurial mentor I had in my life when she said, “It’s important to create community and small events.” She was meaning more cocktail parties or business get togethers, but what it sparked in me was the remembering (yes, remembering, for all of our wisdom is already deep within us, you just have to shine the light back on it) of the community that I truly value in my core.  I hopped on the phone with my bad ass brother, Heath Armstrong and began rambling, like I do.  He said, “If what you’re seeking doesn’t exist, create it.” BAM! That is when I birthed ReLeaf Outings into the universe and with his poetic understanding of words, he helped coined the name.

Thanks to the evolution of ReLeaf, my healing work, and my constantly deepening understanding of the universal laws, in October 2019 I was finally able to retire from the corporate world and I set off on a cross country adventure with my brother. This was a moment of timelines collapsing.  A moment when I looked at my vision board and realized I was in fact living that life! On this road trip we visited sacred activation sites such as Mt. Shasta, root chakra of the world that houses Pleiadian galactic energy and the 5th dimensional city of Telos, and Sedona on the 11/11 portal.  The details of these intense life activations are a story all their own, but talk about divine timing! Or what we call “being in the right place at the right time”. This trip encoded the deepest insight and knowing of myself that I have ever received; insights and knowledge that I am still surfacing pieces of as we become ready to receive this wisdom. These activations set in motion for me to finally meet my soulmate, in person on November 16 2019.

ReLeaf Outings has evolved as this planet and my individual path has merged and unfolded.  In 2019, through many synchronicities with the 2019 June Firefly outing I became aware of a soul that was connected to my soul before my conscious mind could grasp it.  However we did not connect in person until November of 2019. This is when Brett and I came into alignment in this lifetime and began our soul work now together as a unit.  Wow!  Can I just say wow bc it’s hard to find words for this connection and this journey now with another but we are so excited for where ReLeaf is headed and to share these experiences with so many. 

Everyone in this life is on their own unique journey and are right where they are meant to be. We are not meant to remain stagnant, but instead always evolving and always exploring ourself and this planet. ReLeaf is a unique space where we can all gather as humans, embrace nature, share wisdom around campfires and together support in the expansion of our physical worlds through our spiritual alignment! Together we can build community and Brett and I are here to support these journeys with unforgettable experiences and beautiful space to find those in alignment with you! 

I spent a significant amount of my childhood outside riding bikes, exploring in the woods, and hunting with my father. It wasn’t until high school that I got my first taste of backpacking and overnight camping in the backcountry, and although I was terribly unprepared for my first trips, I loved it! Growing up in Murray, Kentucky, I was fortunate to have Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in my backyard, so to speak. By the time I graduated high school, I had already accumulated the essential gear necessary to go out on my own for a night or two under the stars, including the 80L backpack capable of carrying the kitchen sink. And in college, I discovered what would become my passionate obsession for the next 10 years, mountain biking. It became my solace in many ways, balancing the stresses of classwork and career with the fun, excitement, and happiness I found on the trails.

In May 2012 I was graduating college with my second degree. I had already accepted a well paid, full-time position with one of the largest oil companies in the world. I had already signed the lease for my exposed brick, loft apartment in the 4th largest city in the U.S. I was checking all the boxes required for happiness and success in life, and I was proud of it. At this same time, my good friend Luke and I decided to take a road trip to see the country (we had both attended university in our home town of Murray); it would be a massive loop connecting national parks and mountain biking destinations from the north in South Dakota, west to Utah, south to Arizona and back to Kentucky across the panhandle of Texas. One last hoorah with my 3 weeks off between college and hunkering down into my career for the next 40 years.

Looking back, it is impossible to identify a specific moment or period in life where one could point as say, “That is it. That is the moment it started to get off track.” It happens so gradually, and comes into existence through the combination of every single experience and decision we make on a daily basis. But to this day, I can remember the moment of awakening I had on that road trip; we were driving to the Grand Canyon after 3 days of mountain biking in Moab, UT. We had met many amazing people along the way, all reflections of ourselves, each with a unique story, all with the common link of loving their work. It was a reflection of myself in a mountain bike shuttle driver in Moab that triggered my sudden awareness of self. I recognized in that moment that I was making significant life decisions based on the measures of money, status, and recognition, rather than the one measure that really matters. Love. In that moment I considered making the difficult decision to back out on the job offer and all of the associated commitments; it was both exciting and terrifying just to contemplate. Rather than take a leap with Love into the unknown, I took the “easier” path, suppressing that calling and continuing as I had already committed.

From every logical perspective, the next 6 years were fantastic. I received a bonus and a raise every year, quickly breaking into a 6-figure salary. I was awarded highly competitive, international positions in Canada, Africa, and South Korea got to experience the world from so many new perspectives. I even received an award from the CEO for my contribution to a project which had company-wide impacts. I was dedicated to the work and I was rewarded for it. All the while I was becoming less and less balanced, and more and more aware of my unhappiness with the path my life was taking. In 2017 I was at the peak of my young career, a first-time supervisor, living alone in a company-paid 3 bedroom apartment in South Korea; and I was actually living at rock bottom, lonely, depressed, and working 60-80 hours a week for 9 consecutive months. By the end of that year I was contemplating suicide as a realistic option for the first time in my life, and I recognized once again that I had a significant life decision to make. As I reflected on the decision to be made, I recognized the path of fear and the path of love. I remembered that moment outside of Moab, and it instantly shifted my perspective from one of fear to one of excitement. I was excited because I finally recognized that I always had the opportunity to choose the other path, I just needed to take it.

In January 2018 I made my decision, and I walked away from my career, literally. I took the first step of many to come in a life-changing experience on the Appalachian Trail. I spent the next 7 months walking 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, immersed in nature, rediscovering myself, my happiness, my passion, my creativity, my self-worth, and my love for life.

For me, ReLeaf Outings is an opportunity to share my love for nature, and an opportunity to help others find themselves by connected with her. I look forward to sharing time with you and our upcoming adventures together!