Living Spiral of Inner Alchemy

07/23/2026

CULTIVATING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WILD

Dear Wild One;

I invite you to join me for 30 days of inspiration for reWilding yourself with the rhythms of nature.

Learn to enjoy exploring the forest

For 30 days you will receive inspirations and gentle, exploratory prompts in your inbox to take with you on forest wanders and nature explorations, and on days you just want to dream inside there will be poems, meditations, sounds and other inspirations to cultivate gently tuning into the season. Based on contemplative practices, learn to listen to whispers between your soul and the nature around you.

These missives will be brief and are truly meant to be prompts for you to re-wild and step into your relationship with nature.

These are the practices I have used to cultivate my relationship with the forest and all of nature, to be able to enjoy the wonder and awe, and find a deep sense of inner connection and peace. Nature has become my guide, my teacher, my healer, a place where I can return to my heart, my peace and my sanity, time and again. It is a relationship that builds over time and is ever-giving more. Bring something different to your usual hikes with these beautiful prompts delivered to your email daily.

In this 30-day journey, you go to nature daily or every other day or once a week for 30 minutes or more, or spend some time writing, reading or contemplating the season of summer, the Fire Phase and understanding the qualities and energetics of this vibrant, expressive, connective time. On the days you are unable to go to nature, perhaps you can read the offering and spend ten minutes writing in your journal in response to it or another and save it for your adventure out.

My hope is that you will eventually see the value of cultivating a relationship with Nature as an enrichment of your wellbeing. It will nourish you on so many levels; it will nourish your connection to your heart of hearts' soul, it will nourish your body through breaths of fresh air, energetic resets, and boost your immune system, it will clear your mind, clear anxiety and stress, allowing you to think clearly and compassionately.

Open up to the beauty and wonder of this yang time of the year when all is in bloom and expressing the utmost vitality of life. Nature is medicine, Nature is a Master Teacher, and in this journey, we will connect with the teachings offered through curiosity, contemplative photography (any camera will do!), creative writing, meditation, and playfulness, infused with inspiring writings that celebrate the poetry, awe, and science of the whole of nature. You don't have to finish it all in the month; you can space it out as suits your
lifestyle.

https://earth.sonjaalinadenelzen.com/rewild-summer

07/21/2026

I have been digesting and metabolizing the idea of nature's baseline: when left to its natural order, it is to flourish and what it would take for humanity to flourish. Not just a few, but as a collective whole.

As a collective, it seems like we have been surviving, striving for thriving, and very few would claim to be flourishing.

What would it look like to set our sights on the flourishing of people, flourishing communities, and flourishing ecosystems? What would that actually mean?

What if we stepped away from our dominant culture perspective of consuming and shifted it to flourishing?

We would first have to have a deep, integrated understanding of what that looks like.

Perhaps we imagine a life that looks successful from the outside. Enough money. Good health. Meaningful work. Loving relationships. A sense that things are going well.

These things matter. But I think flourishing reaches deeper. And many Earth-based spiritual, indigenous and animistic cultures have the embodied understanding that flourishing includes so much more than ourselves and our immediate family.

To shift to flourishing, we will need to shift our perspective to respectful relationship with all of life.

read full article on substack

Flourishing as a living relationship with yourself, your community, the Earth, and the creative force of life.

07/17/2026

There are moments in life when we don't need more information.
We need a place to land.

Over the past few years, I've watched so many beautiful people feeling increasingly disconnected because they tend to everything for everyone.
Holding everyone else together. Holding it all together.

The result is giving from an empty cup, personal source energy depletion.

Living from urgency instead of nourishment.

Always preparing for what's next, while losing the space to be deeply rooted in what is here.

This is exactly why I love the Earth phase.
In Daoist philosophy, Earth is the centre.

𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚; 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝. 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨.

Earth and our centre is where we return after growth, after intensity, after change.

It is where we digest and metabolize our experiences, gather our energy, and become deeply resourced from within.

Earth teaches us that flourishing isn't created through pushing harder, it comes from our deep cultivation.

It is our relationship with ourselves that nourishes our lives, from the center out.

It grows from tending the soil of our own lives.

From this place, we ask different questions.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴?

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳?

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲?

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆?

These are not just beautiful ideas.
They are practices that gradually change how you move through life.

I consider this a foundational starting point to be able to go on to nourish the four directions and seasons.

Over eight weeks together, we'll explore Earth -Based ancient wisdom, embodiment practices, qigong, seasonal living, guided inquiry, meditation, community conversations, and simple daily practices that help you become more grounded, clear, and nourished.

This is the opportunity to create some non-negotiable space in your life to become a living temple for your spirit. You are not here to be a robot or slave to never-ending to-do lists. You are here to align with your gifts and your fullest expression, to the vitality of your unique life.

It's time for you to live from a full cup.

This is a one-time invitation.

Normally, Living Spiral is designed as a year-long journey because each season builds upon the last.

However, I've heard from many people who aren't quite ready to commit to the full year, but who feel deeply called to begin.

So for this Earth season only, I'm opening a special opportunity to join just this single phase.

Earth Phase Special invitation: $555 CAD or 3 monthly payments of $185 CAD

If you've been waiting for the right doorway into this work, this is it.
You can join Earth Phase here:
𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘇𝗲𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵-𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲-𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀-𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸-𝗼𝘂𝘁

If you'd like to explore the complete Living Spiral journey before deciding, you can learn more here:
𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵.𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗷𝗮𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘇𝗲𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗹-𝗶𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵

𝗪𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸.

If you've been feeling called toward a slower, wiser, more deeply rooted way of living, I'd love to welcome you into this circle.

With love,
𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘢 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘌𝘭𝘻𝘦𝘯

P.S. This is the only time I'll be offering Earth as a standalone season at this special price. Once we begin, enrollment will close, and we'll continue the journey together through the practices of late summer.

If you decide to continue the year after the first month, you will be discounted this amount from the full year price to continue.

07/15/2026

Experience belonging as a lived relationship with life itself, rather than something that must be earned or granted by some more worthy authority.

Cultivating a relationship with all aspects of your being and life means that you are paying attention. It is to know when your body needs rest or nourishment or activity. It is knowing when your different emotions arise, what their root is and taking responsibility for the integration, growth or clear communication that is needed. It is knowing the rhythms and cycles of the land around you so that your lifestyle is in harmony with its ever-transforming energetics.

When you tend to all this, then self-worth naturally arises. Because you are not waiting for an outer permission to be worthy. You are honouring your vessel, your temple.

In The Living Spiral of Inner Alchemy Mentorship, we journey through the different energetic seasons and meet ourselves in all the expressions, fueled by the natural energy that is present in the cosmos at that time. We have the opportunity to spiral through meeting ourselves in the different seasons, cultivating our relationships with body, mind, spirit, earth and community at different angles, energetics so that a deep integration, metabolized through time, supports our growth. Here is the link if you would like to explore further. https://earth.sonjaalinadenelzen.com/livingspiral

07/10/2026

We are here to trade in our extractive way of moving in the world and learn to live with it in a reciprocal way that nourishes vitality and honours the cycles of life and the rhythms and cycles of nature, the laws of nature that ensure the creative life force energy is able to continue to create life. (Life of all kinds, human and other than human) We are here to recognize that human life is only able to exist and thrive within the interconnected organic web that nourishes our vitality.

The Human the future requires is one who is willing to become fertile ground for the life that wants to grow through you.

The Living Spiral of Inner Alchemy Mentorship was created to be a preparation for folks who are here to steward the change humanity needs to thrive and become the kind of humans the future is asking for.

Inside, we engage in shifts of perspective, body, mind and spirit that create living embodied and integrated wisdom that prepare us to become the kind of humans needed at this threshold moment of our reality.

During the Earth Season, which starts next week, we will be invited to:

- build an inner ecology that creates lasting energy rather than cycles of depletion
- develop the capacity to receive nourishment as naturally as you offer it
- align with the living principles that allow humans, communities, and ecosystems to flourish
- cultivate enough inner abundance that generosity flows from overflow rather than sacrifice
- become deeply resourced so they can meet uncertainty with presence, discernment, and sovereignty
- experience belonging as a lived relationship with life itself, rather than something they must earn

You are invited into the philosophy and the practice of becoming fully human through conscious participation with the natural order.

Each season within the spiral invites a different energetic depth, which, all together, creates a dynamic whole. it is not just about the seasons, but engaging with a living wisdom as a way to create the inner integrity and depth to meet all our relations with our inner clarity and wisdom, to become a participant in the change we want to see in the world, through wu wei. Through being in flow, clarity and alignment rather than shame, fear and fighting.

You are invited into the philosophy and the practice of becoming fully human through conscious participation with the natural order. If something in you leans toward this, I would welcome an exploratory conversation. A chance to feel into whether the spiral is yours to walk this year. There is no pressure, only a space to share where you are and sense whether this would be supportive for you now.

https://secure-links.earth.sonjaalinadenelzen.com/sp/9a530a68d52

07/07/2026

Become the Human the Future Needs

The future will not be built by people who have super-maxed themselves.

It will be built by people whose inner ecology reflects the flourishing they hope to create.

A thriving future for all will not be built by people who do not know how to nourish their vessel alongside their environment and community. It will also not be built by people who are burnt out, taking care of everyone but themselves.

What if we have personal growth and development all wrong?

What if participating more fully in life meant having a relational perspective that weaves you back into the interdependent web of life?

What if alignment actually meant including yourself in the web of life as part of your process?

What if we traded in self-improvement for human flourishing, for being a participant in the thriving of all of life?

What does flourishing look and feel like to you?
Share in the comments; I would love to hear.

07/04/2026

When you are asked to choose sides, you are being asked to surrender your inner sovereignty to a fixed opinion and outcome; you might be sacrificing some of your values to fit into that side; you might be letting small parts of your own inner truth be chipped away. Perhaps for a sense of belonging, for not having to stand on your own against a larger opposition, is pulling you into something that is not quite aligned.
But what if standing in your truth allowed you to clearly express a valuable perspective, made it easier for you to honour your values and beliefs, and contributed to a larger discussion?
Standing in your truth becomes more embodied than picking sides. Standing in your truth does not mean neutrality.
It’s more about where human beings source their knowing from.
In our current culture, people are often encouraged to pick a side. Once we do, our identity becomes attached to defending that side. We begin seeing the world through confirmation rather than curiosity. The nervous system becomes invested in being right.
Standing in your truth is about inner alignment, self-noesis, and being clear on the values you are cultivating in your life and how that alignment influences you to respond rather than react.

The full movement through the 5 Phase Mentorship of the Living Spiral of Inner Alchemy teaches how to cultivate inner authority.

Not authority based on ego.

Authority rooted in relationship.
Relationship with the body.
Relationship with emotions.
Relationship with nature.
Relationship with spirit.
Relationship with community.
Relationship with reality as it actually is.

Then our truth becomes less about having answers and more about becoming a trustworthy human being.

The goal is not to have stronger opinions.
The cultivation is to become someone whose perception has been refined enough that truth naturally reveals itself.

06/26/2026

𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲

At the heart of my work lies the influence of the Daoist animistic perspective of life.

A wisdom born in the time of the Wu, often female, the ancient visionary intermediaries, between human and the spirit world. Rooted in a time when humans were in intimate relationship with the land.

The understanding of Wu Wei, the Dao’s way of generating and sustaining all things spontaneously. Wu Wei is effortless action, meaning responding in harmony with the natural flow of life. So humans, following the inherent nature of all life, would benefit from aligning with the natural order.

Earth demonstrates this natural order through all of its rhythms and cycles, ecosystems and interdependent relationships.

Therefore, if we follow the Earth as our primary guide and teacher, we will begin to be within a deeper relational flow with all of life.

We do not need to strive to be in flow; we do not need to react to be in flow, as this implies emotional investment in the outcome, but rather, we would find flow by simply responding in alignment with the natural order.

All of this can just be ideas and words. What is the natural order? I have found that observation of nature and the five transformations (elements) of Daoist philosophy present us with a clear map of the interactions of energetics and relationships of life force energy.

Having grown up in a culture that is always striving, I have been trained to try to have too much intent, to force and tackle resistance. This has taken a lot of letting go in many years and is still a process. I remember years ago learning about human design and that I am a generator and sacral response and that I need to learn to respond rather than pursue, which fully aligns with the Daoist philosophy of Wu Wei, maintaining harmony through least resistance. ( ok that meant I needed to drop the “if one door doesn’t open, there are 10 more to try” lol)

Through metabolizing this understanding, I came to understand that in order to be able to respond in alignment with the highest possibility, I needed to cultivate my human qualities, meaning attuning myself to the natural order of the energetics of life, clearing the societal and inherited distortions that influence me to feel separate and inhabiting patterns caused by this separation and past experiences. When I speak of separate, I am referring to outside of nature, outside of the ecosystem that we are a part of that nourishes and sustains life on Earth.

This separation causes us to create action from desire, ambition and ego that leads to conflict, disappointment and suffering, creating stories, more reactions, patterns and imbalance.

Society furthered this separation when it undermined our spontaneous, intuitive actions.

read the rest in substack

https://open.substack.com/pub/naturealchemycultivation/p/cultivating-our-capacity-as-humans