250 Years of a Nation's Journey...A Soul's Awakening
Welcome back to the Tuesday Talks at 10:30 recap. A place that was created several years ago. It is meant to be a safe space to explore your spiritual path. We touch upon many subjects, from grief to connecting to spirit and our higher selves, and so much more. Whether you are live or on replay or reading the blog, you have arrived at the exact moment you were meant to be here.
Welcome back all returning connection tribe and if this is your 1st time here, welcome to the connecting family, I am so glad you found us.
I’m Evidential Medium, Spiritual Healer, Author, Retreat Facilitator Stacey Niedentohl. I wear many woo-woo hats, and my passion is to meet you where you are in your journey of healing and growing.
This year, our country celebrates 250 years. For 250 years, people have dreamed, struggled, rebuilt, hoped, failed, and begun again. Our nation has grown through triumph and heartbreak, certainty and uncertainty.
But today, I’d like to look at it from a different perspective. Think about it with a twist in the meaning. What if this anniversary isn’t only about the journey of a nation? What if it’s also an invitation to consider the journey of your own soul? The one you’ve been led to through your experiences? While a country marks its history with dates and monuments, our souls mark time differently. They measure life in moments that changed us. Things like the birth of a child. The loss of someone we love. The diagnosis we never expected. The dream we almost gave up on.
The quiet whisper that says to you, “There has to be more than this.” Those moments become our own declarations of independence. Not from another country, but from fear. From shame. From living the life everyone else expected us to live.
Real freedom isn’t something someone hands us. It is something we remember. I often say that awakening isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about remembering who you’ve always been beneath the expectations, the disappointments, and the stories life placed upon you. This has been my on-going message to you for 2026. It’s about being the unique essence of who you are. This form of remembering takes courage. Some call it shadow-work. Some describe it as the dark night of the soul. It’s that time in our lives when we look into ourselves and reflect on where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going. Because we know there is more for us to do. It asks us to loosen our grip on certainty and trust that our soul knows the way, even when our mind cannot yet see the path.
We talk about signs and symbols. Would you agree that one of America’s most recognized symbols is the Liberty Bell? Do you know what I love most about it? It’s not perfect. It’s cracked. Yet millions still travel to see it. Its crack did not erase its meaning. That flaw became part of its story. It is famous because of it. And hear me: a cracked bell can still ring. Isn’t that true for us? Every heart hearing or reading this message has cracks. The cracks are from grief, loss, divorce, illness, disappointment. Dreams that didn’t unfold the way we hoped.
And yet…
Those very places often become where compassion enters. Where wisdom is born. Where purpose begins. Your wounds are not proof that you are broken. They become the place where your light is most believable. Your imperfections show strength.
As a medium, I have the privilege of sitting with people after some of the hardest moments of their lives. The loss of someone they cared deeply about. Again and again, I witness something remarkable. Proof that love does not end. Connection does not disappear. And purpose, for most, doesn’t vanish because life became difficult. Sometimes it becomes clearer because life became difficult. The people we’ve loved continue shaping us. Just in a new way. They may not be walking beside us physically; they become part of the way we choose to live. How we choose to honor them. Liberty isn’t given…it’s remembered.
Spirit constantly reminds us that we aren’t becoming worthy, we’re remembering who we’ve always been. Just as a country remembers its founding ideals, we remember our own divine nature. That may be the greatest legacy of all.
So today I’d like to offer you some things to consider. If your soul were writing its own Declaration of Independence…what would it look like? Imagine that the soul is speaking from its deepest truth rather than from fear, ego, or external expectations. A “Declaration of the Soul,” what would it sound like? What would it echo? What would the spirit of a declaration of independence to yourself look like? When you are looking for the greater good for yourself and all that come into your view. What would it feel like?
See if any of these statements resonate with you.
I declare my inherent worth. My value is not earned through achievement, approval, or perfection.
I declare my freedom from fear. Fear may visit, but it will no longer direct my life.
I declare my purpose. My life has meaning, even when I cannot yet see the full path.
I declare my right to joy. Joy is not a reward after suffering; it is part of my birthright.
I declare forgiveness. I release what no longer serves my growth, not because the past didn’t matter, but because my future does.
I declare compassion. I will meet myself and others with greater understanding than judgment.
I declare courage. I will choose what is true over what is comfortable.
I declare presence. My life happens here, in this moment; not in yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s worries.
I declare love as my compass. When I lose my direction, and I am uncertain, I will return to love.
I declare gratitude. Even in difficulty, I will seek the gifts that shape my spirit. To all things, no matter how large or how small.
I declare connection. I am not separate from others; we are part of something larger than ourselves.
I declare hope. Even in darkness, I will remember that my light is never extinguished.
I’d like to challenge you to take some time and write your own declaration. Here are some prompts:
I hold these truths to be self-evident…
That I am…
That I deserve…
That I will no longer…
That I choose…
That I release…
That I forgive…
That I embrace…
That I trust…
That I promise myself…
That my legacy will be…
What would it declare freedom from? Fear? Perfection? People pleasing? The belief that it’s too late? What would your life look like if you allowed yourself to truly live freely? What would it declare freedom for? Joy. Service. Authenticity. Peace. Love. Purpose. I believe the greatest revolution we’ll ever experience won’t happen in the streets. It will happen quietly…within a human heart that finally remembers who it is.
We celebrate 250 years of a nation’s journey; additionally, may we also honor the quieter revolution taking place within each of us. May we become people who leave the world a little kinder than we found it. People who choose courage over comfort. Purpose over fear. Connection over division. And love over everything else.
A nation’s journey is measured in years. But a soul’s awakening…
…is timeless.
Every generation inherits a torch. Ask yourself what torch do you carry?
What legacy am I leaving?
What values am I modeling?
What light will remain after I’m gone?
Do this as a reminder that love becomes legacy.
The Declaration of Independence announced the birth of a nation. Your Declaration of the Soul can announce the birth of a new way of living. One declares freedom from external rule. The other declares freedom from whatever has ruled your heart. That distinction: freedom from external oppression versus freedom from internal limitations. This creates a compelling bridge between America’s anniversary and a deeply personal spiritual journey.
As we celebrate 250 years of a nation’s journey, I ask you to also honor the quieter revolution taking place within your heart. The greatest independence is not freedom from another nation. It is freedom from the fear that keeps us from becoming who we were created to be. Every soul carries a spark of purpose. Perhaps this monumental 250th anniversary is not only a celebration of where we’ve been, but an invitation to remember why we are here.
A reminder to live a life you love and love the life you live.
Blessings for a magical day filled with love,
Stacey
If you are interested in scheduling a reading, you can go to www.connectingtospiritwithstacey.com and click on the Book a Reading button. If you have any questions while trying to schedule, please email me at connectingtospiritwithstacey@gmail.com
To watch the live, go to YouTube @connectingtospiritwithstac1512 or https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EjTP99oNs/
