Welcome, everyone. I’m so grateful you’re here for the Tuesday Talks at 10:30 recap. This is a moment in time created several years ago. It is a be a safe space to explore your spiritual path. We touch upon many subjects, from grief to connecting to spirit and our higher selves, stone energy, and so much more. We talk about how to come back home to ourselves when we feel that we’ve gotten off track. But this is that place where you can sit without judgment, without fixing, and just have the ability to say, “Hmm, I wonder, I wonder if, I wonder why, maybe someone else is experiencing the same types of things that I am. Guess what? I’m not crazy. Reading this blog tells me that 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 welcome you all in with open arms.
I’m a Spiritual Healer, Author, Retreat Facilitator, Keynote Speaker, and Evidential Medium, Stacey Niedentohl. I wear many spiritual hats, and my passion is to meet you where you are in your journey of healing and growing. I want you to know there is no judgment, no fixing; you are not broken. Whether you are on a healing journey, or a spiritual journey, or just curious, and you are curious to know the what ifs, the whys, and the how comes, you are amongst friends.
Last week we explored the practice of cultivating thankfulness. We talked about noticing blessings, appreciating what is good, and becoming aware of the gifts already present in our lives. Gratitude opens our eyes. It teaches us to notice. Becoming aware of standing in an answered prayer while praying for more.
Today, I want to move a little deeper. Because not everything we are grateful for looked like a blessing when it first arrived. Some of our greatest teachers came disguised as hardships. Some of our biggest breakthroughs arrived after periods of confusion. Some of the moments we wish we could have avoided became the very experiences that shaped us into who we are today. Looking back to recognize lessons, growth, and divine guidance.
Enter reflection. That is where reflection comes in. Reflection allows us to look back on our lives, not with judgment, but with curiosity. It invites us to ask: What was life teaching me? How did I grow? What wisdom emerged from that experience? Where was God, Spirit, Divine Guidance, or Higher Wisdom showing up even when I couldn’t recognize it at the time?
Today isn’t about revisiting the past so we can stay there. Today is about looking back long enough to gather the wisdom we need to move forward. I don’t feel wisdom comes simply from living. Wisdom comes from understanding what our lives have been trying to teach us.
The Difference Between Experience and Wisdom
Every one of us accumulates experiences. The longer we live, the more stories we collect. The successes. The disappointments. The joys. The losses.
But experience alone does not automatically create wisdom. Wisdom comes when we reflect on our experiences. Two people can go through the very same circumstance. One becomes bitter. One becomes stronger. One remains stuck. One grows.
The difference isn’t the experience itself. The difference is what they choose to learn from it. Reflection changes information into insight. It transforms mistakes into teachers. It alters pain into purpose. It modifies life experiences into wisdom.
But reflection requires balance. Think about driving a car. Every vehicle has a rearview mirror. We use it often. We glance up periodically. Checking what is behind us. We make sure we’re aware of our surroundings. We gather the needed information. But none of us gets into a car and drives by staring into the rearview mirror. If we did, we’d end up in a ditch. The rearview mirror serves a purpose, but it was never designed to become our primary focus. It provides perspective. The windshield provides a greater visual of our direction. Life works exactly the same way.
Reflection is our rearview mirror. We look back to see where we’ve been. We look back to recognize how far we’ve come. We look back to understand lessons that weren’t obvious in the moment. We look back to notice patterns and guidance that we missed the first time. But then we return our focus to what’s ahead. Wisdom isn’t living in the past. Wisdom is learning from the past.
Some people spend years focused on past hurts, regrets. Old mistakes and old stories. They become trapped by what happened yesterday.
Spiritual reflection is different. Spiritual reflection says: Look back. Gather the lesson. Receive the insight. Recognize the growth. And then continue moving forward.
Let’s agree, the past has something to teach us. But it was never meant to become our permanent residence. There’s a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. We are meant to spend more time looking ahead than looking behind. There is a reason our eyes are on our face and not on the back of our head. We’ve already been there, we don’t need to constantly see the past.
Reflection gives us perspective. Vision gives us direction. And wisdom helps us know the difference.
Ancient spiritual traditions all teach some variation of this truth. The wise person is not the person who has never struggled. The wise person is the one who has reflected deeply enough to allow the struggle to become a teacher.
Looking Back Through a Different Lens
One of life’s greatest gifts is perspective. When we’re in the middle of a difficult season, we only see one small piece of the story. We can’t see the whole picture. We’re too close to it. But time has a way of creating clarity. Have you ever looked back on something that once felt devastating and realized it was actually redirecting you? Maybe it was a relationship that ended. A career path that didn’t work out. A dream that didn’t unfold the way you hoped.
At the time it may have felt like everything was falling apart. Years later, you realize something else was unfolding. Something bigger. Something wiser. Sometimes life can only be understood in hindsight. It’s like standing inches away from a tapestry. Up close, all we see are tangled threads. Knots. Unexpected colors. Loose ends. But when we step back, an image begins to emerge. A pattern reveals itself. And suddenly what looked chaotic begins to make sense. Spiritual reflection allows us to step back from our lives and view them through a wider lens.
Instead of asking: “Why did this happen to me?”
We begin asking: “What was this experience teaching me?”
That question changes everything. The first seeks certainty. The second seeks wisdom. And wisdom often brings a deeper peace than certainty ever could.
Reflection Exercise
I invite everyone to close their eyes. Take a slow breath. Think about a season of your life that challenged you. Not the easiest chapter. The one that stretched you. The one that asked more from you than you thought you could give.
Now ask yourself: What strength emerged because of that season? What did you learn about yourself? What wisdom do you carry today because of what happened? How are you different because you walked through it?
Think about that for a moment.
Sometimes the blessing wasn’t in the experience itself. But instead, the blessing was in who you became because of it.
Recognizing Divine Guidance in Hindsight
One of the most beautiful aspects of reflection is how often we discover guidance we couldn’t see in the moment.
Looking back, can help you identify moments that felt ordinary at the time but later proved significant. A conversation. A chance meeting. A door that opened unexpectedly. A delay that frustrated us. A sudden intuition that told us to change direction. A detour we never planned.
When we’re walking through life, these moments often appear random and frustrating. Later, we realize they may not have been random at all. Something was guiding us. Something was unfolding behind the scenes. Many of us have experienced those moments when we realize we were being led even when we couldn’t see the path. We realize that God, Spirit, Divine Intelligence, Higher Wisdom, the Universe, or simply Grace was playing an important role.
Reflection strengthens trust. Every time we recognize guidance in hindsight, we become a little more willing to trust the journey ahead. Maybe the path isn’t as random as it appears. Every chapter contains meaning. I’d like to believe that maybe even our unanswered questions are helping shape our growth.
When we reflect this way, gratitude begins to expand. It is no longer gratitude only for what felt good. It becomes gratitude for what these things have taught us. Gratitude for what transformed us. Gratitude for the wisdom we gained along the way.
The Practice of Life Review
Most people review their finances. They review their calendars and their schedules. But very few people intentionally review their lives. Yet this can be one of the most powerful spiritual practices available.
Imagine asking yourself at the end of each week:
What did I learn?
Where did I grow?
What challenged me?
What strengthened me?
What am I being invited to understand?
What wisdom am I carrying forward?
When we regularly reflect on our experiences, life begins to feel less random. Patterns emerge. Lessons become clearer. Guidance becomes easier to recognize. And wisdom becomes easier to access.
Reflection becomes a conversation with your soul.
A Closing Thought for Today
As we finish today, I invite you to think about your own journey. The unbelievable experiences from the roads you’ve traveled. All the unexpected turns. The moments that made no sense at the time. The joys. The heartbreaks. The victories. The losses. The chapters you would relive. And perhaps even the chapters you wouldn’t. Every one of them has contributed something to who you are today. You are not all of those things. You are the human being that gathered the wisdom that came from experiencing these events.
So, this week, spend a little time with your rearview mirror. Take a glance back. Appreciate how far you’ve come. Recognize the lessons. Notice the growth. Acknowledge the guidance. Gather the wisdom. And then, gently return your eyes to the road ahead.
The purpose of reflection isn’t to live in the past. The purpose of reflection is to carry its wisdom into the future. The rearview mirror helps us understand where we’ve been. The windshield helps us see where we’re going. And gratitude allows us to appreciate the entire journey.
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” — Søren Kierkegaard
Thank you for being the one who heals. Thank you for being the one who remembers. Thank you for being here, glancing back into your rearview mirror. Looking back long enough to discover the wisdom learned, then looking forward with enough faith to take the next step. The important steps to live the life you love and love the life you live.
If this episode resonated with you or made you think of someone who needs to hear this message, be sure to like and share it.
I hope you have a magical day. Glance in the rearview, gather this wisdom then boldly look forward and see the new opportunities through the windshield. Move forward with all the wisdom you’ve gathered.
I love each and every one of you, and I’ll talk to you next week.
Have a magical day!
Stacey
Interested in scheduling a reading? Go to www.connectingtospiritwithstacey.com and click on the Book a Reading button. 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/1VVQYeRmG9/
