Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Niedentohl.
Hi Stacey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Death is one of the hardest emotions we, as humans have to address as part of life. Let’s face it we aren’t getting out of here alive. No one grieves the same way. Grief comes in so many forms that it can be hard to wrap your head around. How will you ever completely walk through it? Everyone confronts death at some time or another. Mourning is different every time we lose someone. The only thing that is consistent in death is that this person will no longer be able to speak to their human earthly body. Before losing my mother, I viewed death in a totally different way.
Let’s go back to where it started: I’d been struggling for several years with panic and anxiety attacks. Out of nowhere, they would hit. Dry heaves, cold sweats, and feeling like my throat was closing up because I felt as if my tongue was swelling. Sometimes I would have tightness around my neck giving me breathing issues. We had to get rid of any clock that ticked. It made me feel like the world was closing in on me just like the end of the looney tune cartoon when the circle closes in on Porky Pig. I literally would sit on the floor between my husband’s legs and have him place his hands on my shoulders because I felt as if I was leaving my body. I thought I was going crazy. Something was wrong. I am not a “go to the Doctor kinda girl” unless I have no other choice. So, I went. I thought the onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s, or schizophrenia. My doctor assured me that at my age it was not dementia or Alzheimer’s, so off to a counselor. Diagnoses: Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD. This was not a good feeling and lots of hard things that I needed to confront that I thought I already had years ago.
I don’t think I was suicidal, but I understood why some would choose suicide to get out of this dark place. This scared the shit out of me. While going through this my mother became sick. First, the diagnosis was pneumonia then the test came back a few days later Stage IV Lung Cancer. I remember where I was when I got the call in April. I remember going into defense mode. I needed to protect my mother and make sure she got the care she needed. Listening closely to every word the doctors said about what was going on and then saying back to the doctor what they just said to make sure I was hearing them correctly.
Mom had a very short fight as she left this world on June 29th at 2:11 am, 2014. Her cancer was very aggressive, but I have to tell you she was so strong, and I feel very lucky to have been able to be with her the night and day before she passed. We didn’t say much but I felt it necessary to let her know she would be ok and that the people who came to see her got to say their last goodbyes. If she was asleep, I’d wake her up. I didn’t want her to miss an opportunity to see how deeply she was loved. We did have a conversation that when she left this earth, she would have to give me signs that she was around. She smiled and said “Jokes….” I love good practical jokes but from the other side? This made me pause but smile knowing she knew I needed to laugh.
We were able to bring her home where she could continue her final journey. I wasn’t with my mother when she passed. I was home watching my grandson. I got a call early in the morning from my sister saying she had passed at 2:11 am. As I drove up to my mother’s home probably around 2:30 in the morning a strong scent of flowers came through the open windows of my jeep. Knowing this was a sign from her, I smiled and said: “I love you, Mom.” Not ten seconds later a wafting stench of pasture came and then quickly left, and the scent of flowers surrounded me once again. I thought…you got me, you little shit. That was one of my mom’s sayings.
When I arrived, my mom was still in her bed with some flowers in her hands. I dropped my purse and glasses and went to her side. I leaned in and whispered things to her. As I spoke to her, I felt it was important to give her a message to tell my daughter’s boyfriend who had chosen to leave this world a few years before. Tell him I’m not mad at him anymore and I forgive him. It just felt important to have her relay this message. I kissed her cheek and rubbed her hands and sang in a whisper You Are My Sunshine. This was always a song my grandmother sang to me; I sang it to my kids and grandkids and my children sing it to their children. The song always made me feel loved and at home so what better thing to sing or say to my mother as we waited for the funeral home to come and take her once full-of-life body away?
I told you all of that for a few reasons. Soon after she passed, I started seeing pillows, wall hangings, jewelry, coffee cups, and more with “You Are My Sunshine” on them. The saying was making a comeback in the market. I credit that to my mom; one of the best advertising reps in our area. While deciding to contact her estranged sister I was googling her name to find her number and I came across a post on Facebook of an older woman with dementia laying in the hospital – her loving frail husband takes her and sings, you got it, “You are my sunshine” More signs from mom. I’d wake up at 2:11 am and wonder, why would she wake me up at the time of her death. I realized later this was her new time of birth into her new chapter. I didn’t realize this till a few months later.
Grieving and missing my mom was such a roller coaster of emotions but I have to tell you a pivotal event that changed my thoughts on death forever was a group reading I went to that my friend Denise was hosting in her home. I took one of my daughters with me; the daughter who had lost her boyfriend to suicide. My hope was that she’d find some closure and peace. The very first thing this medium said was You Are My Sunshine. “Are you freaking kidding me I thought?” Mom came through so strongly and gave both my daughter and myself peace. After she finished the reading, she came to me and said, you know the spirit has plans for you.
This woman whom I’d never met before described my anxiety attacks, the feeling of my throat closing – everything. She advised me to either open up to spirit or close it down. Honestly, where I was emotionally if I didn’t open or close it the anxiety attacks would worsen. I almost peed myself. After coming home, and talking to my husband about my experience I decided to have several conversations with God. This was so foreign to me, God chose me to do this, but He kept lining people up in my path leading me where I needed to go. Signs popped up everywhere and you know once I realized my doubt and placed it in His hands; Depression – Gone; Anxiety – Gone; ticking clocks no longer bothered me. For the first time in my life, I understood my purpose.
It was not for me to question when I was being led. It was for me to follow the path. More than 5 years later, having done readings for thousands of people, Connecting to Spirit, and listening to my guides I have been pushed to mentor people to open up to their God-given gifts and help others release negative thoughts around them freeing themselves from anxiety and depression. Me? A Medium? Who would have thought? Even bigger question mark; Me? A Teacher? Now, to me is scary but my guides would not let me sleep one night till I wrote down a plan to mentor and the students came. Crazy right?
One of the first mentors I was led to mentioned writing a book. Several times she would bring this up. I assumed because she was an author working on a book it was top of mind to her, so I kind of shrugged it off. To let you in on a secret, ever since I was young, I said I was going to write a book. I even had a pen name because, in the 70s and 80s, I thought that was cool. Ready? Diane Castle. Diane is my middle name, and I grew up in Greencastle, Pa. I’ve started several books over the years, but none really came together. All of a sudden, this idea came to me and here you are reading my book.
Now that death is a totally different understanding process to me why not take the things that I have consistently come up with in readings from Spirit, God, and my clients and put together a 30-day remembrance book? How to walk yourself through from memories to grief back to memories. So many people tell me they are afraid they will forget. My answer is always to journal it. All of my students will tell you I push journaling and setting intentions. So, the intention of this book is to help you release the grief memories while journaling your memories. This will be a letter to your loved one.
My prayer is that this will help you find your new normal. It doesn’t get easier; you are without someone you cared about. You find your new way to live with their memory surrounding you, a way to speak to them every day. Journal signs, dreams, songs, whatever moves you through the pain of loss to remember the legacy they left instilled in you,
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the struggles I have dealt with were anxiety and depression. Walking through the things of my past so that I could truly connect with my higher self and with consciousness. This is a daily practice of praying, meditating, visualizing, and doing.
Another struggle was and still is that a lot of people have a misunderstanding of what Mediums do. I am not a fortune teller and I prefer not to do health or relationship readings. My gift my prayer is that God, Spirit, and Angels bring you the most healing message possible. Mediumship is something that I take very seriously and educating others in how healing it can be.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Connecting To Spirit With Stacey?
I have been a Medium/Spiritual Healer for over 8 years and the award-winning author of “My Head Knows…But My Heart Still Hurts”. I connect with Spirits, Angels, and Guides to offer peace to those who are grieving. Connecting To Spirit is a journey for every person who has lost a loved one.
We are all unique, but there is one thing that unites us all. Life and Death. I would like to share my journey on how I took this path in life and how I can help you connect with your loved ones you can see my story at www.connectingtospiritwithstacey.com.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid has brought a true spiritual awakening to a lot of people. They discovered what is truly important in their lives.
They found peace in the quiet and did inner journeys. We all have struggles, but those who find blessing in the chaos; found God has a plan that is much greater than all of us.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.connectingtospiritwithstacey.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connectingtospiritwithstacey/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1287200778030033/
- Youtube: Connecting To Spirit With Stacey
