What is Mediumship?
(I'm going to assume it’s probably not what you think)
This is part of my ‘What Is?’ series, where I share the tools I use in my private practice. What is Spiritual Direction. What is Dreamwork. What is Mediumship. What is Astrology. These are stories, the ways these practices entered my life and eventually became my work. You can read the first of that series, What is Spiritual Direction?, right HERE.
For me, Mediumship began in the woods.
I was working in natural burial, spending most of my days alone. I prepared graves by hand. I cleared trails. I sat with families. I tended prairies and wooded conservation land.
One day, while preparing a grave, I felt a wave of grief move through me. It felt like mourning someone I had loved. But I didn’t know the person. Then it happened again. And then again. As time passed, I started feeling into the stories of the dead. I could sense who they were. …and I felt such love for them.
Families would arrive and share stories. As they did, I would have a moment of recognition. I already knew some of the things they said.
But how?
One day, I was preparing a grave for a woman who had died of breast cancer. I began to hum "Bicycle Built for Two" without knowing why. I’m certain you know the song. The one that is sung to a sweetheart named Daisy.
When the family arrived, they brought with them buckets and buckets of daisies! The decedent’s favorite flower. The entire service centered on daisies. Joy, color, the light she brought. I had known none of this.
But something in me had.
At the time, I had just left congregational ministry as a Unitarian Universalist religious professional. You might know that UUism is often humanist in its leanings. As such, I was mystical…but also skeptical. Plus, my mom had just died and I was bitter in my grief.
So, I wasn’t looking for Spirit. I wasn’t really looking for anything.
But after the daisy moment, I couldn’t ignore what was happening. So, I found a mediumship teacher I trusted. I joined a development circle. To my surprise, my own loved ones came through. The messages were healing. Loving. And I could do it too! I could listen. And, I could receive.
But I didn’t tell anyone.
I was still a burial steward. Families came from many traditions. They were raw in their grief. And I had a role to hold.
But privately, I kept developing. The people I met in development were kind, loving, funny, and grounded. Many are still dear friends.
One of them is Katie Wedding. Katie and I developed together, have done many readings together, and she remains someone I deeply cherish. She recently released a podcast episode titled What Is Mediumship, where she shares more about the practice in her own voice. I recommend listening if you're curious to hear another perspective from someone I trust.
The practice of mediumship development changed me. It shaped my skill, and it shaped my formation. The discipline of trust. The humility of it. The reality that you are never in control. …but Spirit is.
In essence, Mediumship is presence. It is deep attention. It is surrender. And it holds you accountable. Because the people you serve are grieving. They are vulnerable. You must care deeply for them. You must care deeply for yourself.
I am trained as an Evidential Medium. Which means I am trained to bring through specific evidence from Spirit. Things that can be validated. A memory. A personality quirk. A phrase or moment. The sitter (the one receiving the reading) must recognize the communicator. When I am in the flow, the reading is effortless. When I try too hard, I lose the connection. I start grabbing. That’s when it breaks. The best thing I can do is stop, breathe, and return. Mediumship is really about doing less.
The less I do, the more Spirit can do.
I no longer argue with skeptics. That road is worn and dry. I do this work because I love it. Because I trust it. Because it serves. And I let those who need it find me.
I believe mediumship is part of our human inheritance. I believe we are all connected by an invisible thread. Some of us choose to follow it. Some of us train. But the web is real.
And through it, I know that love does not end.
Mediumship is different than other intuitive tools. Tarot, astrology, and dream work use symbol. They speak in metaphor and image. Mediumship is relational. You are the tool. That’s why it asks more of you. You must be clear. You must be grounded. You must know how to listen.
And you must trust your inner wisdom.
I believe that’s the difference between listening and ideology. Listening is surrendered. It waits. It honors what comes. Ideology pushes. It controls. It demands. In mediumship, there is no agenda. There is only attention to what really is.
Mediumship belongs inside Spiritual Direction. That is the container where I will always dwell. I do not offer mediumship apart from it. They belong together. Because mediumship often stirs deep questions for a Sitter: Who was I to them? Who am I now? What do I believe? Where do they live now? These are spiritual questions, invitations to meaning-making.
A mediumship reading inside Spiritual Direction is intentionally spacious. We listen together. We reflect. The message from Spirit is only the beginning. The conversation that follows is where true healing unfolds.
One of the most tender moments I’ve held was reading for a father. He had lost his young son in a tragic act of violence. His son came through to share a memory. Their last Christmas. The father had let him carry the saw to cut down their tree. The boy beamed. He felt big. Proud. Capable. The father was so deeply moved. He had grieved not just his son, but the future his son never had. Spirit said, You gave him that. He grew up. It’s okay.
Mediumship, to me, is kind of like sitting on a porch. It is a different kind of listening. The kind that happens in the space between things. Mediumship begins there. In the hush. In the openness. In the quiet arrival of what wants to be known.
And, mediumship is actually quite common. Many people who come to see me have their stories. They’ve felt something. Heard something. Been visited in a dream. These things happen more often than we name.
I am just here to help you name them.
That’s all mediumship really is. Naming what’s already there.
♥️♥️♥️♥️