The Key to Mediumship: Gordon Higginson's Timeless Teachings on Spiritual Development, Service and Humility
Why the true development of mediumship begins not with the gift itself, but with the development of the person behind it.
There are certain teachings that deserve to be revisited, not because they belong to the past, but because their message remains relevant today.
In a remarkable interview recorded in 1981, the distinguished Spiritualist medium Gordon Higginson shared his thoughts on the nature of mediumship, how it should be developed, the responsibilities of those who practise it, and the importance of spirituality.
Listening to his words, one thing becomes particularly clear: Gordon believed that mediumship was about considerably more than demonstrating psychic ability or communicating with those who have passed into the spirit world.
For him, the real foundation of mediumship was spiritual development.
His message was both challenging and deeply thought-provoking. He questioned the standards of training available to aspiring mediums, warned against materialism and personal ambition, and repeatedly emphasised that humility, knowledge, preparation and selfless service must come before the development of mediumistic gifts.
Although this interview was recorded more than four decades ago, many of the questions he raised remain important for anyone interested in mediumship today.
1. Has the standard of mediumship changed?
One of Gordon's opening observations concerned the standard of mediumship.
When asked whether mediumship was at the same standard as it had been fifty years earlier, his answer was no.
Interestingly, he did not suggest that the problem was simply a lack of people with potential. He believed the greater problem was the quality of training and the shortage of experienced teachers who genuinely understood the subject.
He felt that aspiring mediums were sometimes being introduced to development classes without first receiving the necessary education.
This is an important distinction.
Having an interest in mediumship, experiencing unusual sensitivities or believing oneself to have an ability does not automatically mean that a person understands what mediumship involves.
Gordon believed that proper education was essential if the standard of mediumship was to improve.
His observations invite an important question for modern Spiritualism: are we giving people the knowledge and guidance they need, or are we placing too much emphasis on developing abilities before establishing a proper foundation?
2. Education must come before development
One of Gordon's strongest messages was that people should study before entering mediumship development classes.
He believed students needed to understand the mechanics of mediumship and the spiritual principles underlying it.
He discussed the physical body, the etheric body and the different aspects of human existence as understood within his Spiritualist philosophy.
His view was that students needed to understand themselves before attempting to develop their mediumship.
He proposed a more structured approach:
First, study and education.
Next, spiritual preparation and understanding.
Regular meditation and the development of spiritual awareness.
Guidance from an experienced and responsible teacher.
Finally, the gradual development and recognition of individual gifts.
This approach is particularly interesting because it places development towards the end of the preparation process rather than at the beginning.
Gordon was not advocating rushing people into circles and expecting results.
He believed that knowledge provided the foundation upon which genuine development could take place.
There is considerable wisdom in this principle, regardless of one's personal beliefs about mediumship. In any specialised discipline, understanding, preparation and responsible instruction are important.
3. Mediumship is a calling, not simply an ability
Another particularly significant part of the interview concerned what Gordon described as the calling of mediumship.
He believed that mediumship should arise from a genuine spiritual desire rather than curiosity, ambition or the wish to acquire recognition.
He spoke about the importance of understanding God as spirit, not merely as a form or image, but as a power and influence for good.
He also discussed the importance of meditation and learning to become more spiritually aware.
His interpretation of the development of Jesus' disciples was particularly interesting. He suggested that their preparation involved education, prayer and the strengthening of their spiritual understanding before their gifts were fully developed.
The underlying message was that a person's spiritual nature needed attention before their mediumistic abilities could be properly developed.
This is an important point to consider.
Are we as interested in becoming better human beings as we are in becoming better mediums?
Do we place as much importance on compassion, patience, understanding and self-awareness as we do on producing evidence?
Gordon's answer would appear to be that we should.
4. Honesty, selflessness and the responsibility to serve
Gordon spoke openly about his own childhood experiences, explaining that he had been aware of spirit people and voices from a young age.
He also spoke warmly about his mother and the influence she had on his early development.
One of the most important lessons she taught him was that he should be prepared to give rather than take.
He explained that his mediumship was to be developed for the purpose of serving mankind, rather than placing material considerations first.
This is perhaps one of the most important themes throughout the entire interview.
Mediumship, in Gordon's understanding, was not intended to make someone important, admired or financially successful.
It was intended to serve a greater purpose.
He also believed that teachers needed to be honest when assessing students. Not everyone would develop in the same way, and not everyone would necessarily become a working medium.
There is an important lesson here about individuality.
People should be encouraged, but they should also be guided honestly. It is not helpful to give everyone unrealistic expectations or suggest that every unusual experience is evidence of mediumistic ability.
Responsible development requires honesty from both the student and the teacher.
5. The dangers of materialism and personal ambition
Gordon was particularly concerned about the increasing influence of materialism.
He believed that Spiritualism should provide a balance to a world increasingly focused on possessions, financial gain and physical existence.
He warned that mediumship should not be developed primarily for material reward.
He recognised that fame and fortune could become hazards for mediums.
This is a subject that deserves attention in the modern spiritual community.
There is nothing inherently wrong with earning a living through one's work, and Gordon's comments should not automatically be interpreted as a rejection of every form of payment.
His central concern was the motivation behind the work.
When recognition, popularity, financial gain or personal importance become more significant than spiritual purpose, something important can be lost.
A medium can become so concerned with maintaining a reputation that they lose sight of the very qualities that should underpin their work.
His message was a reminder that spiritual development should never become secondary to commercial success.
6. Understanding the difference between psychic ability and mediumship
One of the most interesting discussions in the interview concerned the difference between psychism and mediumship.
Gordon made a distinction between being psychic and being a medium.
He explained that psychic sensitivity could involve becoming aware of a person's circumstances, emotions, environment or present situation.
Mediumship, in his understanding, involved communication with minds from another dimension of existence.
He believed that the two were not necessarily the same thing.
This distinction is important because the terms psychic and medium are sometimes used interchangeably.
Gordon believed that a person could possess clairvoyant or psychic abilities without necessarily demonstrating mediumship.
His emphasis was on recognising the difference between information arising from sensitivity to a person or situation and what he understood to be communication from the spirit world.
This also raises an important issue for anyone working with the public.
It is essential to be honest about what is being offered and not to present every impression, feeling or intuitive observation as communication from someone who has passed away.
Clear distinctions, honesty and responsible interpretation matter.
7. Clairvoyance and clairaudience
Gordon discussed two familiar forms of mediumistic expression: clairvoyance and clairaudience.
Clairvoyance refers to what is traditionally described as clear seeing, while clairaudience refers to clear hearing.
He explained that his understanding of clairaudience was not necessarily that the medium heard voices through the physical ears.
He described his own experiences and recalled how his mother had helped him investigate them when he was young.
According to his account, she would place cotton wool in his ears and encourage him to listen inwardly.
He came to believe that his clairaudient experiences involved something other than ordinary physical hearing.
He also discussed the importance of recognising individual differences in development and suggested that different gifts required different approaches to training.
The wider lesson is that mediums should not assume that everyone will experience communication in the same way.
A responsible teacher should be interested in understanding the individual rather than trying to make every student conform to one particular method.
8. Prediction and the importance of interpretation
Gordon also explored the subject of prediction.
He believed that the level from which information was received influenced its reliability.
He distinguished between psychic impressions and what he considered to be higher spiritual communication.
He suggested that prediction could arise through clairvoyant experiences, but stressed the importance of understanding and interpreting what was received.
One particularly important point was his warning against confusing ordinary psychic impressions with evidence of spirit communication.
He believed that a medium should establish the presence of spirit before interpreting other impressions as part of a mediumistic communication.
This is an area where his emphasis on training and responsibility becomes particularly relevant.
Predictions can have a considerable emotional effect on the person receiving them.
They should never be delivered carelessly or as unquestionable facts.
Whatever one's beliefs about spiritual communication, sensitivity, humility and careful language are essential when discussing another person's future.
9. Private sittings and public demonstrations
Gordon discussed the differences between working with an individual sitter and demonstrating mediumship before a large audience.
He explained that he was accustomed to public demonstrations but also believed that private sittings were excellent training for developing mediums.
He emphasised that a sitting required sensitivity and, importantly, love.
He did not believe that psychic impressions and spiritual communication should be confused.
He also spoke about the importance of preparation rather than rushing into a sitting or public demonstration.
This is a valuable reminder that mediumship is not simply about standing in front of an audience and attempting to produce information.
It requires concentration, preparation, responsibility and consideration for the person receiving the communication.
The sitter should never be forgotten in the process.
10. Psychometry: Learning through sensitivity
Psychometry was another subject that Gordon discussed in considerable detail.
He explained that he had been trained in psychometry by his mother and regarded it as an important part of his own development.
Psychometry is traditionally understood within psychic practice as the ability to gain impressions through handling an object associated with someone.
Gordon described how he had been taught to begin with the present rather than immediately attempting to explore the distant past.
He explained that his mother encouraged him to build up impressions gradually, beginning with the person who had handled an object and developing a picture from there.
He also gave an example involving a piece of material brought from Egypt.
His mother encouraged him to work progressively, developing his impressions before attempting to establish its earlier history.
He believed that this approach helped him develop sensitivity and concentration.
Importantly, Gordon made a distinction between psychometry and mediumship.
He regarded psychometry as a useful ability in its own right, but did not believe it should automatically be treated as evidence of communication with the spirit world.
He also believed psychometry concerned the present and past rather than being a method of predicting the future.
This is another example of his insistence that different abilities should be understood and used appropriately.
11. Tools, astrology, pendulums and the Ouija board
The interviewer also asked Gordon about various tools used in psychic practice.
These included tea leaves, cards, palmistry, astrology, pendulums and the Ouija board.
Gordon's position was interesting because he did not dismiss these methods outright.
He suggested that certain tools could help people concentrate or focus their attention.
However, he distinguished these practices from what he considered spiritual mediumship.
He expressed an interest in astrology and described relationships he believed he had observed between astrology and psychometry.
Regarding pendulums, he acknowledged their use but expressed reservations about the influence of the operator's own mind.
His comments about the Ouija board were particularly cautious.
He believed that the board could be influenced by the minds of those using it and should not be encouraged in inexperienced hands.
He considered it more appropriate for people with particular abilities, such as automatic writing or trance-related development.
His overall message was that tools should never be confused with spiritual development itself.
A tool may help someone concentrate, but it does not automatically establish the presence of spirit communication.
12. Automatic writing: Inspiration or genuine automatic writing?
Gordon made an important distinction between inspired writing and automatic writing.
He explained that feeling inspired to write something, receiving an idea or suddenly wanting to record a thought was not necessarily automatic writing.
In his understanding, genuine automatic writing involved the hand being used to produce writing without the medium consciously knowing what was being written.
He believed this was a particular gift requiring specialised training.
He also suggested that people with this ability should receive individual attention rather than simply being placed in a general development circle.
This is another example of his belief that different forms of mediumship require different approaches.
It also demonstrates how strongly he felt about the importance of proper guidance.
13. The medium as a vessel, not a manufacturer
Perhaps one of the most memorable discussions in the entire interview occurred when the interviewer suggested that a medium should be regarded as a vessel rather than a manufacturer.
Gordon immediately responded positively to this description.
He agreed that a medium should not attempt to manufacture the spirit world or force communication to take place.
Within his Spiritualist understanding, the medium's task was to prepare themselves to receive information and then communicate it as faithfully as possible.
He described the medium as a receiver.
He also recognised the importance of interpretation, particularly in forms of mediumship where the medium remains conscious.
He made a particularly thought-provoking observation: we can only communicate something that we are capable of understanding.
He used examples of love and human relationships to illustrate the importance of developing compassion and understanding in everyday life.
In other words, spiritual development cannot be separated from personal development.
A person who wishes to communicate feelings of love, understanding and compassion must also make an effort to cultivate those qualities within themselves.
This is a powerful principle, even beyond the context of mediumship.
14. Trance mediumship and the importance of non-interference
Gordon spoke with great enthusiasm about trance mediumship.
He explained that, in his understanding, trance allowed the spirit communicator to express themselves more directly through the medium.
He distinguished this from clairvoyant communication, where the medium receives impressions and then interprets and expresses them.
He believed that deep trance development required considerable training and that the medium needed to learn not to interfere with the communication.
He also discussed the relationship between trance and physical mediumship, including direct voice.
He believed that trance could form the foundation of certain forms of physical mediumship.
These were important subjects for Gordon, who felt that such forms of mediumship deserved greater attention and that the shortage of experienced teachers was limiting their development.
His enthusiasm for these subjects is clear throughout the interview.
It is worth remembering, however, that the explanations he gives concerning spirit control, ectoplasm and direct voice represent his Spiritualist beliefs and interpretations. They should not be confused with independently established scientific findings.
15. Spirituality must come before mediumistic development
As the interview approached its conclusion, Gordon returned to what was arguably his most important message.
He was concerned that the increasing demand for mediumship could lead people to concentrate too heavily on the material side of their work.
He believed that mediums should continue to develop spiritually throughout their lives.
He was concerned about those who reached a certain level of ability but then stopped striving for further spiritual growth.
He argued that the preparation of the individual was more important than the development of the gift itself.
Meditation, spiritual awareness and understanding should come first.
He believed that if mediums neglected their spiritual development, their work could deteriorate over time.
This is perhaps the central lesson of the entire interview.
Mediumship should not be treated as a destination or an achievement that can eventually be ticked off.
It should be part of an ongoing process of learning, reflection and personal growth.
My reflections: What can we learn from Gordon Higginson today?
Having considered the full interview, I believe Gordon's most important contribution was not simply the range of mediumistic subjects he discussed.
It was the philosophy underpinning his approach.
He repeatedly returned to the same principles:
Knowledge before development.
Preparation before demonstration.
Spiritual awareness before the pursuit of ability.
Service before personal gain.
Honesty before recognition.
Humility before fame.
Continued growth rather than becoming satisfied with one's achievements.
These principles deserve serious consideration.
One aspect I particularly appreciate is his insistence that aspiring mediums should not be rushed.
There can sometimes be an expectation that development should produce visible results quickly. Students may feel pressure to demonstrate something, identify a particular gift or prove that they are progressing.
Gordon's approach challenges that expectation.
He believed that the foundations mattered more than the speed of development.
I also think his distinction between psychic ability and mediumship is worth revisiting. It encourages people to be more thoughtful about the information they receive and how they interpret it.
However, I would add that spiritual claims should always be approached with discernment. Personal experiences can be deeply meaningful, but they are not automatically proof of communication from the spirit world. Ethical practice requires openness, honesty and an awareness of the possibility of error.
I would also question whether any individual teacher or medium should be regarded as the final authority on spiritual development. Gordon had extensive experience and clearly held strong convictions, but healthy development should leave room for questioning, reflection and independent thought.
The best teachers encourage people to think, not simply to follow.
And perhaps that is another way of honouring the spirit of what Gordon was saying.
The final lesson: Never lose humility
Towards the end of the interview, Gordon was asked about the relationship between mediumship and spirituality.
His closing remarks were particularly powerful.
He warned that fame and fortune had always been hazards in mediumship.
He believed that mediums must never lose sight of humility.
That final message brings the entire interview into focus.
It is possible to spend years developing an ability, studying techniques, attending classes and gaining experience. But if the development of the person is neglected, what has really been achieved?
For Gordon, mediumship was not about becoming somebody important.
It was about being willing to serve.
It was about understanding that the gift, whatever form it might take, should never become more important than the qualities of the person using it.
His words from 1981 leave us with a question that remains just as relevant today:
Are we developing our mediumship, or are we developing ourselves to become better mediums?
Perhaps the answer should always be both.
But if Gordon Higginson's message is taken seriously, the development of the spirit within us must always come first.
And above everything else, we must never lose humility.
About the interview
This article is based on Gordon Higginson's 1981 interview, The Key to Mediumship, published by the Gordon Higginson Tribute Site on YouTube in 2019.
The interview was conducted by Dennis Danville and covers the development, training, responsibilities and different forms of mediumship.
It is well worth listening to in full for Gordon's own explanations and reflections.
Watch the original interview: https://youtu.be/f_JsCE5LvGY
This article is an independent reflection on the interview. It summarises Gordon's teachings in original wording and distinguishes his Spiritualist beliefs from matters that can be independently established.
