With over 25 years of experience, Sunday Times bestselling author TJ Higgs has worked alongside some of the most respected names in mediumship, including Colin Fry and Tony Stockwell. She now teaches psychic mediumship at The College of Psychic Studies. In this interview, she talks candidly about her relationship with spirit and what it really takes to develop as a medium – sharing the advice she gives her own students at every stage of their journey.
Can you take us back to your earliest memory of sensing spirit?
I was aware of spirit from a very young age, although I didn't have the language for it then. I would sense people around me, know things I probably shouldn't have known and experience things that felt completely normal to me. It was only as I got older that I understood that not everybody experienced the world in the same way.
Was there a defining moment when you realised this was going to be your life's work?
I don't think there was one dramatic moment. It was more of a gradual realisation. As the evidence became stronger and I began seeing what that evidence meant to people, particularly people who were grieving, I understood the responsibility that came with mediumship. It stopped being about what I could do and became much more about how I could use it properly. That is still how I look at it today.
You've worked with mediums like Colin Fry and Tony Stockwell. How has that influenced your mediumship?
Working around experienced mediums teaches you a lot, particularly about discipline, professionalism and trusting your own way of working. But one of the biggest things I learned was that you cannot become somebody else's version of a medium. You have to understand how spirit communicates through you. Large audiences also teach you to trust the information quickly. You haven't got time to analyse every piece of evidence. You receive it, communicate it clearly and allow the recipient to understand it. That has definitely made me more direct in the way I work.
Can you describe what it feels like when spirit comes through?
For me, it feels like another awareness joining my own. I am still completely aware of myself, the room and the person I am speaking to, but at the same time I become aware of somebody else. I might suddenly know their personality, feel an emotion, become aware of a memory, hear a name in my mind or feel something physically in my body. It is not usually dramatic. It can actually be very subtle. That is why learning to recognise those subtle changes is such an important part of developing mediumship.
A question so many of our students ask: How do you distinguish between your own thoughts and genuine messages from spirit?
At the beginning, you often can't. And I think people need to hear that. You learn through practice. Spirit communication often arrives before you've had time to think about it. It can feel slightly random, unexpected or outside your normal train of thought. My advice to students is always: give the information before you start editing it. If you receive 'red shoes', say red shoes. Don't turn it into, 'Maybe she liked fashion, maybe she had a red dress, maybe she worked in a shoe shop.' That is where your own mind starts getting involved. Give what you receive and allow the evidence to teach you.
You now teach at The College of Psychic Studies, guiding students from their very first steps in mediumship. What's the hardest thing to teach?
Trust.
I can teach somebody how to prepare, how to recognise information, how to structure a communication and how to develop evidence. What I cannot give them is trust in themselves. That comes from experience. Eventually you have enough moments where you think, "There is absolutely no way I could have known that." Those moments build confidence. Mediumship has to be experienced. You cannot learn it purely from a book or by listening to somebody talk about it. You have to practise.
What would you say to someone who feels they've always sensed spirit, but has never had the confidence or structure to explore it?
Find somewhere safe and reputable to learn. Don't rush into giving readings or trying to prove anything. Learn the basics properly. Understand the difference between psychic information and mediumistic information. Learn how you personally receive information and practise with people who will give you honest feedback. Confidence comes from evidence, not from somebody telling you that you are gifted.
And to someone who has never sensed spirit, but would love to… is it possible for them to learn?
Yes, I believe people can develop their awareness. But I also think we need to be realistic. Everybody is different and everybody will develop differently. The first step is learning to become aware of your own energy, your intuition and how your mind works before trying to communicate with spirit.
Learn to be still.
Learn to notice.
Learn the difference between imagining something and receiving something.
Then practise.
People sometimes try far too hard. Mediumship isn't about forcing something to happen. It is about becoming receptive enough to notice when it does.
After 25+ years of this work, what does mediumship mean to you now?
When I started, I think I was fascinated by the fact that communication with spirit was possible. Now I am much more interested in the evidence and what that evidence gives to the person receiving it. Mediumship is not about the medium. It is about demonstrating that the relationship between two people has not simply disappeared because somebody has died. For me, the purpose of mediumship is to give evidence that human consciousness continues beyond physical death. Everything else comes second.
What's your one piece of advice for budding psychic mediums?
Stop trying to be impressive. Give what you receive. If it is a name, give the name. If it is a memory, give the memory. If it is a small detail, don't dismiss it because you don't think it sounds important enough. Very often the smallest piece of information is the strongest piece of evidence. Trust the information before you understand it. That is where good mediumship begins.
With over 25 years of experience as a professional psychic medium, TJ Higgs brings the same honesty, warmth and evidence-based approach to her teaching at The College of Psychic Studies. If her words here resonate, why not experience her guidance for yourself? Explore TJ's upcoming events at the College, and take your own next step in developing trust in your connection to spirit.
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