One of the questions I’m asked most often is: “How do mediums actually see things?”

Many people imagine that if you’re a medium, you simply see spirits standing in front of you as clearly as you would see another person. They think it’s like watching a film or having someone physically appear in the room speaking out loud. But the reality of mediumship is very different — and much more subtle.

Training as a medium takes years of practice, patience, and learning how to understand the senses beyond the physical ones. What most mediums are doing is not “seeing” in the ordinary sense at all. We are sensing.

Mediumship Is About Sensing Energy

When I’m giving a reading or working on a platform, I often become aware of someone standing nearby in spirit. I may describe it by saying, “I can see someone standing over there,” but what is really happening is that I’m sensing their presence.

As the connection builds, the energy becomes stronger. Sometimes there may be a faint outline or impression, but usually it’s more about feeling and interpreting than physically seeing.

For example, during a recent reading, I sensed a man standing to one side. I became aware of his size and strength. I could feel his personality coming through strongly. He felt like a big, solid man with a powerful character. That personality itself became part of the evidence for the person receiving the reading.

That’s how spirit communication often works — not through crystal-clear images, but through impressions, feelings, emotions, and inner knowing.

Interpreting What Spirit Gives You

Mediumship is a process of interpretation.

Spirit may give you symbols, feelings, snippets of information, or emotional impressions. The medium then has to make sense of what is being received and pass it on as accurately as possible.

Sometimes the information makes no sense to the medium at all.

I recently sensed a lady with bright, sparkling eyes, but I also felt strongly that she could not walk. I didn’t understand why, but I passed the information on anyway. The person receiving the reading immediately recognised her — she had lost a leg.

That is often how mediumship works. You give what you are sensing, even when it means nothing to you personally.

You Don’t Know Everything

Another misconception is that mediums somehow know everything about everyone around them. That simply isn’t true.

During one reading recently, I could sense around twenty spirit people connected to the person sitting with me. But that didn’t mean I instantly knew every detail about all twenty individuals.

Think of it like being in a crowded room where many people are trying to speak at once. If every spirit communicated everything simultaneously, it would be overwhelming. Instead, certain people step forward, and certain pieces of information become stronger than others.

A medium works with what is being highlighted or impressed upon them at that moment.

The “Sixth Sense”

People sometimes call this ability the sixth sense, and in many ways that’s an accurate description.

When mediums “hear” spirit, it usually isn’t like hearing a physical voice with the ears. It’s more like hearing within the mind or sensing words internally.

The same applies to seeing. It is an inner awareness rather than physical eyesight.

For instance, during a reading, I suddenly sensed a birthday cake covered in candles in front of someone. The person initially didn’t understand the meaning. Then it clicked — their child’s birthday was the following week.

Often, spirit communication only makes sense after the person reflects on it.

Why Mediumship Can Sometimes Be Wrong

Because mediumship involves interpretation, it’s important to understand that mediums are human beings translating impressions as best they can.

Sometimes symbols are misunderstood. Sometimes information is interpreted incorrectly. A medium is working with sensations, emotions, flashes of insight, and symbolic impressions rather than direct conversations as we know them physically.

That’s why mediumship requires humility, patience, and trust in the process.

The Heart of Mediumship

At its core, mediumship is about connection.

It’s about linking with spirit, sensing their presence, and interpreting the impressions they bring forward in a meaningful and evidential way. Often the most powerful evidence is the information that means absolutely nothing to the medium but means everything to the person receiving it.

So when a medium says, “I can see someone,” what they usually mean is this:

They are sensing a presence, interpreting the energy, and allowing spirit to communicate through feelings, impressions, symbols, and inner awareness.

That is how mediums truly work.