Interview - Les Fuller

 Each month for twenty years at Woodford Spiritualist church, Les Fuller, holds a very popular drop in group that is most easily called a 'shamanic workshop'. Many who attend are Spiritualists, though all are welcome, regardless of background or belief. It is an experiential meeting where we sing, drum, some dance, we smell scents, hear bells and rattles, and are uplifted by the community of friendly and caring attenders. Les asks if anyone needs 'healing' and invites them to sit in the centre of the room and relax while others attend in various ways to lay hands on their head or shoulders. Good attention and relaxation are known to heal many ills, especially those that are stress related. There is always a time of active meditation where Les tells us a story which we follow in our mind's eye. During this inner experience, we see, hear and speak to spirit guides, for inspiration, to understand our purpose, or to gain advice for our life's difficulties. Some of the spirit guides might be an animal, such as a dog, a bird or a fish. The directions of North East, South, West, and the Centre are honoured, and there are seasonal celebrations and duties, such as to give thanks, to clean or rest. 

 

I hear Spirit and see Spirit, and work with Spirit by noticing what perhaps others don't notice. It is an increased sensitivity and perception. Sometimes, I am overshadowed by Spirit when I can transfigure or make movements outside of my control. Sometimes, I give teaching channelled from Spirit.

The 2021 census in England and Wales, reported that 8000 people stated that shamanism was their chosen religion. These figures are up from 650 in 2011 showing that shamanism is the fastest growing belief system in the UK. It is also the earliest belief in the world, dating back to the dawn of time when ancient mankind left their paintings, hidden deep within caves or high on rock outcrops. Indigenous tribal people across the world who were removed from their culture are re-finding it within shamanism. It is a spiritual belief system of health and healing that also believes that inanimate natural objects possess an energy and a life force and therefore should be respected.

What are the power animals and totems that are sometimes seen in guided mediations?

These relate to what are probably called 'archetypes' today, and might appear in our dreams as spirit friends. They can show us the way when we are lost, they have special abilities, and they can do things that we as human cannot do, so they are clever and wise and we can learn from them.

Why are drums used in your meetings?

Drums are a very ancient art form and Les uses the round, frame drum, used by Native American and also Celtic cultures. As Les works with spirit guides from both cultures, the round drum is most suitable. Drums are a receptacle for energy and put us in contact with the animal that provided the skin of the drum. Drumming puts us in touch with the waves of the universe and our Earth, and with our own body pulses and life rhythms. Drumming has been shown to be beneficial for many kinds of dis-eases. Les has many times been given spirit guidance during the meetings on all kinds of illness and personal difficulties and has had many exceptional recoveries from illness from those who have sought his medicine work and many lives have been changed. Sometimes, we chant, such as “Earth my body, Water my blood, Air my breath and Fire my Spirit.” Another chant is “We are the flow, we are the ebb, we are the weavers and we are the web.” And for the women “Ladies spin your circle bright, weave your web of dark and light, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, unite as one.” 

How did you discover shamanism Les?

I was working on the platform as a medium, serving the churches in East London with my wife Jacci, who is also a medium and healer. As I got to know and work with my Native American spirit guide, Foolscrow, he began to teach me about the ancient shamanic culture of his people and I began to incorporate it into my Spiritualist work. Tachanka is the native name that I was given. It means 'buffalo'. I have many precious, authentic indigenous artefacts that I have been gifted with, including a bison blanket, rare bird feathers, etc. My guides appear wearing jeans and a tee shirt and not in native dress. On the spiritual planes, there is no division of time, culture or colour. Forty three years ago, they told me “we want you to learn shamanism” and my friends, Pete and Steph who had lived with the Lakota people gave me a gift of moccasins. I work with the crow which is a sacred bird that brings a special message against greed. They work between the worlds and are intelligent and wise. I have a crow painted on my frame drum and I call the group at Woodford ‘the Crow Tribe’.

What is a shamanic journey? 

This is an expression to describe an active meditation where one sits still and closes one’s eyes and concentrates on what the facilitator is describing. Instead of restricting thoughts, the facilitator takes the group on an inner journey where they meet spirit guides or power animals for communication, sometimes the spirits show something or sometimes they say something which is meaningful and useful. It is not a pre-arranged experience, but spontaneous.

How would someone incorporate shamanism into their life?

Shamanism is the earliest form of trance mediumship. The drum is the most usual method to produce a trance state, but also singing and dancing. The way of life of the Native American, indigenous peoples, sometimes called First Nation, was for the vast time of history, living close to the lad, honouring all that the land provides, and being caretakers of the species, both animal and plant. They protected and conserved what they were given by Wakan Tanka the god of the indigenous people. Les words with well sourced herbs, rocks and animal bone. There are parallels to Spiritualism. They are very similar because this is how Spirit works with mediums. The Native peoples of North America honoured the land and its species. They only took from nature what they needed for food, clothing and shelter so someone who wanted to learn from the Native American culture would be ecological, and care for nature.

What benefit do people have by attending the group?

People benefit by being with others in the beautiful space of the Woodford church which has a marvellous atmosphere and architecture, where the light shines in through the windows in the roof-space. As many as 40 or 50 people, many of them mediums and healers, attend to sit in a circle and drum. We cannot say what will happen when someone attends the group, though many come to the meeting feeling tired, stressed and unhappy, and leave feeling uplifted, contented and fulfilled. They can also develop spiritually if the time is right for them. Small rituals, such as the ‘paper of regrets’, are given. This is where negative thoughts are written on a bay leaf and burned in a small cauldron. The smoke rises to the heavens taking away feelings of negativity. 

How does shamanic healing differ from spiritual healing?

The principles are the same. Nothing is required from the person who requires healing. The healer focuses on being what we call 'a hollow bone' and ask that the energy of healing flow through them, not from them. The development of a greater and more mature and loving spiritual life is hoped for, and sometimes a physical improvement is made. I use a Cherokee method of coloured hoops when healing. The hoops often move of their own accord with the energies raised. I also use rounded white stones found in a shallow stream and are used by the Lakota. I find them in the River Roding. 

An attender writes:

In July, in the morning meditation, I was a bird, effortlessly gilding on the air thermals, high above the earth. In the afternoon meditation, Les guided us to imagine lying down in a stream of river water and letting the water flow over us to wash away negativities and refresh us. Then to stand and look around us as a gift would come our way. In my meditation, I saw god standing on a bridge throwing things into the river for me to catch. I caught a fish that had a gift for me in its mouth and I caught hold of something dangling from an overhead tree. I made my way to the edge where I found things on the shingle shoreline, half buried, lost treasures from the past!

On one occasion, we symbolically put something we wanted to remove into a bowl of scented herbs. With our eyes closed, we touched apples to bring to us something nourishing. We each took a pinch of Irish moss to bring in new and good things into our lives. When Les called me for healing, (I had gone deaf in one ear), he gave me an image to hold in my mind. It was a wolf, an animal related to hearing. He worked around my head and someone played the didgeridoo nearby. The 50 or so drummers did the rest, raising energy and creating a shaking in my ear drum. As I closed my eyes, I saw a vision of the snow with a wolf pack, hard work for them to run, and many females were pregnant. Some were just pups and youngsters, running on the Steppes of the Mongolian hillside! We followed the deer trods, and the humans followed us. We, the wolf, taught people how to hunt. I started to feel like I had a little snout and my ears were pricking up into a point! It was a fascinating and wonderful experience.

On the August occasion, Les introduced us in meditation to the deer tribe, as the deer were removing their old horns. We needed to pull them off somehow as the new ones would be growing again soon. In my internal vision, I managed to remove mine on an old tree trunk, and then my head felt itchy as the new ones were developing. I felt as though I was holding my head differently to my normal way, as though I was wearing some type of crown. We also had a meditation on the sturgeon, a large fish that assists with clarifying our life purpose. In this vision, we could let go of limiting and stuck energy.

Les often gives us a gift to take home, a blue corn seed to sow which is sacred to the Hopi tribe. I recently planted an acorn in the forest. We are often invited to get together with a partner for a short exercise in mediumship. Last month, with my partner, I saw for her, a lakeside in the mountains, two big birds singing, maybe the Cree people who campaign for health of the land and water supplies. She related to that image. For me, she saw fairy folk and I understood this as I saw fairies as a child.

At the end of the meeting the spirits of the directions are thanked and they return to the North, East, South and West that is their own land, leaving their essence of love and wisdom for those who have attended. The meetings are facilitated in a very safe, friendly environment and Les is very experienced and well qualified. Les and Jacci have strong ethics and their work is highly vocational. They made a commitment to Spirit to never charge for healing and their work is purely advertised by word of mouth so we are very fortunate to have this interview for Psychic News. They are against illegal drugs, they are vegetarians, and do not drink alcohol.

Les recommends a book that made an impression on his work, Fools Crow – Wisdom & Power by Thomas E Mails. Les also recommends Animals Speak by Ted Andrews.