Spirituality Was Never About Fear—It Was About Connection

Before spirituality became about belief, obedience, or salvation, it was about relationships.

Early human societies did not understand themselves as separate from the world around them. Spirit was not distant or abstract, it was present in the land, the sky, the animals, the seasons, and the people themselves. To be spiritual is meant to be in the right relationship with the Earth that fed you, the community that held you, and the unseen forces that moved through all things.

In these spiritual systems, there was no concept of inherent sinfulness. A person was not “bad” for being human. Instead, imbalance was understood as disconnection—from self, from community, or from the natural and cosmic order. The response to imbalance was not punishment, but a form of restoration. The community would understand if one person is out of balance then they are all out of balance, so then they would extend what resources they can to help lift them.

This worldview is reflected across the world’s oldest traditions and is still being practiced today. Indigenous cultures, including the Lakota, understood life as a sacred web—what the Lakota express through Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ, “all my relations.” In this understanding, if there is harm to one part of the web—it ripples outward, and healing must be done collectively.

Spirituality is inherently embodied. Teachings are lived, not merely believed. Wisdom comes through observation of nature, participation in ceremonies/rituals, storytelling, and lived experience over time. Knowledge is earned through relationships with elders, with the land, with the cosmos, with spirit—not granted through hierarchy or authority alone. This is why in the past it was an honorable passage to become an adult. These stages and cycles were important.

This is why so many ancient teachings emphasize cycles rather than linear progress. Growth is not a one-time achievement, but an ongoing process of learning, forgetting, and remembering again. When someone falls out of balance, they are not cast out—they are guided back into harmony.

As spiritual systems became increasingly institutionalized, this relational foundation began to erode. Old ways of life slowly erased over time, but yet they’re still tucked away within the cultures that surround us.