Ancient, ignorant and fearful understandings of earth, the cosmos and the forces of nature invariably led to the primitive human belief that the earth itself was populated by mysterious forces and evil spirits. It was further believed that there were ‘other worlds’, both above and below, also populated by supernatural ‘spirits’.

These primitive beliefs inevitably led to an overarching spirit-ual or metaphysical view – a fear-based belief that was so passionately held to that it has continued largely unabated throughout human history.

Illustration: http://nrumiano.free.fr/Ecosmo/cg_history.html

Ancient spiritual belief further had it that a person who suffered misfortune or overly suffered from the human instinctual passions of fear and aggression was ‘possessed’ by bad or evil spirits. Relief was sought by offering sacrifice or avowing servitude to the mythical good spirits or Gods in return for favours, forgiveness, redemption and salvation, if not now then in an imaginary life-after-death.

Each tribe has, over millennia, formalized its own particular religion based on these ancient words, traditions, fears, superstitions and eccentric fairy tales.

Shamans, priests and God-men soon laid claim to be the earthly representatives of these mythical ‘other- worldly’ spirits and Gods and, as such, their words and deeds were taken to be sacred and inviolate.

Thus the shamans, priests and God-men came to wield enormous power and influence, for to dare to question them was to provoke the evil spirits, incur the wrath of the Gods and ultimately deny oneself the chance of salvation in an imagined future life-after-death.

A fervent and desperate belief that there was a future life-after-death for the human ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’ in these imaginary ‘spirit worlds’ was common to all ancient tribal groups …

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