When we are in denial of the Godliness within us, whether we are truly unaware of it or we are unwilling to admit it, we are susceptible to the hazards to which shame and self-doubt expose us. These include destructive habits and patterns of self-sabotage. When we believe we are worthy of punishment, we hold on to pain and suffering. We create illness and failure subconsciously, as mechanisms to punish ourselves for our wrongdoing and purge us of our guilt.

In addition to these internal abuses, we subject ourselves to external manipulation and mistreatment. When we recognize our tremendous worth, on the other hand, we are strong and invulnerable to exploitation. When we feel guilt and self-recrimination, we are weak and lost and desperate. We become vulnerable to those who offer us salvation and security and all of the things that will fill the void within us and enable us to control our “evil” nature. Therefore, throughout history, “leaders” who would subjugate us and dominate us have labored to convince us that we are debased and needy. For it is far easier to maintain power when one’s subjects are disenfranchised and burdened with shame.

Beyond those who crave superiority and control, there have been countless other leaders who are less self-serving and malevolent, but who simply want to maintain order and security. They have witnessed greed and perversion around them and within them, and they have therefore become convinced of their inherent wretchedness and sinfulness. True believers, they truly believe that the path to redemption is through self-flagellation and the embracing of an external savior who will harness their innate barbarity and rid them of their sins. Whether it is therefore with malicious intent or sincere devotion and desire for a connection to the divine, these figures and institutions in our lives have convinced us to suppress and cover over precisely what we need to pursue and release.

God’s response to all of these forces that generate shame and steer us outward rather than inward is consistent: I am within you, and you are Godly. It is time for us to discard the erroneous ideas of original sin and human inadequacy, and to accept what we truly are and thereby begin to reveal it.

• Excerpted from the recently released Pnei Hashem, an accessible introduction to the deepest depths of the human experience based on the esoteric teachings of Torah. www.pneihashem.com