When we forget the essence of our soul itself, when we are distracted from introspection, from the content of inner life, everything becomes confused and doubtful. The beginning of repentance which immediately illumines the darkness is that a person return to himself, the root of his soul, and he will at once return to G-d, to the soul of all souls. This is true for the individual, the entire nation, for all of humanity, for the perfection of existence as a whole; its ruin always comes when it forgets itself. And if the person says s/he wants to come back to God but is not prepared to gather in its own dispersed [powers] then this is a false teshuva and s/he is using G-d’s name in vain.
– Rabbi A.I Kook, Orot HaTeshuva Ch. 15:10
