We are now in the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when the theme of Teshuvah reaches its height. Teshuvah is a God-given gift to us calling us back, showing us the way home. Often translated as repentance it really means "returning to our inner selves".
By the Sages, the term Teshuvah not only describes a state of mind of regret when we wish make amends, but it is also also used to describe a higher state of spiritual consciousness than we had previously attained. So the question we need to ask is, how is achieving a higher consciousness considered a "return"?