The word Recapitulation is one of those old time spiritual words that most everyone once understood but which nowadays nobody seems to know. If known it seems to be misunderstood so let’s start with the fact that recapitulation is not a sign of weakness! Actually Recapitulation is simply the conforming of one’s will with what is true and inevitable. When it comes to dying Recapitulation is simply to accept death and cooperate with the dying process.
Recapitulation sounds easy but it isn’t, not for those of us living in our culture where we have been taught to overcome situations by exerting willpower. We carry this trait into the dying process and thus we struggle against what is inevitable, and that struggle is not spiritually healthy for us.
When we fight what is inevitable we set ourselves up to engage in a losing battle. At a time when we might be dealing with all sorts of other losses such as capacity, sense of self, loss of purpose, a further loss can til us over the edge and into the abyss that is hopelessness. Secondly, to persist in the belief that one can overcome the inevitable requires a lot of psycho-spiritual energy be spent maintaining a facade of denial. That is energy better spent on quality of life or on dealing with important end of life concerns such as closure, a sense of fulfillment, and gaining a sense of transcendence and peace. Thirdly, by resisting the inevitable truth you deprive yourself of the opportunity to fully and deeply prepare for what is to come. There are a lot of things you can do to prepare for death, and spiritually these are very important to your pending transformation; perhaps a confession to make, a funeral service to plan, friends and loved ones to say good bye to and enjoy rich remembrances with, prayers to be offered, a life to share, wisdom to be passed on, and much much more.
You will find that finally and fully recapitulating to death frees you of encumbrances you did not know you had, unlocks peace you might never have found, and grants a soul strength that cannot be measured. How each of us comes to this acceptance is entirely unique to each of us; some may come a rational based understanding while others may have a sort of deep non-verbal sense of things. Some may slowly grow used to the truth of it while others accept it right away and move on. That said, it is very, very common for people to experience an epiphany moment in which not only do they come to full acceptance of their mortality but know a tremendous peace that passes all understanding. This does not mean everything will be perfect. Some people do recapitulate to death and at the same time experience a deep sadness over the death of their self and that is entirely normal.
I have found that several prayers and passages from scripture really capture the spirit of recapitulation. My favorite is Psalm 31:5, “Into Thy hand O Lord I commend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed O Lord, God of truth. ”