Opthē is centered on the essence of Life—a relentless, unyielding vitality,
Born from the sun’s energy and the primordial elements of Earth.
Life emerged as a unique kind of matter in the cosmos,
With an innate drive to resist the entropic flow,
Creating pathways of complexity, diversity, and adaptation.

As Opthēans,
We honor our unique role as the only known life form capable of recognizing and shaping this phenomenon.
We accept the responsibility to be the moral architects we once imagined in gods,
Bringing forth compassion, wisdom, and care,
Not as illusions but as acts of conscious agency.

Our mission is twofold:
To confront the raw truth of our existence without illusion,
And to cultivate the courage, humility, and maturity
To use our agency in service to Life and Earth.

Daily Focus

USE OF THIS ORDER:
When used for community praxis, someone is appointed to recite those portions of the Rite printed in normal type. Those portions printed in bold are recited in unison by the community.
When the Rite is used by an individual as a part of the discipline of daily personal praxis, both the normal and bold printed portions are recited aloud.
The periods of silence are intended to provide adequate time for thought and reflection on the focus themes. It is appropriate to verbally share relevant thoughts and concerns during the period of silence.
When the Rite is recited daily over time, its purpose of altering the practitioner's reality will emerge.
To be effective, this praxis requires the discipline of beginning each day with recitation of the Rite followed by ten minutes of reflection/meditation/journaling. The Rite of Focus is repeated at noon, end of day and in at bedtime.
A comfortable position that promotes physical, emotional and thoughtful receptivity is essential.
Music that enhances centering and reflection is helpful.

* * *
\o/
We Say YES! to LIFE!!
We Celebrate the Wonder of Our Existence
As Conscious Agents of Ambient Communal Agape,
Using Our Minds, Emotions, and Actions
To Make Life Sacred
Through Our Praxis and Service
To Life and the Earth.
^
We Expect and Embrace
The Opportunity and Constancy of Change
In Our Understanding and Praxis,
As We Integrate Our Experience, Knowledge, and Reason,
With Our Mission of Service to Life and the Earth.
X
It is Our Mission to Make Life Sacred
By Intellectually and Emotionally Embracing
Our Elemental Relationship with Life in All its Forms
Through Our Discipline and Praxis,
And to Transcend Ourselves
Through Our Agency and Service,
To Life, The Earth, and the Universal Good.


(Liturgical transition)

* *
\o/
We Gather to Sensitize Ourselves Mentally and Emotionally,
And to Give Body and Voice to the Pursuit of Truth,
Come Whence It May,
Cost What it Will,
While Expanding Our Understanding of Ourselves
And the Cosmos in Which We Live.
X
We Submit Ourselves,
Physically, Intellectually, and Emotionally,
To the Discipline of Our Vocation and Praxis,
Focused on Ambient Communal Agape and the Universal Good,
To Deepen Our Consciousness,
And to Enable the Emergence of Existential Meaning
In Our Entropic Cosmos.
^
We Sanctify Our Vocation of Service to Life,
And Sacralize the Primary Values
On Which We Focus Our Thinking, Actions, and Praxis.
\o/
We Embrace Our Physical Relationship with Everything in the Cosmos,
And Receptively Direct Our Focus,
To the Welfare and Well-Being of Life in All Its Forms,
And to The Earth, Our Cosmic Home.


(Appropriate music and/or readings may be shared)

*
\o/
Community in Ambient Agape Frees Us from Guilt, Arrogance, and Resentment,
Enabling Us to Discern the Truth About Ourselves,
Confront Our Evolutionary Self-Centeredness,
And to Counteract Our Drive for Power, Dominance, and Exploitation.
X
It is Our Mission to Take Responsibility,
For Our Personal and Collective Behavior,
And to Deepen Our Commitment,
To the Disciplined Praxis of Agape and Service,
Through Which We are Transformed,
And By Which Our Selfishness, and Competitiveness,
Are Redirected to Prosocial Behavior and Cooperation,
In Service of the Welfare and Well-being,
Of The Earth, and All That Lives Upon It.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on Scholars, Artists, Scientists,
And All Those Who Intellectually and Emotionally Hunger,
For Truth, Knowledge, and Understanding,
Driven by the Desire to Make Sense of the Universe Around Us and Within Us.
X
It is Our Mission to Increase Our Understanding and Sensitivity,
Reconcile Our Existential Paradigms,
And to Co-Create a Living and Prefigurative Evolutionary Vision,
Of Responsible and Disciplined Service,
To Life, the Earth, and the Universal Good.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on All Whom We Regard as “Others”:
Our Adversaries,
Those We Perceive as Alien or Different,
Those We Dislike, Fear, or Misunderstand,
And Those Who Dislike, Fear, or Misunderstand Us.
X
It is Our Mission to Identify with All Who are “Other” to Us,
Through the Needs and Values We Hold in Common,
And to Seek Solidarity with Them,
Through Agape, Humility, and Self-Understanding.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on the Races, Cultures, and Polities,
By Which We Categorize, Define, and Judge Others.
X
It is Our Mission to Celebrate Our Differences,
Build on Our Commonalities,
And to Co-create a Global Commitment,
To Ambient Communal Agape, Cooperation, And Service
To Life, the Earth, and the Universal Good,
While Standing Up for Justice, Equality, and Peace,
In the Face of Our Selfishness, Fear, and Violence.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on the Intellectual and Spiritual Issues,
That Trouble Us Personally and Communally.
X
It is Our Mission to Increase Our Consciousness,
Of the Healing, Resolution, and Renewal,
That Emerges in Altruistic Relationships and Community,
Through Trust, Truth-Seeking, and Ambient Communal Agape.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on the Sick and Suffering;
On the Poor, the Hungry, and the Homeless,
On Refugees and Prisoners,
And on Life in Any Crisis.
X
It is Our Mission to Use the Healing Powers of Ambient Communal Agape and Service,
To Relieve Suffering, Establish Justice,
And to Care for the Friendless, the Impoverished, and Those in Distress.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on Humanity’s Vital Need,
To Envision and Create a Just, Responsible, and Sustainable Global Community,
Through Prosocial Values and Non-Violence.
X
It is Our Mission to Support One Another,
And to Work Socially and Co-Creatively,
As Agents of Justice, Critical Thinking, and Cultural Evolutionary Emergence,
For the Benefit and Well-Being of Everyone and Everything,
With Whom We Share the Earth.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on Those Serendipitous Experiences and Encounters,
That Brings Us Joy, Inspiration, and Fulfillment.
X
It is Our Mission to Sensitize One Another,
To the Beauty, Awe, and Wonder,
Of those Moments, Places, and Relationships,
That Surprise Us with Meaning and Inspiration,
And That Move Us to Work Co-Creatively,
To Improve the Quality of Life,
For All Living Things.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
We Focus on Those Who Preceded Us in the Service of Agape, Life, and Wisdom,
And Upon Whose Legacies We Build,
(Including _________________ (Whose Life We Celebrate Today)).
X
It is Our Mission,
To Spiritually Commune with Those upon Whose Shoulders We Stand,
Drawing Inspiration and Encouragement,
From Their Lives of Altruism, Sensitivity, and Service,
And from Their Contributions,
To the Advancement of Life, Wisdom, and Justice, in Their Times,
As We Continue Their Works of Agape, Truth-Seeking, and Service,
In Our Lives and Times.
^
(Related thoughts/concerns may be expressed/shared)

*
\o/
Through Our Praxis,
We Sacralize Our Values,
Construct Our Reality,
And Enable Our Metanoia.

\o/
We Celebrate the Prefigurative Vision,
That Emerges with Our Transformation,
And Which Becomes Our Cosmic Reality and Meaning,
Through Our Service to Life and the Earth,
As Agents of Truth-Seeking, Justice, and Ambient Communal Agape,
In All We Say and Do,
Wherever We May Be.

(physical/musical liturgical transition)


* *
^
Every Moment of Our Consciousness,
Is an Opportunity to Make Life Sacred,
And to Transcend Our Self-Understanding,
By Giving Body and Voice to Agape,
While Integrating Reason, Emotion, and Meaning
With the Focus, Values, and Character of Our Lives.
X
We Dedicate Our Thoughts, Words, and Actions,
To Bring Wisdom, Responsibility, and Direction,
To The Course of Human Evolution and Creative Agency,
Guided by the Fruit of Our Praxis,
And Disciplined by Our Vocation of Service,
To Life, the Earth, and the Universal Good.

* * *

(bidding at exit)

\o/
WE NOW GO
WITH PASSION, DISCIPLINE, AND COURAGE,
TO LIVE IN SERVICE OF LIFE AND THE EARTH,
USING OUR WORDS, EMOTIONS, AND ACTIONS
TO DISCERN AND REVEAL THE EXTRAORDINARY WITHIN THE ORDINARY
AND TO ALWAYS,
AND IN ALL WAYS,
SAY:

כן לחיים!! (Hebrew)
¡Sí a la vida!! (Spanish)
جی ہاں زندگی!! (Urdu)
Oui à la vie!! (French)
Да жизни!! (Russian)
Da la viață!! (Romanian)
Ya untuk hidup! (Indonesian)
نعم للحياة! (Arabic)
जीवन के लिए हां! (Hindi)
Có với cuộc sống! (Vietnamese)
对生活说是! (Chinese)
Ndiyo kwa maisha! (Swahili)
人生にイエス! (Japanese)
Sim à vida! (Portuguese)
Ja zum Leben! (German)
삶에 예! (Korean)
بله به زندگی! (Farsi)

YES, YES, YES!
To LIFE!