Sacredness emerges when we intentionally focus upon the awe and wonder of our being in the beautiful, mysterious, and terrifying cosmos, ever seeking truth and using our limited powers and knowledge to be disciplined advocates for agape in the service of life.
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi
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 Agape,
Using Our Minds, Emotions, and Actions
In Service of Life and the Earth.
X
It is Our Mission to Make Life Sacred
Through Our Discipline of Praxis,
And Our Vocation of Service,
To Life, The Earth, and 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 Agape and Universal Good,
To Deepen Our Consciousness,
And to Enable the Emergence of Existential Meaning
In Our Entropic Universe.
^
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 Elemental 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/
Agape Frees Us from Guilt, Arrogance, and Resentment,
Enabling Us to Discern the Truth About Ourselves,
Confront Our Inherent 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 Within Us and Around 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 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 World-Wide Commitment
To Altruism, Cooperation, and Service
To Life, the Earth, and Universal Good,
While Standing Up for Justice, Equality, and Peace,
In the Face of Our Selfishness, Fear, and Propensity for 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 Boundless Absolution.
^
(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 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 World-Wide Community,
Through Prosocial Behavior 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 Bring 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 Surprises 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 Life, Agape, 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
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 Agape, Truth-Seeking, and Justice,
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,
By Giving Body and Voice to Agape,
And by Actualizing Beauty, Altruism, and Meaning,
Through the Character, Values, and Focus 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 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 ALWAYS,
AND IN ALL WAYS,
SAY:
כן לחיים!!
¡Sí a la vida!!
جی ہاں زندگی!!
Oui à la vie!!
Да к жизни!!
Da la viață!!
Ya untuk hidup!
نعم للحياة!
जीवन के लिए हां !!
Có với cuộc sống!
是生活!!
YES, YES, YES!
To LIFE!