ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the design of a spiritually useful object that brings to the fore the personal meaning facet of the quadruple bottom line of sustainability while being trans-religious; it is also consistent with the social, environmental and economic facets through its localized sourcing of materials and its making. Symbols denote a comprehensive understanding of human apprehension, a union of temporal and timeless, physical and spiritual, ego and non-ego. The notion of spiritually useful design can be seen as an important ingredient in reconceiving the discipline to better align it with understandings of sustainability. The New Testament refers variously to the strait gate or narrow door, making it clear that entering this path requires individual effort; one must strive to pass through. The gross social inequities between and within nations and the vast environmental destruction occurring in the world today have to be tackled in new ways that reach beyond the utilitarian, eco-modernist approaches that still dominate discussions around sustainability.
