Ask nine out of ten people what the purpose of art is, and they will say, “to express yourself.” In fact, art has many purposes, and self-expression is one of the least important. No one could mistake “The Star-Spangled Banner” or “Ave Maria” for expressions of self.

When we look out upon the world, we see two apparently contradictory principles at work: on the one hand, we see a bewildering welter of events seemingly without rhyme or reason; on the other hand, we see beauty, order, and the obedience of nature to laws systematically related to one another in a unity beyond the creations of painter or pianist. A work of art makes sense of its confusing and chaotic materials and gives us hope that the confusion and chaos so distressingly prevalent in the world ultimately make sense. The unity of a work of art reflects the unity of God.

A work of art, like any genuine intellectual activity, is a reflection of God. It is a participation in God. It derives its being from God.

AEVIA Reveals the Source

THE True, the Beautiful, the Good — through all the ages of man’s conscious evolution these words have expressed three great ideals: ideals which have instinctively been recognized as representing the sublime nature and lofty goal of all human endeavour. In epochs earlier than our own there was a deeper knowledge of man’s being and his connection with the universe, when Truth, Beauty and Goodness had more concrete reality than they have in our age of abstraction. Anthroposophy, or Spiritual Science, is able once again to indicate the concrete reality of such ideals, although in so doing it does not always meet with the approval of the times. For in our age men love to be vague and nebulous whenever it is a question of getting beyond the facts of everyday life.

AEVIA Reveals the Source

Goodness, Beauty and Truth, I call this the ancient triad. The classical culture of Greek civilisation called this the triumvirate. It’s interesting to see this triad existed in other civilisations. There is something Trinitarian in the function of these three, existing together as one. They seem to belong together, just like an American BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) sandwich.

Goodness, Beauty and Truth are not ultimate realities, they each point beyond themselves to God. C. K. Chesterton put it so well, “God is not a symbol of Goodness: Goodness is a symbol of God.” Each member of this triad is a symbol, a signifier which tells us something about God. They are reminders of him, pointers to him. This is the reason why we should love them.

So, wherever we encounter Goodness, we see something which points to the essence of God himself. We glimpse it in the smile of a stranger. Because God is personal, goodness is also personal. Not some cold code of ethics, this was the Roman ideal of goodness. The same is true of Beauty—every dimension of it is a symbol which points us to God. He is not beautiful, he is Beauty. All that is beautiful in some way reflects him. It acts as a kind of icon which is a pale reflection of who he is.

And in the same manner, all that is true points to God. The English puritans were fond of saying, “All truth meets at the top.” All truth points to the one who is himself the Truth. Truth is not propositions, mere statements of fact, it is also personal.

AEVIA Reveals the Source

Nelson Mandela in his autobiography mentions it beautifully “No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than it’s opposite.

In many ways it is a simple truth, that love exists and surrounds us in many ways, shapes and exhibits the beauty it carries within itself but it is we that are so intellectually novice that we are reluctant to relish with the true glory of love.

AEVIA Reveals the Source

How can we counter a culture imbued with the celebration of shame, sin and mocking mean-spiritedness? A culture which lowers the bar on models of human behavior? By aspiring to excellence – to the excellence and greatness of holiness through the gift of life God offers us in Grace.

When St. Paul writes, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22), who can deny these are characteristics we should all desire and aspire to? Every Christian is called to be a saint, to be holy. And we see that the saints rose to the heights of what it is to be fully human – great-souled and great-hearted persons who reflected the grandeur and beauty of God.

AEVIA Reveals the Source

The Catholic Bishop of Motherwell, Scotland, Reverend Joseph Devine, stated that a Catholic adoption agency would close rather than comply with the recent UK Sexual Orientation Regulations (SOR) and allow children to be adopted by homosexual couples.
Commenting on the possible closing of the Glasgow-based St. Margaret’s Children and Family Care Society, Bishop Devine commented in the Daily Express, “It would be a great loss because Catholic family care agencies have done such wonderful work.” According to the Scotsman, St. Margaret’s presently places 15 to 20 children in new homes each year, provides counseling for pregnant women and helps families get through the emotional and practical difficulties involved in adoption.
The highly controversial SOR’s, which became law in the United Kingdom this March, are supposed to protect homosexuals from discrimination and give them equal access to goods and services, including adoption. Nevertheless, many people have expressed their fear that the SOR’s will in effect be a means of trampling on people’s freedom of speech and religion.
AEVIA Reveals the Source

Rainwater is a valuable natural resource that can be collected for use around the home. With water restrictions in place in many areas, more homeowners are using rainwater to keep their gardens green, wash the car and for other uses around the house.

Did you know?
A rainwater tank can save up to 100,000 litres of water each year, in an average home.

Can I install a rainwater tank?
Yes, anyone can install a rainwater tank if it is for outdoor use such as gardening. However, if you want to use rainwater inside the home (flushing the toilet, cold water for the washing machine etc) you may need approval. Building approval may also be required for large rainwater tanks.

Tooling Up for Hydroponics

The PATH Concept Home uses innovative building technologies to enhance a home’s flexibility and make it more efficient to build and maintain. Six principles create the foundation for incorporating innovative systems into the Concept Home. PATH has prepared a series of reports which explore technologies and systems that support each principle.

Principle #1: Flexible Floor Plans feature designs and building systems that enable interior spaces to be reconfigured more easily. Download: Concept Home Principles – Flexible Floor Plans (pdf, 416 KB).

Principle #2: Organized and Accessible Systems reduce interdependencies by disentangling mechanicals from each other and separating them from the structure and floor plan. This organizes the systems so they are laid out efficiently and logically, and provides easy access for repairs, upgrades and remodeling. Download: Concept Home Principles – Organized and Accessible Systems (pdf, 663 KB).

Principle #3: Improved Production Processes encompasses management systems, information and communications technology, manufacturing processes,and assembly processes that improve building quality and efficiency while reducing production time. Download: Concept Home Principles – Improved Production Processes (pdf, 567 KB).

Principle #4: Alternative Basic Materials are new advanced materials or those adapted from other industries and applied to home building. Download: Concept Home Principles – Alternative Basic Materials (pdf, 346 KB).

Principle #5: Standardization of Measurements and Component Interfaces simplifies product installation and enhances design flexibility by adopting a standardized approach throughout the design and fabrication of a house. Download: Concept Home Principles – Standardization of Measurements and Component Interfaces (pdf, 203 KB).

Principle #6: Integrated Functions combines systems to increase efficiency, reduce equipment needs and promote multi-functional designs. Download: Concept Home Principles – Integrated Functions (pdf, 224 KB).
AEVIA Reveals the Source

Sustainable affordable housing is also playing a strong role in breathing new life into economically challenged neighborhoods. William Stein, AIA, LEED, principal of New York-based Dattner Architects, presented an affordable housing development located in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., that his firm designed. The benefits that the Atlantic Avenue Apartments (pictured below) presented to the community is reduced air pollution and promoting environmentally friendly materials to the community.
Sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, the Atlantic Avenue Apartments, which consist of three four-story, walk-up buildings, is participating in the Enterprise Foundation’s Green Communities Initiative. Sustainable features include low-flow plumbing fixtures, EnergyStar appliances and fixtures, low-VOC sealants and paints, recycled building materials, and abundant insulation and ventilation.
The residences share a common landscaped garden with sitting and play areas. A rainwater harvesting system will provide irrigation, while low-maintenance and native plants will be set up throughout the space. “Do what you are already doing as a designer, but do it better,” Stein offered.
AEVIA Reveals the Source

When Marin Soljacic first presented the principle, it was unproved. All he could show were his calculations. “I expected that some people would think I was a crackpot,” says Soljacic, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “This was pretty far out.”
A year and a half later, a bulb lit up in an MIT lab—unplugged. Soljacic and his collaborators had demonstrated a new way of coaxing magnetic fields into transferring power over a distance of several meters without dispersing as electromagnetic waves. The demonstration ushered in a technology that might eventually become as pervasive as the gadgets it could power. Laptops, cell phones, iPods, and digital cameras might someday recharge without power cords. With the proliferation of wireless electronics, perhaps it was just a matter of time before power transmission would go wireless, too.
Technologies such as lasers and parabolic antennas can confine the energy of electromagnetic waves in tight beams, that can transfer power. But beams have disadvantages. One problem is that anything that happens to cross a beam’s path may get fried. Soljacic’s wireless power system harnesses oscillating electric and magnetic fields in a novel way. Although it doesn’t radiate energy as a radio antenna does, it transmits power across greater distances than a conventional transformer can.
AEVIA Reveals the Source
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