The Tree of Life is a projection of the creation of the world; it’s the long descending road on which the entire creation has reached its current form. It is also the uphill path on which the created can return to the destination to which all tends: the unity with the Creator. The Tree of Life is the “Ladder of Jacob” which is rooted on earth and touches the sky. Along the ladder there is a steady movement up and down of multiple forms of consciousness which animate creation and the human conscience.
Through the Tree of Life we receive the energetic nourishment which is present in the fields of Divine light enveloping creation. This nutrition flows through the channels and Sefirot to reach the creatures in order to sustain their life. It’s also the support for the meditation and prayers of those seeking the creator and ways to perfect their human being.
The three pillars of the Tree of Life correspond to three ways each human being has before him: Love (to the right), Force (to the left), and Compassion (in the center). Only the middle way, also called “Royal Way”, has the capability to unite the opposites. Without the central pillar, the Tree of Life becomes the tree to know good and bad. The right and left pillars represent also the two basic polarities of our reality: the male on the right and the female to the left.
The Tree of Life has inspired many of my works and it is present in the structure of my Cloak of Conscience and the philosophy of the entire project. I have drawn the Tree of Life in drawings for Tibetan Buddhism, and I have created the trophy of the “Olivier d’Or” or “Golden Olive Tree” for the three monotheistic religions of the Mediterranean. Here is my explanation why I chose the olive tree as Tree of Life:
The passion of man for the olive tree goes back to the story of Noah in the bible, when a dove brought a fresh olive branch scintillating like gold as sign for the Alliance between God and all living beings for generations to come. The first tree to emerge from the flood, the olive tree became the symbol of reconciliation and peace.
The olive tree with his persistent foliage is the image of the people of Israel who will exist for eternity, in our world as well as in the future. The olive oil obtained through pressure is for believers the symbol for the trials they have to suffer in order to return constantly to the Creator. In Islam the olive tree is the center, the axis of the world, symbol of the universal man, the Prophet. It is also one of the names of God, with sacred words written on each leaf. Jesus has been consecrated by the Father with olive oil; thus he became “Messiah” and “Christ” and with him the people of god marked with this seal.
My Golden Olive Tree represents the image of Man (the tree), which has become inseparable from the World (the gold of the foliage) and of His Spirit (the sacred book in form of the Thora). His material, the pristine white marble of the Cave Michelangelo in Carrara (the same as for the archi-sculpture of my Cloak of Conscience), reflects the spiritual purity of the laureates receiving this distinction. It shows the energy flowing from ethics and leading to a peaceful and happy conscience.
