Revealing the Spirit with Louise Pearson

My third Beautiful You Interview is with Louise Pearson from Rocks Revealed. Louise is a very special person who is currently living with a challenging illness. I think you will find her quite inspirational. Read on for a chance to win a beautiful piece of jewellry handcrafted by Louise. She made it especially for Beautiful You readers!

Hi Louise. You are a Lapidarist which is quite an unusual profession. What exactly does a Lapidarist do? A Lapidarist is a person concerned with stones. I fossick and gather stones, cut, polish and then create them into fine pieces of jewellery, revealing the story of the stone. The art of silver smithing, or learning to manipulate silver and gold to set stones is also a part of Lapidary, although that is a skill in its own right. To learn the secrets of Alchemy from finding a stone, through to making a fine piece of jewellery, allows you a creative licence that has endless possibilities.

You believe that certain stones have ‘stories to reveal’ and have a spiritual quality as well. Tell me more.  I am a student of the Shamanistic ways of life of the Spirit Walker and stones for me mark a spiritual path, both the paths of the earth and that of knowledge. My connection to stones is very strong – I feel there is a magic in them. The spiritual aspects of rocks that complement our colour wheels or chakras can aid and enhance our growth in helping our mind, body and souls to evolve to enlightenment.

How can gemstones, minerals and crystals help ‘heal’ someone?  Colour is nature’s own anti-depressant and in playing with stones, one gets to experience the energy they hold within. Just by becoming aware of what colour can do in helping you heal; will make you think more about the colour of any stones you wear. If you can tune in, the stone will speak to you. Mineral in stones can also heal. I believe stones guide me to help others understand themselves. We have always adorned ourselves in jewellery since the beginning of man, so gemstones, minerals and crystals are a way to “wear” your very own medicine chest.

Louise – you are currently living with Parkinson’s disease. What is Parkinson’s disease and how does it impact on your life?  Parkinson’s symptoms have been a part of my life since I was 28. I was diagnosed at 37 and am now 47. Living with Parkinson’s has lots of challenges. It is a movement disorder where the connections to the brains neurons that control movement are interrupted. I had many dark years when I was in the grips of the disease, trying to make logical sense out of it all, angry because it happened to me and trying different tablets to get some relief. But, a wonderful public hospital gave me hope. They taught me how to live with the disease and that is what I now do every day – live with it.

Parkinson’s disease is often thought of as an elderly person’s illness. Has it been difficult to deal with from such a young age? At the time I was diagnosed, the doctors were becoming more aware of “Young Person’s Parkinson’s” and Michael J Fox had been diagnosed as well. The difficulty for me is that in “Older Person Parkinson’s” dementia has always been strongly associated with the disease. As much as the doctors assure me that it is just part of old age, I still question this, but try very hard not to dwell on it. In reflecting, I believe in getting Parkinson’s at such a young age, I have been able to rise to the challenges of the disease with youthfulness as my friend.

How has working with stones helped you while living with Parkinson’s? I think it’s all about passion. Whether it be playing golf, cooking or cutting stones – if you can find something that you are passionate about, it makes it worth getting out of bed in the morning! The beautiful thing about working with stones for me is in learning to focus. Once I focus on my passion, I forgot all about the Parkinson’s.

Lastly Louise – as you know, Beautiful You is all about positive body image and self love. What are the best stones, gems or crystals to help someone with their body image and self esteem?  Rose Quartz and Malachite are two gentle, calming, positive heart stones. They both work well on the emotions, balancing and harmonizing. These two stones will help you stay in the love zone of self. It’s nice to put on Rose Quartz or Malachite and let the stones work there gentle magic, helping you to know you are beautiful. My favourite stones for self esteem are Topaz and Rhodonite. Topaz brings forth confidence and trust in one’s own ability, a clarity to be yourself and walk your own walk. Rhodonite is a beautiful pink stone that has black veins. It is one of the heart stones and with the veins woven into the rock, it helps brings forth wisdom, self- esteem and confidence.

Thankyou Louise for being so open and sharing your journey and profession with Beautiful You readers. Thankyou also for providing this incredibly beautiful Rose Quartz and Sterling Silver necklace as a prize for a reader. It is valued at $30 and I think it’s gorgeous! The perfect present for yourself or with Christmas fast approaching – someone you love. To be eligible to win this necklace (International readers too!) please –

So easy! Please leave your answer in a comment below or, if shy, you can email me your answer at beautifulyoublog@gmail.com by Friday December 11th. The winner will be announced on Saturday December 12th.