Happy, dreamy time in this new season!

Dreams are things of beauty, even when we don't understand that. And sometimes they lead to beauty...in a world with so much challenge, the manifestation of beauty, happiness and joy is sacred. There is something about viewing an item of beauty that creates a sparkle within. We are drawn to it. I see it when I observe a person looking at art or a gem, and I feel it myself. Inside something releases, relaxes, the worries of the world are for a moment forgotten and I'm immersed in a moment of oneness with a manifestation of the Divine through the archetype of Beauty. We're meant to be happy and to enjoy life and to experience beauty.

In 1981, gem hunter Heitor Dimas Barbosa had an irresistible inner knowing, truly a waking dream, that there was something incredible and never before seen under the earth in Brazil at Batalha, in Paraíba State. It became an irresistible calling for him, so much so that he devoted 5 1/2 years to digging for it. Something beautiful was calling him. It was grueling…his neighbors in this poor, arid, remote area, with no electricity, population around 500, called him “Heitor the Fool”.* Then, in 1987, he found them, stones so rare and beautiful they have become legendary. I remember when they first appeared in the gem trade at the Tucson Gem Shows in 1990. No-one had ever seen tourmalines as neon colored as these. Fantastic. Brilliant. Beautiful.