I didn't expect to 'solve a problem' when I went to a Healing Stories circle for the first time. I went to try something new. In the following circles, I sought to forgive, heal, love and welcome the woman who lives in me. The woman I am and who I had mistreated so much. Because this is a psychological-spiritual activity, I didn't know what was going to happen even if I had expectations. I always went to circles like someone who opens a box of surprises. The transformations were really surprising. I still have a lot to understand about myself and I would like to participate in more circles. Countless transformations have happened to me. At the first meeting, I finally realized the spiritual richness of being a woman and how much I was underestimating my essence and my power. It's as if I looked at the same person as I always was but the way I looked changed and I was falling in love and falling in love with me for the first time in a long time. I made peace with so much about me ... my age, my vulnerability, my sexuality and even my neediness. I found elements to validate myself. In the Healing Stories I found the archetypal elements for that. I am very grateful!

It is a delight to look back and realize that from other people's eyes I was able to see myself better and see situations that used to passed unnoticed. Maybe because I was too close, while I was living them, maybe because I didn't have the necessary tools to make this movement. I expected the Healing Stories to be a encounter of exchanges, but I never thought that the women would be so rich and open to listen and look at themselves with candor and respect to the point of starting to heal wounds that hurt and that sometimes we do not know or have access, structure or tools to access it alone.

I joined in the circle of Healing Stories without knowing for sure what I would find there, it was my first circle, my first experience. What a surprise it was to encounter the exciting stories and even more exciting people! I left a comfortable place to immerse myself in those stories and release my feelings and emotions! For me it was a fulfilment of happiness and harmony with special people in a special place! I entered an immersion of total liberation! Sometimes I couldn't describe very well what I was witnessing, it was such a powerful energy, sometimes it forced us to experience the sensations through the stories. The significance of the encounter in me was intense! It was magical to honour my mother and my grandparents. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude!

Marianna's conducting of Healing Stories is incredible, engaging, profound, full of love, light and transformation! Looking inside yourself is always positive, and that particular circle transported me to places deep within myself that I didn't even remember existed. I recovered memories, saw myself as a child and also as a woman, so I could see that everything in my trajectory was essential for the construction of the person I am today. I was able to heal wounds and understand the origin of patterns that I repeat unconsciously, through blocks and fears embedded in discrete and deep corners. Since I decided to love myself, I started to stir memories that I used to run away from. I sheltered myself. I chose myself. I perceived myself. Thank you Mari, for being such a powerful and empowering woman for so many other women!

This was my first women's circle. I confess that I had a preconceived idea, but the whole process was so profound, the way it was conducted, the way the story was told and how we went on to deep discussions and the creative exercises... it was far beyond what I imagined that it could be. I think it was the first step in a long and deep process of self-knowledge and transformation. It led me to read the book that inspired the circle in which I participated and to understand so many other nuances of being a woman, to listening to my intuition, even knowing that my intuition exists and that it is very valuable! Being part of this circle was revealing to me. It took me to very deep places that I became aware of. I recommend it to everyone!

The first circle was the spark of my process of rising from a deep depression. That was when I started to see myself as a woman, and not as a girl. It opened doors for me to explore my spirituality and find my way. It brought light and healing in deep emotional wounds; I remember saying things that I had never spoken to anyone before. It also helped in the process of loving the presence of other women, as I was discovering the women's movement at the same time. And that led me to love myself more and more. The Healing Stories Circles opened a door inside me for love to enter. They brought me healing and connection. Being with other women and seeing myself in their stories made me see beyond, inside myself. They helped me find the strength to leave a very sad and lonely place. Today I look back and know that I wouldn’t have come this far had it not been for being in a circle with such unique and incredible women, and to feel Mari's welcoming and her incredible work. I found myself. And I am very, very grateful for that.

The Healing Stories have transformed me. I believe that my path in my current relationship was made possible due to the circles, the exchanges, the stories. They have changed my relationship with myself, with my partner, with my mother and without a doubt my understanding of the world - and fairy tales. The experience of listening to stories in a women circle, where I was welcomed and exchanged a lot, is fascinating. There is magic in the way Mari tells the stories, and empathy in her eyes while each woman tells her own experience. Why are we there anyway? What do we seek to heal? A long, continuous path and without a doubt made easier by the Healing Stories. The best hug we can receive.