It was the 9th of July 2019, a day when my life was about to change—and it did, tremendously and unexpectedly. I was in deep anxiety, sometimes sadness and frustration, unable to sleep well. My self-esteem was at its lowest point. I wanted to change but couldn’t find my way out of this catch-22 situation. I accidentally found her name and phone number, then called, only to discover that the clinic was just a few hundred meters from my workplace—what a coincidence.
The first meeting was tense. She was shocked by the extent of damage I had done to myself—I could sense it in her eyes. Yet from that very first encounter, I felt a deep level of empathy and understanding. Her energy was overwhelming and prevailed over all the negativity I was spreading. It felt like a challenge, even a duel between the heavy burden of my sad past and her eagerness to help, to assist, to understand, and to miraculously heal. I never believed she could win this war. I never believed I could either. But we both knew we had a long, difficult road ahead—and failure was not one of her options. I saw it in her sparkling eyes. She was confident, as if battling a familiar beast, fully equipped with the right weapons to fight and conquer.
I can’t deny that I helped her too—I was direct, clear, and open to change. In return, I found myself in front of a multi-talented woman who focused all her time, energy, and knowledge on helping her patients. All my life I had thought about a book I once read as a young man—*Meetings with Remarkable Men* by G.I. Gurdjieff. I had long dreamed of meeting remarkable people in my own life. Now I can say with certainty: I have met a truly remarkable woman. She changed the way I think about life and empowered me with tools and exercises that gave me results far beyond expectations.
After ten sessions, I have become a new person—very confident. I have changed, and those around me have noticed. I sleep better, I’m more positive about life, and I now spread positive energy after having long been the most pessimistic person in the room. I have stepped out of my comfort zone in ways I never thought possible. It has been like the rise of a phoenix from the ashes of a dark past. And this change feels irreversible—I can feel it deep within, that certainty that I will never return to the way I was before.
No one can deny the impact of her powerful presence, her fantastic joy, and her positively contagious energy. This has been a real turning point in my life—something I am deeply committed to protecting with all my force and energy. She has become a focal point around which my universe revolves. My personal calendar has even adopted a new lexicon: I now speak of events as either “B.J.” (Before Joumana) or “A.J.” (After Joumana).
If I were to give our journey a title, it would be *“Close Encounter with a Remarkable Kind,”* or perhaps *“The Transformer: Rise of the Phoenix.”* It’s a trilogy—and I’m still in episode two. To be continued…
I have only one regret: that I didn’t meet her long ago. She is like a river—she doesn’t need a diamond to shine.