Controlling your emotions is possible

Controlling your emotions is possible.

Losing your emotional balance and not being able to recover it is overwhelming. You can’t think clearly. You can’t act properly. Your family, partner, and work are affected. It’s as if something else is ruling your life.

The key to not losing control is to learn to observe oneself with precision.

If you still can’t keep your anger, desperation, sadness, or anxiety at bay, it’s NOT because you’re “wrong”. It’s because you haven’t yet looked closely at how the human mind works.

Maybe you’ve already talked to a psychologist, and managed to see a big part of your mind. Perhaps you understood your family history, your fears, your desires. And yes, that helps a lot.

But there’s more.

The Buddha said:

“Two things contribute to understanding oneself: serenity and clarity.”
– AN 2.21-31

Learning to be calm to see clearly how you think, what you feel, and above all, why you feel that way, is essential to controlling your emotions.

That was the specialty of the Buddha: being calm and contemplating with pristine clarity.

“Buddhist psychology emphasizes how humans experience continuous intense suffering due to their lack of understanding of the nature of phenomena as they appear in their consciousness.” – Tony Toneatto, Director of the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health undergraduate program at the University of Toronto

We don’t see reality well, and that’s why we suffer.

Not only that. When we don’t have control over our emotions, we make others suffer. We sabotage our progress or harm our work relationships.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

"Ever since you started practicing Buddhism, your personal growth skyrocketed."

That’s what my psychoanalyst told me in 2009. A year after I started receiving teachings and practicing Dharma (the Buddha’s teaching). Not only did I manage to get out of the abyss and live peacefully almost every day, but my relationships with my loved ones healed and my human potential was unleashed.

Today, I am dedicated to helping others regain control of their lives by developing calm and clarity. After 15 years of practicing and studying Dharma, psychoanalysis, and addiction recovery, I developed a unique method that teaches you to see things as they are.

I would love to share this system with you, which I call:

Personalized spiritual training that provides clarity to regain control of your emotions and your life.

This is not another meditation course. It’s not counseling.

It’s 15 intensive one-on-one sessions on Zoom where you receive the training given by the Buddha, applied to your personal situation, to cultivate calm and clarity.

With Active Dharma Clarity
you will learn:

The three tools that help you see what is actually happening and not what your mind thinks it's happening.
The traits of a wholesome person and those of someone who appears to be wholesome.
The components of emotional crises so that you can dismantle them when they arise in your day-to-day life.
The difference between healthy stress and harmful stress so that you stop wasting energy on negative emotions.
The exact nature of Ego and how to transcend it even in the chaos of everyday life.
The moment your communication becomes harmful and how to stop it.
The signs of a toxic work environment and how to transform it.
The meditation instructions that the Buddha gave 2,500 years ago and how to practice them in the 21st century.

Alex Serrano is a communication expert, musician, martial artist, marketer and editor of ActiveDharma.com.

Active Dharma Clarity is taught by:

Alejandro Serrano

BA in communication with over 15 years of experience in cultivating serenity and clarity through the practice of Dharma, Buddhist meditation, personal psychoanalysis, and addiction recovery programs. He was a student and translator of Lama Yeshe Nyima in Mexico and is currently a disciple of Buddhist master Lopön Jigme Rinpoche. He has received initiations in the Kagyu, Sakya, and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. He currently resides in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

“I've seen the impact of this work in my relationships with my kids, my husband, my parents and my siblings, and even in my career outlook. For the first time in years all of these things are improving, thanks to what I learned and the changes I made in such a short time. This makes me proud of myself, more free, and optimistic for the future. I would whole-heartedly recommend the Active Dharma Clarity to anyone who is serious about growing as a person and taking action to improve their life. The methodology helped me reflect in such a way that years of therapy never did. In just a few weeks, a lightbulb went off! I am extremely grateful for the experience and will use this knowledge for years to come.”

Tanya Alvarez

Marketer and painter

"With Alex, I learned to identify those reactions that led me to conflict with myself and others. On the other hand, I have reached self-acceptance through compassion rather than judgment or self-punishment. Now I can realize what is happening to me, whether anger is taking over or if I am about to burst. I can see before I act and choose what to do. Because of that, I can distance myself, give myself space, breathe and say, 'It's better not to explode at this moment'."

Vanessa García Rivadeneyra

Entrepreneur

"Attending sessions with Alex Serrano gave me a unique opportunity that changed my life. It brought me closer to an infinite source of knowledge which helped me break free from a state of neurosis that had complete control over me. His knowledge of Dharma and meditation transformed my way of seeing and perceiving the world. I highly recommend approaching his teachings which I'm grateful for, as they have given me tranquility and happiness which those around me can also see."

Oscar González

Graphic designer

"For years, I heard wonders about Alex and his performance as a spiritual teacher, but when I saw the effects of his teachings on one of my friends, I was convinced that I had to meet him. I was impressed that in such a short time it was possible to condense teachings capable of blowing your mind. Many of them seemed revolutionary from start to finish, for example, the idea that a spiritual path should move beyond contemplation to include healthy, planned actions."

Ollin Islas

Journalist and Editor

“In just a few weeks, a lightbulb went off!”

Active Dharma Clarity consists of 4 modules taught in 15 one-on-one ZOOM sessions. Each module aims to help you see clearly who you are, your relationships, your behavior, and of course the rooms of your mind.

MODULE 1: Clarity about our condition exactly as it is.

Session 1: Why we can’t see the truth about ourselves and how to start seeing it. The key to being free of harmful emotions.
Session 2: How to strengthen our ability to recognize our virtues and harmful habits, exactly as they are.
Session 3: How to decipher unconscious stories that rule our life and the key to dismantling them.

MODULE 2: Clarity about the correct understanding of reality.

Session 4: The truth about stress according to Buddha and how to eliminate anxiety, even if you believe it’s impossible.
Session 5: The right and wrong way to perceive reality and why it’s crucial for improving your relationships with loved ones.
Session 6: The true nature of the ego according to Buddha and how to be free from its harmful aspect, without eliminating its usefulness in society.
Session 7: How to distinguish whether your intention is harmful or wholesome. Super important for changing your mood.

MODULE 3: Clarity on wholesome behavior.

Session 8: Learn to say what you really mean without fear, aggression, or making enemies.
Session 9: Discover how you harm your body without realizing it, even if you exercise and eat healthy.
Session 10: How to know if your job is a toxic environment and what to do to change it.

Module 4: Mental Clarity, Primordial Wisdom, and Meditation.

Session 11: How to purify body, speech, and mind in daily life through meditation, even if you are constantly distracted.
Session 12: The mindfulness instructions that Buddha gave to his followers and that you won’t find in a meditation app.
Session 13: How to purify the mind of subtle negative energies and strengthen the positive qualities that you already have.
Session 14: Mantra for beginners, intermediates, and advanced practitioners. Words are very powerful if you know how to use them.
Session 15: Meditation with sacred visualizations that reveal your sacred nature.

We did not come into this world to be slaves to our emotions.

This is the ideal training for you if...

"I have followed Alex's work as a meditation instructor for years. I have attended almost all of his courses on Buddhism and his classes on addictions. His one-on-one and group sessions, as well as his chat feedback, have helped me to be free from harmful emotions and thoughts. Alex is a good listener and understands these topics well due to his knowledge and practice in Tibetan Buddhism, and his personal experience in psychotherapy and recovery groups. Now, it is easier for me to meditate, I understand myself better, and I am able to relax in situations where I previously couldn't."

William Hernández

Spanish teacher

"Often, one is led to believe that learning about Buddhism is exclusive for the chosen or the initiated. Alejandro's classes bring it down to earth and show that it is not necessarily the case, and that on the contrary, we carry the knowledge with us and only need to understand it with two pillars: discipline and enthusiasm. Alejandro's way of teaching the Dharma makes it quite accessible and understandable. He uses examples from everyday life that allow us to open the doors of comprehension without so much fuss. Active Dharma in my life means direct and actionable Dharma. A transformative experience."

Oscar Heredia

Engineer

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you certified to teach mindfulness?

I don’t believe in mindfulness certification. My opinion is that only people who have experienced a profound transformation through a genuine spiritual practice such as the Buddhadharma, can guide you. In these 15 years of study and practice, my perception, consciousness, mood and life have changed permanently for the better several times. I am just a practitioner with results that can show you how to do it.

I am not a Buddhist. Can I still practice Dharma?

Of course. Active Dharma Clarity is open to anyone regardless of their beliefs, perspective, or lifestyle. The only requirement is to have a willingness to improve and do what is necessary (safely) to achieve that goal. This requirement is very important. No one, not even the Buddha, can change your condition. You are only given the tools and you execute them.

Do you think that this would be useful for an ordinary person who doesn't consider themselves a 'saint'?

Active Dharma Clarity is specially designed for regular people who are not monks or do not go on retreats for months or years. This training is for people with jobs, families, that are active and live urban lives. In addition to myself, I know many ordinary people who have regained their peace of mind thanks to this training.

Isn't it better to go to therapy or take medication?

I fully support psychological aid, therapy, or psychiatric treatment. The Dharma is a complement for personal well-being. My perspective is that spirituality without clinical aid is risky. Clinical aid without spirituality is also risky.

Is Dharma good for addiction recovery?

Yes, but Dharma is an advanced tool. If you have addiction problems, my suggestion is to seek professional help and attend a self-help group with a 12-step spiritual recovery program. My position on this is: first stabilize your habits, regain your physical health, and then practice Dharma.

To what Buddhist lineage does Active Dharma belong?

Active Dharma is not part of any lineage. However, the training is based mainly on the Pali Canon and adopts some principles from the Mahayana and Vajrayana.

To what Buddhist school do you belong?

Since 2008, I have been practicing Tibetan Buddhism. My practice comes from the Nyingma tradition and I have received different teachings and initiations from the Dudjom Tersar tradition. I have also studied on my own the sermons of the Buddha in the Pali Canon and I frequently look for correspondences between different Buddhist schools such as Zen, Theravada, Tantra, Pure Land, etc.