“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know (discernment) the difference…Accepting reality means embracing life, not merely tolerating it.”

Fighting against what has been or has already happened requires an enormous amount of energy that can paralyze us over time and prevent our growth and learning.

Although we may not like it, the art of living is based on knowing how to take advantage and learn from the adversities that life often presents us.

Whatever happens, we must gain wisdom and self-knowledge, to advance in our relationship with our environment with greater confidence in ourselves.

Acceptance is one of the cornerstones of Mindfulness. This approach invites us to abandon our resistance against symptoms like thoughts, feelings and ruminations by saying YES to what has already happened, even YES to the resistance you may feel and think about what has already happened.

At first, it is an intention, an aspiration. But if it is cultivated regularly, there is a greater chance that it can grow deeply inside…

“We are afraid of losing our lives when, in reality, we lose our lives because of our fears”

Realizing our feelings just when they arise is the emotional intelligence foundation that we cultivate when practicing Mindfulness.

Becoming aware of our inner states, observing the experience itself in an impartial and non-reactive way requires perseverance and moves us forward a true mastery.

In this training, we learn to distinguish when self-observation allows for a calm, composed awareness of turbulent emotions or when we take a step back and close off, distancing ourselves from experience due to fear, causing us to lose connection with ourselves and others.

Anxiety, fear, guilt and shame are feelings that threaten our existence as human beings and reveal our personal meaning and beliefs about life and death: who we are, what the world is like and how we position ourselves in that world. When we perceive that our existence is in danger, we experience these emotions.

“What differentiates man from animals is the use of language”
– Aristotle

We are social animals that need others to survive, physically, intellectually, and even emotionally. This fact determines all aspects of our lives. Communication enables the connection between people, both verbally and non-verbally. Then, why not spend some time learning how to communicate better and thus foster healthier relationships?

This course gives special attention to the use of language, the one we generate internally (thoughts) and the one we express externally, because they are interrelated. It will help us learn to express ourselves clearly and honestly when we are the ones who send the message and also to know how to listen and observe with empathy and compassion when we are the ones who receive the message.

Nonviolent Communication is an educational program developed by Marshall Rosenberg based on his experience as a mediator, educator and therapist. The combination of NVC and Mindfulness allows us to identify our resistance, defenses, or those flight or attack reactions when we face judgments or criticisms from others. It helps us know how to stop and focus on clarifying what we truly observe, feel and need.

“Anybody can become angry, that is easy;
but to be angry with the right person,
and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way,
that is not within everybody’s power, that is not easy”
– Nicomaco ethics. Aristotle

Cultivating Emotional Balance (CEB) is a program that cultivates mental and emotional balance, and leads us to a state of psychological well-being. It helps us to understand the meaning we give to our lives, our attitudes and behaviors, and how they affect ourselves and the people around us.

In 2000 the Dalai Lama asked a group of scientists to create a secular program that would unite “the best of both worlds”: Western psychology and Buddhist meditation, intending to help people manage destructive emotions.

Paul Ekman, a specialist in emotions, and Alan Wallace, a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, developed this training program that integrates these approaches.

In this course, we will work on the four areas that provide mental balance: cognitive, attentional, cognitive and emotional. We will go in-depth into emotions, their characteristics, adaptive function, expression and the distinction of destructive or constructive responses. We will perform exercises that encourage an attitude of kindness, openness and curiosity to any experience. It is what provides us with greater freedom of response to situations that carry a high emotional load and the opportunity to learn to respond effectively and not harmfully. We will cultivate latent and elevated qualities present in all human beings, which contribute to deep well-being: one of unconditional love, compassion, emphatic joy and equanimity.

“In the process of becoming a person, individuals progressively feel that the source of self-evaluation lies within himself. He then relies less in searching others’ approval or reprobation as guidelines by which to govern his life, or to make decisions and choices. He recognizes that the faculty of choice lies inside, and that the only important question is: “Am I living in a way that is deeply satisfying to me, and is my authentic expression?”
– Carl R. Rogers

Self-esteem is based on “the health of the mind.” Cultivating a healthy self-esteem aims to analyse what self-esteem is and why is it so important to have a healthy and realistic self-esteem? We will look at how we can raise our self-esteem. What role do others play in shaping our self-esteem?

Facing life firmly, requires knowing ourselves in depth and trusting in our abilities to succeed in the diversity of situations that are presented to us. In order to do so, we need to create a certain stability inside of us that many times we cannot find in the world outside.

From the psychological point of view, forgiveness liberates us from the suffering caused by the attitude of resentment that we hold towards the person who hurt us.

Forgiveness is a process that requires time and does not depend only on our voluntary will. It requires a change of perspective and a deep understanding of human beings’ essence that recognizes our flaws and weaknesses. As fallible and imperfect beings, we all can make mistakes. It is not about justifying our harmful actions or that of others. It is about becoming aware that the non-wanted consequences are the result of ignorance when wrong decisions were made.

This training helps us to understand that learning how to cultivate forgiveness liberates us from the effects of resentment that ends up harming us. If we learn to accept and not force the necessary process, we may gradually manage to feel the lightness of authentic forgiveness, our heart then opens and generates elevated human qualities are generated.