CALM Buddies is a meditation program sponsored by TCU’s CALM group.

CALM refers to both a state of calm that comes with sustained meditation practice but is also an acronym for “compassionate awareness and living mindfully.” Mark Dennis, the group’s director, piloted several CALM Buddies sections in his Spring 2021 World Religions course with good results.

 The program is meant to give you an opportunity to develop a regular meditation practice while getting to know a small group of peers who are also interested in exploring the benefits of meditation and mindfulness practices. One of the challenges faced by those who take up meditation is establishing a regular routine. A group like this can be quite helpful. All of the CALM leaders—faculty, staff, and students—have participated in such groups as a way to reinforce their practice and meet kindred spirits.

Forming a group is simple and no one in the group needs to have had any experience with meditation or mindfulness.

  • Meet.

    We ask that each member of the group agree to meet at least once a week for about 30 minutes via Zoom or in person, if it’s possible to do so safely. During that time, the group will engage in 10-15 minutes of meditation and another 10-15 minutes of CALM conversation.

    The meditation can be open-ended, meaning everyone simply sits and does their own practice, or your group could agree to try different guided practices. We encourage you to try out the guided meditations available from the Koru meditation program. All of the Koru meditations are secular, or non-religious, practices.

    The Koru meditations are led by Holly Rogers, MD, a practicing psychiatrist and meditation teacher who works at Duke University. She co-created Koru with a colleague to help Duke students deal with the stresses of college of life. She is also the author of The Mindful Twenty-something. Four TCU professors (Mark Dennis, Blake Hestir, and Wendy Williams) have been trained to teach this practice.

    There are also many excellent meditation apps and guided meditations available online for free. Please consult with CALM Buddies meditation suggestion

  • Discuss.

    The CALM discussion is open-ended and could include simply checking in and asking how everyone is doing in these quite difficult circumstances. You could also talk about the practices that you’ve found have worked well and those that haven’t, among other possibilities. Your group will naturally want to start by simply getting to know each other better.

    If your group is looking for topics to discuss, you might consider choosing a theme and sharing how this topic resonates with each member who feels open to sharing. Possible topics include gratitude, friendship, belonging, compassion, flourishing, wisdom, stress, anxiety, love, hope, or any other topic that feels like it would fit the vibe of the group. If your group takes this direction, please keep in mind that there are naturally no right answers to such open-ended topics and it is important to honor members’ differing perspectives.

  • Plan.

    Items to consider during your first CALM Buddies gathering:

    Decide who will facilitate the group; Formalize the timing of when and where the group will meet; Exchange contact information and discuss how the group will keep in touch. The group facilitator should remind the group of the schedule via the agreed upon method of communication;

    Optionally, come up with additional guidelines for the unique needs of your own group. For example, you may want to start each session with a collective breath, or a sound to signify the beginning of your meeting. You might also add an intention to keep in mind each time the group meets, or add any other unique specifications to make your group feel as comfortable as possible.

    If it turns out your schedules don’t match or there is some other sort of incompatibility, please write to Ulrika Shragge (CALM Studies Coordinator; u.shragge@tcu.edu) and she will help you find a different group for you to join or help you start a new group.

    We also urge you to designate one person to be the group’s scribe—separate from the facilitator—who will write up some short notes each week, jotting down the practices the group did and any other sorts of observations about the group’s development. If all group members agree, we would be happy to get a copy of your notes at semester’s end for the purpose of revising the program.

  • Reflect and Respect.

    We urge each group member to keep a journal of meditation sessions with the dates. You might jot down the practice(s) you did and your state of mind. Journaling like this can be quite helpful for tracking how your mind, body, and spirit respond to the practices.

    Please make sure to respect the confidentiality of the group. As the group gets to know each other, it is natural for members to start confiding in the group about personal information, which is wonderful because it creates a strong bond and sense of community. But please remember that it is crucial to maintain the confidentiality of the group.

If you would like to join a CALM Buddies group, please email Ulrika Shragge (u.shragge@tcu.edu) and she will help you either join an existing group or create a new one.

You’re naturally welcome to invite friends, partners, roommates, and others. A group can be as few as two people and as many as five; larger groups can be difficult to schedule and can lose some of the intimacy of a smaller group.