Meditation Society Exeter University

Our Story

The Meditation Society aims to offer every member the tools they need, through meditation and mindfulness, to cultivate a happier, more compassionate and less stressful life. Mondays: > 19:00 - 20:00 in Queen's Building, MR2&3. These are our student-led sessions. Thursdays: > 19:00 - 20:00 in Queen's Building, MR2&3. These are led by the long-time Buddhist chaplain John Danvers. You can find more information about John here: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/chaplaincy/ourchaplains/johndanvers/ Our sessions on Monday evenings are mindfulness-based and beginner-friendly. These usually consist of a short breathing meditation from well-known sources (such as best-selling books, the leading meditation app ‘Headspace’ and Mindfulness CDs), followed by a themed discussion chosen by the committee. We end on another meditation and the discussions usually roll on while we're packing up the room into the evening. Our sessions on Thursday evenings consist of two longer and less guided meditations led by the Exeter University Buddhist Chaplain, John Danvers. He then gives (on an alternate weekly basis), rich, informative talks about various meditative and spiritual traditions and creative activities such as free-hand drawing and structured chanting. We invite various teachers from the wider Exeter community to guide one-off sessions, such as monks from local Buddhist monasteries as well as therapists from Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy professions. We have regular socials that range from walks in Exeter and beyond, tie dye workshops, meals and nights out. Last year, we collaborated with the RAMM (Royal Albert Memorial Museum) on their hugely successful ‘late nights’ project, bringing meditation to a much wider audience. We have interest in doing joint socials with the Buddhist society and the Mind Your Head (mental health awareness) society. The society has a whopping 40+ books that have been generously donated by Monks we have had sessions with or by students themselves. These can be borrowed at any time throughout the year - if you are interested, please talk to Paddy. Mindfulness is beneficial to all, regardless of religion or lack thereof, culture, gender etc. We therefore aim to build an inclusive environment for all to learn and grow as individuals.

Committee contacts: President - Paddy Dunphy Vice-President - Megan Wilkinson Treasurer - Matt Denton Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/exetermeditation/ Website: http://exetermeditation.wix.com/exemeditationsociety Twitter: https://twitter.com/exeunimeditate/