Group Meditation
The next day there was to be a huge examination at school. I anxiously looked at the clock and decided I just didn’t have time to attend the weekly group meditation that night. Instead I stayed home, did my personal meditation, then made and ate some dinner.
As I anxiously sat down to study I again looked at the clock. If I had gone to group meditation I would have been home in just fifteen more minutes. I would have been more relaxed, happy, energized, and better fed (having eaten in the collective meal). I resolved never to miss another group meditation in order to study, a resolution I maintained through many subsequent years of college.
Regular attendance at group meditation is a helpful factor for success in meditation. The energy produced when people meditate together has a profound impact on the mind. Beginners, in particular, notice the improvement in their personal meditation in the days following group meditation.
Just as important as the actual meditation is the association with spiritual people. The main determinant of a person’s character is the company they keep. If you associate with low-minded criminal people, there is every possibility you will become low-minded and criminal. And if you associate with high-minded people who are endeavoring to develop positive character traits and habits, then these are the traits and habits you will likely develop.