Accountability is a beautiful thing. The gym\u00a0buddy\u00a0who\u2019s\u00a0always psyched for weights at 6 a.m.\u00a0can passively change your life with their\u00a0presence, obliging you to keep showing up even when you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0feel like it.\u00a0Whether\u00a0you join a\u00a0writer\u2019s group or a knitting circle, bringing others into\u00a0any\u00a0hobby or\u00a0skill\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0trying to build is\u00a0a great way\u00a0to\u00a0motivate yourself to stick with it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This includes meditation, which (if you\u2019re anything like me) you may think of as a solo activity by default. For the first 10 years of on-and-off meditation practice, the idea of joining any sort of group never occurred to me. I never expected that I\u2019d be showing up to Zoom meditation in front of a camera every single day, but here I am, ready to urge you to try it because it may transform your practice.<\/p>\n
The benefits of joining a community<\/h2>\n
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Prior to joining a Buddhist community that hosts daily 45-minute meditation sessions over Zoom, I would occasionally meditate for 45 minutes at a time. Sometimes for longer. More often, though, I\u2019d start listening to a 45-minute guided meditation and quit when I felt bored or relaxed at around 25 minutes in. If I had an itch, I\u2019d interrupt my flow to scratch it in an unsightly manner, and if I heard a songbird outside, I\u2019d stand up abruptly to look out the window.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the case when I\u2019m meditating in the same room or on camera with others. Although I\u2019m not consciously thinking of the fact that I can be seen by others, as we all have our eyes closed, I\u2019m aware of the presence of the other participants. So I stay seated, observing my urge to stand up or scratch an itch instead of giving into it, for 45 minutes every day.<\/p>\n I stay seated, observing my urge to stand up or scratch an itch instead of giving into it, for 45 minutes every day.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Meditation becomes greatly beneficial to one\u2019s mental stability and peace of mind when it\u2019s practiced daily as a routine, rather than a few times a week or as needed in a more whimsical fashion. Waking up for the 7 a.m. meditation over Zoom literally schedules meditation into my day, when otherwise, it all too easily would fall to the bottom of my priority list. It never really felt like the mysterious \u201cright time\u201d to meditate until I started joining others at the same time every day.<\/p>\n Going from \u201cusually\u201d meditating for about 20 minutes most days to meditating for 45 minutes every day made a huge difference in my ability to concentrate and relax during long periods of meditation. My daily meditation is an anchor in my day, and though I\u2019m not obligated to show up, I do unless I\u2019m sick or sleepless because I want my spiritual mentors in the group to see that I\u2019m meditating. Sometimes I even get to ring my singing bowl to end the meditation for everyone online. It\u2019s quite invigorating.<\/p>\n Before starting to attend these 7 a.m. Zoom meditations, I first joined the Buddhist group that hosts them at one of their in-person (hybrid, with virtual participants) meditation and discussion sessions at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. I enjoyed it, so I also joined their weekly Saturday morning hybrid session in person. At this point, I still considered joining a 7 a.m. Zoom session to be too early, too much, too hard.<\/p>\n\n
Accountability to your Kalyanamittas<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Seated](\"https:\/\/cdn.shortpixel.ai\/spai\/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto\/www.themindfulword.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/woman-meditating-seated-laptop.jpg\" "\\"MINDFULNESS")