You Are Just Like Me

We will engage in an exercise of recognizing the commonalities between ourselves and others. It's common to emphasize differences and pass judgment, but it's essential to acknowledge that even someone who appears very different from us may share numerous similarities. This applies to individuals we may not know, those with whom we are in conflict, or even those we perceive as enemies.

Transcript

Just like me, Let's begin by taking a moment to allow your body to settle into a comfortable position. You might be seated, Might be seated on the floor or on the chair, Or even you could be lying down. You may close your eyes or keep them slightly open for this practice and allowing your spine to lift and the shoulder to soften, To relax. Take a moment, See if the body is in upright position and if the hip and the legs and the arms are all relaxing. Today we will practice acknowledging the similarity that we have between ourselves and others. Often we focus on differences, But realizing that even a person who seems very different from us is in many ways just like us, Can become many similarity that we have are the same. So this can include people we don't know very well, Far away, Or people with whom we are in conflict, Or even sometimes with people that we see as an enemy. It is possible to develop a sense of compassion and understanding by coming to feel our shared senses of experience as a human beings. We come to understand we have lots of similarity that we can share. So this practice today is called Just Like Me, Can help overcome that sense of difference, A sense of feeling anger towards someone, A sense of just being different than other people. So let's start by first allow yourself to take a deep breath in and a long exhale out. And as you breathe out every time, See if you can release any tension that you're holding in the body, Whether it's tension around the shoulders, The arms, The fingers, It could be sometimes tension in our back. See if you can just focus on that long inhalation, Deep breath in and long breath out. Briefly scan through your body noticing sensations of emotions, Feelings, Thoughts, Inviting a sense of openness, A sense of spaciousness and acceptance for whatever you are experiencing at this moment, In this present moment, Right now. As you take a long breath in and a long exhale, Now bring someone to mind that you don't know very well, Or who might seem different or distance from you, Or even someone that you are in a minor conflict with them. And as you bring this person to mind, Notice if you experience any shift, Any sensation in your body, Different now than before. Now holding this person in mind as if they were in front of you, Looking at you. Say to yourself, This person has a body and mind just like me. This person has feelings, Emotions and thoughts just like me. This person has at some point in his or her life has been sad, Disappointed, Angry, Hurt or even confused just like me. This person may has in his or her life has experienced physical and emotional pain and suffering just like me. This person in his or her life has experienced pleasant, Unpleasant or neutral sensations in physical body just like me. This person has experienced moments of joy, Peace, Happiness just like me. This person wishes to have fulfilling relationships just like me. This person wishes to be healthy and loved just like me. This person wishes to be safe and secure in his or her life just like me. This person wishes to do well and succeed in her or his life just like me. Now take a moment to sense how you're feeling now versus before starting this practice. Has your sensation shifted from maybe anger to more love and compassion? Has it changed your feeling and becoming more calm toward this person? And as you hold this person in your awareness, In your heart, What do you experience? And now as you hold this person in mind without any judgment and being here present with all those feelings that are rising toward this person, Sending them good wishes. May they be well, May they be happy, Live in peace and comfort. And as we move to close this practice, We can always remember to think of someone today who you will meet today or think of the next person you expect to see today. Take a moment to silently consider how that person you're going to meet today, It could be just like you. For example, You can say that this person want to be loved and cared for just like me or this person want to do well and succeed just like me. So you can apply this in your daily life toward anybody, A person that you're going to meet or a person you live with or a person who's far away or even a person who you have a minor conflict with. So this brings us to close our practice today, The beautiful practice of just like me. Thank you so much for practicing with me.

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