There are moments when it feels easier to close off than to stay open, especially around difficult people or challenging interactions. In those moments, compassion can feel out of reach.
The Just Like Me meditation is a practice of noticing what you share with another person. Sean Fargo guides it in this recording.
It starts from a simple recognition:
the person in front of you, however different they seem, is living a life just like yours.
They have felt sad, hurt, or confused.
They have known pain.
They have known peace, joy, and happiness.
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Episode Overview:
What the Practice Covers:
- Setting posture and grounding through the breath
- Scanning the body and naming present-moment experience
- Introducing the “Just Like Me” practice
- Bringing to mind a distant or difficult person
- Recognizing shared emotions and suffering
- Acknowledging shared joy and happiness
- Noticing what you experience
- Closing with the wish: may they be well
Show Notes:
What Is the “Just Like Me” Meditation?
Just Like Me is a compassion practice about recognizing the similarities between ourselves and others, especially people we feel distant from or in conflict with.
Sean says we often focus on differences, and that people who seem very different from us can still become the basis of real connection. In the meditation you bring someone to mind and silently note what you have in common:
- Just like me, this person has been sad, disappointed, angry, hurt, or confused
- Just like me, they have known physical and emotional pain
- Just like me, they have known peace, joy, and happiness
Why This Practice Matters
When we are caught in judgment or frustration, we tend to see others as “different” or even “against us.” That can create separation and add to stress, anger, or resentment.
Sean says the practice can help with that sense of difference and distrust by opening channels of compassion.
Benefits of this practice:
This recording does not cite research on outcomes. The aims Sean describes are:
- Compassion and understanding toward people who seem different from us
- A sense of shared experience as human beings
- Overcoming the sense of difference and distrust
A Step-by-Step Guide to the Just Like Me Meditation
This is a short practice you can do in a few minutes.
1. Settle Your Posture and Ground Yourself
Find a comfortable position and let the body settle. Take full, deep breaths with a soft belly, and feel the weight of your body on the ground or your chair.
Soften around any tightness: drop the shoulders, soften the hands, and relax the muscles of the face and jaw. Gently close your eyes or look downward to limit visual distraction.
2. Scan the Body and Name What’s Present
Take a long breath out and release any tension you are holding. Briefly scan through your body, noticing any sensations or emotions.
Notice what is predominant, and allow spaciousness and acceptance for whatever you are experiencing, without judging it good or bad, right or wrong.
3. Introduce the “Just Like Me” Practice
Now bring to mind another person. Sean suggests:
- Someone you don’t know very well
- Someone who seems distant or different from you
- Someone you are in a minor conflict with
4. Recognize Shared Emotions and Experiences
Silently repeat phrases like:
- Just like me, this person has at some point been sad, disappointed, angry, hurt, or confused
- Just like me, this person has experienced physical and emotional pain and suffering
5. Acknowledge Shared Joy and Happiness
Then include the positive side:
- Just like me, this person has experienced moments of peace, joy, and happiness
6. Rest in Awareness
As you hold this person in your awareness, notice what you experience. There is nothing you need to do except observe.
7. Close with a Compassionate Wish
End the practice with a simple wish:
“May they be well.”
Working with Difficult People Using This Practice
Sean says the practice can include people you don’t know well, people you are in conflict with, and even people you see as an enemy. For the meditation itself he suggests someone who seems distant or different from you, or someone you are in a minor conflict with.
What You Might Notice Over Time
Sean makes no promises about outcomes in the recording. His own prompt is to notice what you experience while you hold the person in awareness, and to keep noticing the next time you practice.
Making It Part of Your Daily Life
You don’t need a long meditation session to try this. These are suggestions, not part of the recording:
- While waiting in line
- Before or during a difficult conversation
Silently repeat:
“Just like me…”
Final Thoughts: A Practice of Remembering
The Just Like Me meditation is a reminder of something we often forget: the people around us have lives much like ours. Seeing ourselves in others, even briefly, is the point of the practice.
Additional Resources:
- Free Training with Sean Fargo: How to Teach Mindfulness With Confidence & Credibility
- Certification: Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification
- Blog: Honoring Joanna Macy: A Tribute to a Visionary of Interconnection and Courage
- Blog: Powerful Letting Go Quotes for Renewal and Growth
