Are You at a Costume Party? The Non-Dual Perspective on Identity and Awareness

As we approach the end of October here in the U.S., many are planning costume parties, considering costumes, or maybe even deciding they’re "too old" or “too serious” for the festivities. But regardless of whether you’re getting into costume or not, here’s a little secret: you’re already at a costume party. And it’s been happening all along.

This might sound odd at first, but bear with me—this perspective is deeply rooted in non-dualism, a worldview that has held influence across millennia. Religions, philosophies, and spiritual traditions worldwide have used this perspective to explore the nature of reality, awareness, and identity. And in this case, we can use the season of Halloween to illustrate it.

Imagine life as the best costume party ever. Not just any costume party, but one so compelling that you can barely tell what’s real from what’s imagined. People dress up in costumes so convincing that they become their characters. Someone may dress as a goblin, and you begin to relate to them as such. Maybe someone shows up as a famous political figure—so convincingly that others struggle to separate the costume from the person underneath.

This was the case at a Halloween party I attended years ago. My date went as a political figure who was unpopular with the crowd, and one guest even told her, “I’m sure you’re a lovely person, but as long as you look like that, I can’t talk to you tonight.” It wasn’t just a costume anymore; she had become the character, for that person and for others who couldn’t see past the disguise.

What if this is what’s happening in our daily lives? According to non-dual philosophy, life itself is a kind of costume party created by Awareness. This perspective, particularly prominent in Kashmir Shaivism, holds that Awareness is the ultimate reality. It’s not that Awareness created a costume party *for* others to attend—there is no “other.” In this view, Awareness has taken on all forms and characters. Everything you see—people, trees, chairs—is a costume worn by Awareness, a creation so well-disguised that we often forget what lies beneath.

The core of this metaphor lies in remembering that we are Awareness, temporarily donning costumes. Just as at any costume party, our characters can be intense, so real that we forget we’re in costume. And in the “game” of this party, the rules say that the more we resist this awareness, the more we suffer. To the extent that we believe ourselves to be only our costumes—our specific identities, roles, physical forms—the more we feel limited, isolated, and disconnected.

Take a moment to notice how this plays out in your own life. Think of how people react to your “costume”—the aspects of your identity and the expectations attached to them. When we’re continuously treated like the characters we play—whether that’s based on our age, gender, profession, or any other label—it’s easy to fall into the belief that that’s all we are. People interact with us based on their own filters, unintentionally reinforcing our identification with our costume, and in turn, we start believing it too.

Yet, from a non-dual perspective, this entire setting, from people to nature to furniture, is part of the grand costume party of Awareness. The trees, the mountains, the whole world—all a projection, a disguise so intricate that even Awareness, for a time, loses itself within it.

If we take on this perspective, we can start to play with our awareness of it. Imagine waking up each day, remembering that the world around you is a beautifully crafted costume party and that, at your core, you are not the costume but the Awareness behind it. Perhaps, with this mindset, you’ll start to see yourself—and others—in a new way.

In the end, this is the “game” of life in non-dual thought: a play of disguises, where the ultimate challenge is to remember who you are beyond the costume. So, today, whether or not you’re planning to dress up for Halloween, consider this: you’re already in a costume, and so is everyone else. The trees, the squirrels, the chairs—all are costumes. And beneath it all, we’re one, playing the game of forgetting and remembering.

Be well, and happy Halloween.

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