ROHAN GUNATILLAKE: Thank you for joining us for today’s special meditation. If you’re looking for a classic Meditative Story, please enjoy the rest of our library. 

October means a lot of things to a lot of people, but in our household, the word on everyone’s lips is Halloween. Despite part of its origins in old Scottish tradition, modern Halloween with its industrial levels of dressing up and trick or treating isn’t quite as big a thing here as it is in other parts of the world. So like last year we’ll be priming our neighbors to make sure they’re well stocked. 

We’re moving soon, and these are the last few weeks in the place we’ve called home for 12 years, so it’s going to be bittersweet as we go around our quiet neighborhood. 

The kids are super excited though. Our son Arne is going to dress up as No Face from the classic Japanese animated film Spirited Away, and our daughter Sophia, now that she realizes she doesn’t have to be something scary, will of course be Elsa from Frozen.

When it comes to trick or treating with the kids, we all know it’ll just be all treats. But in honor of the tradition, I thought it might be fun to do a special Halloween meditation together.

What I’m going to do is take you through a trick meditation, then one which is more of a treat. And then to close you can choose to do whichever of the two you prefer the most.

But to start, let’s put on our costumes.

What I mean by this is that we wear costumes all the time. Some are just more obvious than others. The costume I want you to put on now is one of relaxation and softness. Just by putting it on, your body is softening, dropping any holding that has built up over the course of your day. It feels so comfortable.

Now, our trick technique. It’s not a devious trick but a handy one. I use it when I can’t sleep or as a day-to-day mindfulness technique when I’m feeling a bit sluggish and uninspired. 

We start by resting our attention in the space where thoughts arise. And setting ourselves the challenge of noticing when the next thought bubbles up

So this is the game. The trick we play on ourselves.

Lying in wait for the next thought that arises, seeing if we can catch it.

Watching the mind. Waiting for thoughts. And when one comes up, trapping it in our awareness. So let’s give it a go.

Letting the body relax.

Using the body to come into the present. Into this moment right here.

And waiting, alert and primed. Lying in wait for the next thought.

Relaxed. But alert.

There’s no need to deliberately generate thoughts.

Just staking out your mind like a wildlife photographer.

Trying to be as hidden as possible and just waiting for the thoughts to come out of their burrows.

And when they do, snapping them with your awareness.

The reason I like this trick is because when we decide to wait in hiding for our next thought, it means we are alert.

And because we’re deliberately on the lookout for thoughts, and there is a high level of alertness and awareness, it can actually quieten the mind — the alertness making less space for thoughts to bubble up. Therefore allowing calm and spaciousness.

So that was the trick meditation. Mainly about thoughts.

The treat meditation is a bit different. And it’s mainly to do with body.

And the treat we’re going to give ourselves is to drop ourselves into coziness and comfort.  

And to do that, we will notice warmth and then really soak in it.

So by keeping our attention and awareness in our bodies, try scanning your awareness through the body to see where you feel the most warmth.

Wherever feels most cozy, when compared to everywhere else.

That might be in a particular part of the body such as in your chest.

Your face. Or your feet.

It could be in a place where your clothes meet your body. Or it could just be a general sense of warmth and coziness.

Putting as much of your attention on the place or places where you can feel the most warmth.

And letting yourself just totally soak into those sensations. Just as you’d soak into a warm bath.

Nothing else to do but feel whatever warmth you can.

Finding the warmth. Enjoying the warmth.

Letting the face smile if that feels ok.

And soaking in the warmth of the body.

Allowing yourself this treat. 

And if and when our minds wander away to what we have to do, being ok with that and just dropping back into the warmth of the body.

Here.

Now.

Cozy.

Cozy and warm.

So that is the treat meditation. To finish for this last minute or so: Trick or Treat? The choice is yours.

Take whichever technique you liked the most today, and do it by yourself for just a little bit.

The trick: trying to catch the next thought that bubbles in your mind, a trick that encourages alertness and spaciousness.

The treat: dropping the mind into the comfortable feelings of warmth in the body.

It’s up to you. Doing your preferred technique just for a few breaths.

Thank you for joining me for this Halloween special.

Whether you’re out or not this holiday season, dressed up or just doing it your own way, stay safe, and we’ll see you soon.