I realize I might say this often, but I will suggest it again, Colossians is one of those books in NTI where everything could be highlighted.
That said, let me share a few reflections.
The following is a beautiful description of who you are:
5What are you, then, if you are the Christ? 6You are the flow that is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the creator of all things within time. 7You are the heavens and the earth, the bees and the sunshine. 8You are the process that made all things and is all things, so that they live through the process that created them. 9You are the flow of Life and separate from nothing that is Life, for that which flows through them is the process that you are. 10You are beyond concepts and differences and form, and within the Life Force that is all things. (pp. 355-356)
Another phrase that is emphasized a number of times in this book is “you are the process of creation.”
That’s one I just have to sit with. It is beyond my mind to truly understand that statement, and yet the Truth of it resonates strongly within me.
My mind cannot compute that God who is changeless can also be in process as well, but my heart resonates with the sense of growth and expansion. It is hard to imagine, God or love or grace to be static or unmoving.
There is a Buddhist flavor to this book* as well, as it describes how we can be seduced by old attachments and we are encouraged to keep in mind to embrace only the eternal.
(v 1 – 4)1The world is a dream that seemed to be what you thought you wanted. 2If you look at it in denial it can fool you for a little longer. 3For the world has in it a glimmer and a shine that may appeal to you in your forgetfulness. 4But nothing in the world can last. 5What it offers you is never eternal. (p. 358)
And:
(v 5 – 11)1Remember your Self, which is eternal, and you will know that you cannot be satisfied with glimmerings of the temporal. 2Remember your Self, which is eternal, and you will know with certainty that your focus cannot settle on something that shines for a little while. (p. 359)
A mainstay of the Holy Spirit’s teaching is to guide us away from self-judgment, especially after expressing such a powerful idea as above.
This goes along with ACIM which tells us that as soon as we make an error in our thinking, the Holy Spirit crease a correction at that instant.
So here we have a reminder, quickly pulling us out of judgment into openness and grace.
2The little that you have** is enough to carry you very far. 3Focus on your lessons, and learn to change your mind. 4This is the practice that will lead you to see. 5As you see, you accept, and as you accept, you begin to desire. 6In this way, you follow your Self back to your Home, which is the knowledge of your full joy and happiness. (p. 359)
**I would think this could mean, “The little that you think you have…”
Since most of my difficulties come from my limited and false perceptions.
It is sometimes confusing to me of what to do with the world. Do I love it, hate it, avoid it, pretend it is not there, keep calling it an illusion?
Collossians goes onto suggest:
(v 18 - 25)1Look on all that you see and love it, but do not identify with it. 2It is not your truth or your reality. 3It is a reflection of your thought. 4Be grateful for the love that you find. 5Embrace it. 6But also be grateful for the reflection that seems not to be love, for it is what it seems not to be. 7It comes to you in love and grace to show you what you have thought, that you may choose again. 8Praise your mistakes, that they may be corrected. 9For it is only in praise and acceptance that the truth may be known. (pp. 359-360)
And finally we are directed as to how to work with our thoughts in a positive way.
When I notice my thoughts I realize they can run the gamut of warm, loving, insightful to cruel, destructive and downright insane.
As I was reading NTI I had this image of my mind as being like this satellite dish picking up “thought waves” from everywhere and everything. I used to spend quite a bit of time and energy attempting to figure out some of my nuttier thoughts or to figure out what was wrong with me.
Rather than getting back into judgment and fear, NTI suggests:
5Remain detached from the thoughts that you find, yet fully observant. 6The Heart bids you to remember that the mind receives thoughts of all kinds. 7It is your habit to accept whatever the mind receives. 8Now you are being asked to learn discernment. 9Notice what is received, but realize you need not keep it just because you received it. 10Receiving it does not mean you must keep it. (p. 361)
Parting thought:
The progression of our path is outlined:
5Remain detached from the thoughts that you find, yet fully observant. 6The Heart bids you to remember that the mind receives thoughts of all kinds. 7It is your habit to accept whatever the mind receives. 8Now you are being asked to learn discernment. 9Notice what is received, but realize you need not keep it just because you received it. 10Receiving it does not mean you must keep it. (p. 361)
*FYI The usual notation for the New Testament is that it is divided into books, ie. The Book of Matthew, Acts, Romans, etc. So instead of referring to the sections as chapters, they are referred to as “books.”
