independence day , which Americans, have just celebrated, recognizes July 4, 1776, one of the seminal dates in the birth of the United States of America. The culmination of that birth came 11 years later in Philadelphia, when "the framers" met to draft the US Constitution. This document enshrined many of the principles of government that had been theorized upon but not yet put into practice in any major way. What made this possible was the fact that a new nation was being formed—the slate indeed was clean, and the framers didn't need to graft their ideas onto something old.

Something akin to this process can happen in individual lives when one adopts a spiritual way of thinking. When we begin to see ourselves as the children of God, as perfect representatives of all that is Godlike, the limitations of one's former sense of identity begin to drop away. In each one of us, God expresses the intelligence of infinite Mind, and the liveliness and vivacity of the divine Life—two of the synonyms that the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, gives for God. Since God is also divine Love, we begin to see that not only are we cared for, but that God has the same relationship to all His creation. Thus we begin to expect and to experience more harmony in our relationships with others, whether they are those intimate family relationships or the broader ones of business and social life.

Jesus once told his listeners: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me" (Matt. 11:28, 29). Here I see Jesus telling his followers not to lean on him personally, but to trust the Christ, the knowledge of God's presence that can come to every individual, to lift burdens and let him or her see what God is doing. Science and Health says: "Christ presents the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs. Christ illustrates that blending with God, his divine Principle, which gives man dominion over all the earth" (p. 316).

This new view of man's relationship to God gives a fresh sense of existence. It frees us from limited views we may have had—that a material body controls us, or that other people or outside influences control our behavior or our success. But it also requires that we act upon this knowledge and not combine it with our former views of ourselves. In other words, that the slate really has been wiped clean!

Several years ago, I had a partner in a small real estate venture, and each time there seemed to be some progress in the venture, it would stall. I talked the situation over with a Christian Science Practitioner, and he helped me see the business as an idea that was propelled by Principle (another synonym for God) and controlled by Principle, and that in the divine Mind there are no incomplete ideas. Therefore there could be nothing lacking in it. As I was leaving his office, I said, "Now, if only my partner will. ..."

The practitioner looked up and said to me, "I thought we had just agreed that God is in control here, not your partner." I realized then that I had to make a choice: either to keep seeing the situation in what seemed its human complexity, or to adopt this new spiritual view that recognized God's complete control. I wasn't released from the need to take any steps that were necessary, but the changed perspective freed me from continuing to cling to my old view of the matter. And within a matter of weeks, there was progress in the deal.

The framers of the US Constitution could not have developed their branches, had representative government, with its three separate branches, had they tried to graft it onto a model that began with the so-called divine right of kings. A wholly new nation gave them a unique opportunity to start something new. Starting our thinking with God and acknowledging only His control in our lives, we also are working with a new slate. The Key is making sure it's really a clean slate.