Independence is based on dependence. Does this statement read like double-talk? It may at first glance, but if one searches more deeply, he will see that the independence of an individual or a nation is always founded on some measure of dependence on God, divine Principle. Individually or collectively true liberty must be based on integrity and justice, both of which have their source in the divine Mind.

The truly free man is he who recognizes his utter dependence on the creative Principle that forms him, and then lives the implications of this relationship in everyday life. Also the freest nation is that one in which the highest percentage of its citizens acknowledge the government of God in some degree and strive to express justice and decency in their private and public affairs.

Through the study of Christian Science one may learn how true independence may be gained. This Science teaches that freedom is not to be equated with self-willed license or a cold individualism that ignores the rights and happiness of others. Such an attitude would be bondage, not freedom. It would indicate a dependence on material ways and means that would rob one of his spiritual birthright as the individual expression of infinite Being, or divine Love. Mrs. Eddy writes, "Man is properly self-governed only when he is guided rightly and governed by his Maker, divine Truth and Love."
Science and Health, p. 106;

Christ Jesus was the most independent individual who ever lived. He dared to be different. He had the courage to leave the mores and methods of his fellowmen and to live a life of close communion with God. The Master recognized the divine Mind to be the "I" which his real identity reflected, the divine Principle of his every thought and act. To those around him this utter dependence on God appeared as limitless power to control material conditions. They beheld an independence of, a superiority to, limiting material laws unequaled in all history. Mark's Gospel records, "He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak."
Mark 7:37;

Jesus' words and works show us that independent self-government is not attained through a personal material sense of oneself. The real man is not a free agent with a mind and life of his own. He is the reflection of God, the only Mind, or Life. We reach a wise, disciplined sense of self-government as we learn to recognize the divine Mind to be infinite, All, and that our real identity lives in this Mind as a wholly controlled idea, as a distinct, unique instance of Mind's subjective state. The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy, tells us, "Life is, always has been, and ever will be independent of matter; for Life is God, and man is the idea of God, not formed materially but spiritually, and not subject to decay and dust."
Science and Health, p. 200;

Spiritual healing becomes a scientific possibility as one learns that matter and all its states and conditions—animate, inanimate, diseased, depraved—are figments of the human mind, errors that can be controlled and corrected by spiritually enlightened thought. As one firmly asserts his independence from all material conditions, either as the cause or cure of disease, and then claims his total dependence on the one harmony-producing divine Principle, he can prove the restorative power of Truth.

This healing influence is independent of time or space, for the power of the one harmonious Mind is omnipresent. Mrs. Eddy clarifies this beautifully when she writes: "Mind is not confined to limits; and nothing but our own false admissions prevent us from demonstrating this great fact. Christian Science, recognizing the capabilities of Mind to act of itself, and independent of matter, enables one to heal cases without even having seen the individual,— or simply after having been made acquainted with the mental condition of the patient."
Miscellaneous Writings, pp. 42, 43;

True independence, then, is not the selfish assertion of one's own particular wishes and opinions. Rather is it the outcome of loving cooperation, open-mindedness, teachableness. This attitude is in harmony with the divine nature. It unifies one in quality with the loving Mind and imparts an inner buoyancy quite independent of external circumstances.

The consciousness of Christ, Truth, satisfies as nothing else can. Speaking of the Christ-idea, Paul writes: "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power."
Col. 2:9, 10.  In the degree that it is attained this spiritual completeness lifts one above dependence on matter for health and happiness. It reveals heaven within, the true independence that Love imparts.

Alan A. Aylwin