title: Florence Nightingale. A 19th-century mystic.
abstract: Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) received a clear and profoundly moving Call to serve God at the age of 16. Through a lifetime of hard work and discipline, she became a practicing mystic in the Western tradition, thereby becoming an instrument of God's love, which was the primary source of her great energy and the fabled "Nightingale power." To understand the life and work of this legendary healer, who forever changed human consciousness, the role of women, and nursing and public health systems in the middle of the 19th century, it is necessary to understand her motivation and inspiration. The purpose of this article is to discuss her life and work in the context of her mystical practice and to show the parallels between her life and the lives of three recognized women mystics.
authors.affiliation: Holistic Nursing Consultants, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Dossey
mesh_terms: D002835:Christianity / Q000266:history*; D005260:Female; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008888:Military Nursing / Q000266:history*; D009228:Mysticism / Q000266:history*; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000266:history; D018597:Saints / Q000266:history*