March is Women’s History month. This year’s theme, according to the National Women’s History Project site: Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment, recognizes the pioneering leadership of women and their impact on the diverse areas of education. The following blog honors an extraordinary 19th century woman who made significant contributions to spiritual and religious education as a teacher, writer, and leader.

Mary Baker Eddy circa 1882-1883 around the time she moved from Lynn, Massachusetts to Boston.

Mary Baker Eddy was no ordinary woman. Behind her Victorian-era velvet and lace dress was a 21st century power suit.  At a time when women could not vote, rarely preached from a pulpit or took part in medical professions, Eddy’s work in the healthcare arena broke through the glass ceiling that had yet to become a metaphor. Her ideas as an author, pastor, teacher, and healer charted the path for current thought on consciousness and health today. And in more ways than one, they still lead the way.

After a series of disappointments, including the passing of her first husband and the eventual desertion of her second, Eddy was mid-life and suffering from her own chronic ill-health. This prompted her to investigate alternative healthcare methods, rather than resorting to the harsh treatments and side-effects of conventional 19th-century medicine. She tried diets, hydropathy, homeopathy and what are now known as placebo treatments–and she found some relief. But her most important conclusion from all of her investigations was that what a patient believes is directly related to the healing results they see.

Read the full blog on the National Women’s History site: http://www.nwhp.org/blog/?p=1419

For more information visit the Mary Baker Eddy Library website.