Geneviève Behrend (1881 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

– 1960 in

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) was a French-born author and teacher of Mental Science, a

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...

discipline taught by

Thomas Troward Thomas Troward (1847–1916) was an English author whose works influenced the New Thought Movement and mystic Christianity. Background Troward was a divisional Judge in Punjab in British-administered India. His avocation was the study of comp ...

. There is little known about her early life except that one of her parents was Scottish. After her husband died she traveled extensively. She studied

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

and met its founder

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning ...

, but ultimately left that faith. She met

Abdul Baha Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

, whose father had founded

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

, and he told her that she would “travel the world over seeking the truth, and when hehad found it, would speak it out”. She later wrote in her book ''Your Invisible Power'' that she found a book of

's lectures. Inspired by this, she wanted to study with Troward, but lacked the money to travel to

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, England where he lived, as she was then living in New York. So every night and morning she visualized counting out twenty $1,000 bills, buying her ticket to London, travelling on the ship, and being accepted as Troward’s pupil. She also constantly affirmed to herself, “My mind is a center of Divine operations”. Then, to quote her in ''Your Invisible Power'', "While these reflections were going on in my mind, there seemed to come up from within me the thought: 'I am all the substance there is.' Then, from another channel in my brain the answer seemed to come, 'Of course, that's it; everything must have its beginning in mind. The 'I', the Idea, must be the only one and primary substance there is, and this means money as well as everything else.' My mind accepted this idea, and immediately all the tension of mind and body was relaxed". In about six weeks, she received the money. From 1912 until 1914 she studied with

; Behrend was the only personal student he had throughout his life. After her studies with Troward she founded a

school called

The School of the Builders ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

in approximately 1915 in New York City, running it herself until 1925. She then founded another New Thought school in Los Angeles, after which she traveled throughout North America lecturing on mental science and New Thought for 35 years, as well as giving radio broadcasts. She is quoted as an expert in the best-selling self-help book '' The Secret'' by

Rhonda Byrne Rhonda Byrne ( ; née Izon; born 1951, Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian television writer and producer. Her book '' The Secret'' is based on the belief of the pseudoscientific law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a p ...

Bibliography

*''Your Invisible Power'' (1921). *''How to Live Life and Love it'' (1922) *''Attaining Your Heart's Desire'' (1929).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Behrend, Genevieve New Thought writers 1881 births 1960 deaths