Alexander Lowen has Passed Away 

Alexander Lowen
December 23, 1910 - October 28, 2008

Alexander Lowen passed away peacefully in his sleep between midnight and 2am on the morning of Tuesday, October 28, 2008. Al was 97 years of age, 2 months shy of his 98th birthday on December 23rd. Despite a debilitating stroke two years ago, Dr. Lowen enjoyed his last years in loving care at his home in Connecticut. An international group of caregivers, Nana from Ghana, Karen from Jamaica, Eddie from the Bronx, and Monica, his angel on Earth, from Brazil, cared for him and loved him in the comfort of his home. With their help, the help of others, his visitors, and all people wishing him well, he enjoyed and struggled, agreed and disagreed, argued and accepted, listened to music, danced, worked his body, and lived a full life to the end. A student and lover of life, his was a life that wished to live. He will be missed by many, even as he is still with those who knew him.             

Dr. Lowen's life touched all of us very deeply. We have been able to cherish and benefit from how he created Bioenergetic Analysis and touched tens of thousands of lives. He always had profound respect for the body and the power of the life force. He was buried at a private family funeral on November 8. His passing is deeply mourned by his son Frederic and family, wife Cheryl, and daughter, Sonia. Dr. Lowen leaves a sister, Sylvia Murray, 93.              


Two quotes from  Dr Lowen's 14 books are very relevant. In Fear of Life, he wrote:   

"As one grows older, the sense of separateness is slowly reduced.  Old people do not live on an ego level.  Their concerns are not about their individuality but about the river of life, the family, the community, the nation, people, animals, nature, life.  They can die easily if they are assured that life will continue positively, for they feel part of the river again, and soon they will be part of the ocean. When they are very old, they no longer belong to our time and space, but to all time and all space."             


In his Autobiography, Honoring the Body, he wrote:  


"If you have the willingness to accept the realities of life, you will live longer. It has allowed me to reach 93 years of age. I was raised to value the mind and intellect, not the body. Favoring the life of the mind went against my nature. Healing the split between my mind and my body has been my life's challenge. In the 60 years that I have practiced psychotherapy, I have learned that the pathway to emotional health is through the body. The underlying purpose of Bioenergetics Analysis has always been to heal the mind—body split."             

A memorial service open to all friends will be held at his home in Connecticut in late Spring 2009.             

You are welcome to post a tribute to Dr. Lowen on our website. The link to the "Honoring Alexander Lowen Guestbook" is http://www.lowenfoundation.com/guestbook.html. You can also send us an email at AlexanderLowenFoundation@gmail.com. Some of you may even have pictures you can share with us.     
The Alexander Lowen Foundation was founded, funded, and established by Dr. Alexander Lowen, M.D. to continue his teachings and further develop his work.  


Frederic Lowen, Robert Glazer, John Yong

Directors
The Alexander Lowen Foundation

I haven't yet read The Language of the Body: Physical Dynamics of Character Structure

This would be my next book to read when I got the time to read.

Depression and the Body does a great job, less overly-intellectual in its explanations than Reich's books. Reich came out of Marx and Freud's teachings. His Character Structure is tough going.