The Bowen Theory and Meditation (BTM) study group is intended for individuals with prior knowledge of Bowen Theory, meditation, mindfulness, or related disciplines who wish to deepen their independent study of these fields. Participants are engaged in self-directed learning, while sharing a common interest in exploring how Bowen theory, contemporary science, and meditation or mindfulness practices intersect—where they converge, differ, and inform one another.
History of the Study Group
The Bowen Theory and Meditation study group emerged from conversations within the Center for Family Consultation and was formally shaped by the 2016 CFC Summer Conference, where six Bowen practitioners presented on the commonalities and differences between Bowen theory and mindfulness traditions. These presentations generated thoughtful dialogue among presenters, faculty, and participants, leading to the formation of an ongoing study group.
Since 2017, the group has met regularly via online video conference, welcoming new members and providing a forum for the development, presentation, and discussion of individual study projects for professional and scholarly use. Over time, the group’s focus has expanded to include neuroscience, contemplative traditions (Eastern and Western), and Bowen’s later-in-life evolving thinking on spirituality and consciousness.
Study Group Mission
The mission of the Bowen Theory and Meditation study group is to develop thoughtful, scholarly work that explores meditation and mindfulness through the lenses of Bowen theory and evidence-based science, with particular attention to Bowen’s theoretical concept of differentiation of self. In Making Sense of Human Life: Murray Bowen’s Determined Effort Toward Family Systems Theory by Catherine M. Rakow, using the extensive archival materials, describes the process that Dr. Bowen used to arrive at the 8 concepts in his theory. She includes his thoughts on Bowen theory as it moves into the future. Dr. Bowen recognized that his discovery of family systems theory had astounding possibilities for the future when he noted:
“I believe that when man is finally capable of such thinking (a way to account for all the diverse data about man with a unified concept of man) he will understand the lawful order between the cell and the psyche and he may even understand the lawful order between the psyche and the entity we know as the soul.” Bowen, 1957
It is now 35+ years since Dr. Bowen died, and we see astounding advances have been made in the neuroscience, physics, evolutionary and systems biology, evolutionary anthropology, quantum physics, etc. We even see the scientific community grappling with the mystery of “what is consciousness? Is figuring out the origins of consciousness going to be the key to understanding not only life on earth, but also of the cosmos, the universe, and beyond? New scientific research evidence on the evolution of humans on earth is being published daily. Members of the study group can formulate their own “mystery of life” questions to research and discuss with the study group. Or, they can also research the daily “living one’s own best life” questions that come up in their clinical practices, or in their other relationship systems. Questions explored by the group have included:
- What is the nature of self from a Bowen theory perspective, and how is it cultivated?
- How do meditation and mindfulness practices intersect with Bowen theory and practice?
- What does contemplative practice contribute to understanding individuality and togetherness forces?
- Can meditation support the development of higher levels of differentiation of self?
- How might contemplative traditions inform the further development of Bowen theory—and vice versa?
What do study group meetings look like?
- One member leads a ten-minute guided meditation
- Members present on their areas of interest at least once during each year.
- One Member leads a discussion based on their area of interest/study. They send the title of their topic and links to one or more articles, podcasts, or videos to a program coordinator, a week in advance of the meeting. The coordinator puts that information on the agenda for the upcoming meeting so the members of the group can prepare in advance for the discussion.
- Time left after the discussion of the lead presenters topic is dedicated to a general discussion led by one of the coordinators giving members to update, or ask questions of the group about their own areas of interest related to Bowen theory, meditation practices or recent advances in science related to the brain or consciousness.
Registration information: dates, time and place
The study group meets for 90 minutes, on six Mondays during 2026, via Zoom
10:30AM until noon central time in the USA.
Dates in 2026:
- February 23
- April 27
- June 1
- September 28
- October 19
- November, 16
Program Fee
$300
Registration: (Eventbrite is the online registration system for Center for Family Consultation (CFC). Click on the “Register Now” button and it will take you to Eventbrite.com, a secure online system for registering for events. Upon registration, your credit card will be processed by Eventbrite on CFC’s behalf, and you will receive a confirmation with their logo as well as CFC’s.If you have ever purchased a ticket for another event from Eventbrite, your email address and credit card information may already be in their system. You need to make sure you use the same card that is associated with your email address, and it must not be expired.Finally, make sure you add Eventbrite to your email contacts, so that email messages from CFC regarding the program you registered for will not go to your spam or junk mail folders.)
For More Info
About joining the study group or auditing to participate in discussions, please contact the CFC administrative program coordinators: Lisa Moss or Leslie Fox.
