60% of annual deaths worldwide are caused by chronic disease. Let me repeat that – 60% of the people who die each year do so because of mostly preventable chronic disease. More people die every year because of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and COPD (to name just a few) than any other cause. According the World Health Organization (WHO), if the major risk factors for chronic disease like poor diet, inactivity and tobacco use could be eliminated, at least 80% of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes would be prevented as well. In addition to that, 40%…

What an exhilarating journey this has been! When we first started our conference in 1988, Mind/Body Medicine was hardly on the map. And now, it has an undisputed presence. It’s gratifying to see hospitals and universities in almost every state incorporating mind/ body medicine into their programs and curriculum. I’d like to think that NICABM has had a part in influencing this change. Each year, we have laid some incredible groundwork, coming together as practitioners from all over the USA, laying roots to form a solid foundation. Now mind/body/spirit medicine has “the wings to fly.” We are now at a…

Pictures of this… leave us with sweet longings for this. We’ve already had snow storms and school closings; we’ve seen the normally long lines at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts get ever longer. In this time of cold, a warm beverage seems not just right, but necessary. And as researchers are finding, physical warmth may help increase our mental warmth. In an intriguing study, Drs. Lawrence Williams and John Bargh have found that people who are holding warm beverages are more likely to judge others as having “warmer” personalities, as well as being more likely to give to others rather than…

With 30,000 more troops scheduled for deployment for Afghanistan, a mission clearly defined and an exit strategy set before the American people, we forge ahead. And while we could debate the party politics and military merit of the road ahead, it’s the unintended fallout that deserves at least equal time. More and more, we’re hearing about PTSD and how, when our humanity is dismissed and our core values are violated, we are traumatized. It’s a story of violence and conflict, whether it is war or genocide or terrorism, it insidiously inches its way into the human condition and survival is…