“Complementary” and “alternative” medicine (CAM) has been part of the health lexicon for a generation or more. The terms have been used to describe those therapies considered outside the traditional scope of medicine or at least beyond the doctor’s comfort zone. That is changing.

Life doesn’t have to be vulnerable or confined. We can regulate our own experiences by the choices we make and the thoughts we think. Read how this message resonated with 31 young persons in a Texas detention center.

According to recent scientific research, focusing thought and conversation on negative health expectations is not such a keen idea. It's called the "nocebo effect" and doctors are increasingly recognizing its negative impact on health. When worry, dread, and apprehension are troubling you - forget Murphy's old adage and avoid expecting the worse!

Do’s and don’ts to regain the joy of life.

What kind of mood are you in today? It seems a common – almost rote – question. But, it turns out that the answer to that question is very important. Maintaining a positive attitude and an individual’s spirituality play big roles in longevity and resiliency in later life. Separate studies confirm these findings.

"Escape Fire" is a new film that manages to highlight many of the serious challenges confronting American healthcare. A Los Angeles Times review of the film states, “What we have now, Dr. Andrew Weil and others in the film attest, is actually not a healthcare system but a disease management system. It’s a system that believes drugs are the only way: We spend as much on them as the rest of the world spends combined.

With the ever-increasing reliance on technology, does a doctor's tone of voice and bedside manner really matter? Apparently so. The intangibles of being, things like love, compassion, confidence, hope and other qualities point to the multi-dimensional facets of the individual, aspects that cannot be ignored in securing healthy outcomes and furthering long lives.

It's not just what you think, but what you expect that impacts your health. Not everyone agrees on the pivotal role of consciousness in health, or on what benefits prayer can bring to bear on one’s mental state. Expectations for real improvement can range from dismally low to sky high. But if it’s true that we get what we expect, maybe it’s time to raise our expectations.

Regarding healthcare, a New York Times article "Overtreatment is Taking a Harmful Toll" reports on the danger of too much care! On the flip side, could it be that when the spiritual is neglected, the quality of care giving and receiving is at risk of becoming too little? Let’s consider how the spiritual can help bring more balance.

Humor and other "mindfulness" methods to health – everything from relaxation techniques to prayer - are gaining wider acceptance. Laughter's "outside the Jack-in-the box" approach to healing is one of those surprising treasures putting smiles on many faces. All of April is National Humor Month, so make the most of it. Laugh a little!

Integrative medicine is a whole-person approach to health, treating the person, not just the disease and it is quickly receiving the attention of consumers, hospitals, and medical schools. It's a form of care that puts the patient at the center and addresses the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect a person's health.

if you have ever been curious about spiritual options for healing and health, here are a few word-to-the-wise ideas for those contemplating the use of spiritual/thought-based care.

Patients and health professionals continue to talk about "patient-centered care" and endorse an expansion of practices beyond "conventional" medical models.

Many are finding the mind to be the door to improved mental and physical health. Those utilizing mindfulness, meditation, or prayer-moments, to control and calm thought, claim these methods reduce stress and increase productivity.

"Challenge your mind" is one of the recommendations Harvard makes among 10 steps toward a longer, healthier life.  Keeping our thoughts on a positive trajectory does the body good. It diffuses the stress that sometimes seems to bend us into pretzels.