Prepared Before the Game Begins
Anyone who has ever played a sport understands a simple truth: the game is not won on game day. It is won in the preparation.
No athlete waits for pressure to begin building strength, discipline, and endurance. They prepare in advance—because when the moment arrives, preparation is the only thing they can rely on. Now consider a more important question:
What if you could greatly enhance your quality of life today—strengthening your body, sharpening your clarity, and steadying your nervous system—while also preparing yourself to face a serious health challenge with peace and confidence?
And not just for yourself. What if someone you love needed you?
What if, in their moment of uncertainty, you could be a calm, trusted resource—not because you replaced their medical providers, but because you understood the broader foundation of comprehensive health that conventional care often does not focus on?
Modern medicine is extraordinary in moments of crisis. When emergency intervention is needed, there is no substitute for the skill and precision of well-trained physicians. But preparation should happen long before the crisis begins. It lives in your daily habits. Your environment. Your breathing. Your movement. Your mindset. Your spiritual alignment.
The encouraging truth is this: the same habits that prepare you for a future challenge also improve your life right now. They increase your clarity. They strengthen your resilience. They bring stability, energy, and peace into your daily experience.
You are not choosing between today and tomorrow. You are enhancing both. This project exists to make that preparation visible and practical.
We are identifying and practicing the top 100 habits and things to memorize that strengthen the body, sharpen the mind, and align the spirit—so that when the moment comes, you are not scrambling for answers.
You will be standing on a firm foundation you have already built. Because when a crisis comes, you won’t likely rise to the level of your intentions. You will fall to the level of your preparation. And preparation brings something priceless:
Peace.
Step one:
Unpacking 45 Years of Observation and Experience
The first step of this project is to carefully unpack the reflections, observations, and accumulated knowledge of Dr. W. Lee Cowden over more than four decades of medical practice, research, and physician education. His career spans conventional cardiology, critical care medicine, and decades of integrative medical work, providing a rare and comprehensive perspective on how the body responds to stress, environment, and daily habits.
This phase is about identifying foundational principles, understanding them clearly, and organizing them in a way that makes them practical and usable in everyday life.
Over time, these insights will be refined into clear habits and “super habits” that can help strengthen clarity, resilience, and stability—both in daily living and in preparation for future health challenges.
improve your clarity, energy, and stability
This information is not reserved for a distant crisis—it improves your clarity, energy, and stability right now, elevating the quality of your everyday life. At the same time, it quietly builds a foundation you and your loved ones can depend on, ensuring that when a health challenge arises, you are not starting from zero—you are standing on solid, practiced ground.
Educational Note: These articles are provided for educational purposes to unpack historical medical frameworks and clinical observations. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and does not replace consultation with licensed medical professionals.
Meet Dr. W. Lee Cowden below:
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The State Of Your Nervous System Determines Whether Your Body Can Heal
For decades, Dr. W. Lee Cowden has taught patients a simple exercise designed to help the nervous system shift out of chronic stress and return toward balance. He shared this technique with patients throughout his clinical career as a practical way to support the body’s natural regulatory processes. We’ve all lived this pattern. A stressful…
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A Medical System Refined Over Thousands of Years
This article includes firsthand reflections from Dr. W. Lee Cowden, shared exclusively as part of this project. He contributed insights from his decades of experience in both conventional and integrative medicine. His perspective helps illuminate principles refined across generations of clinical practice. Integrative Medicine, Nervous System Balance, and the Foundations of Health Modern medicine in…
Dr. W. Lee Cowden is a cardiologist and internist whose medical career spans more than four decades across conventional, integrative, and teaching disciplines. His unique combination of advanced conventional training and extensive integrative expertise positions him as one of the most broadly trained physicians in the field of comprehensive medicine.
Dr. Cowden received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. He then completed an Internal Medicine Residency and a dual Fellowship in Cardiology and Critical Care Medicine at St. Louis University Hospital Group.
In 1985, he became board-certified as both an internist and cardiologist—credentials that reflect the highest level of conventional medical training and specialization in complex cardiovascular and critical care conditions.
Throughout his career, Dr. Cowden has maintained a deeply held belief that healing involves not only the physical body, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the individual. His work continues to influence practitioners and patients globally, leaving a lasting legacy in the advancement of comprehensive, integrative medical care.
Professional Career and Integrative Medicine Leadership
After establishing private practices in cardiology and internal medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and later in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Dr. Cowden began expanding his work beyond conventional approaches. Having studied integrative medicine since 1975, he incorporated a wide range of disciplines into his clinical practice, including homeopathy, herbal medicine, orthomolecular medicine, electrodermal screening, evaluative kinesiology, neural therapy, electromagnetic therapies, and detoxification protocols. In 2005, he further expanded his credentials by earning his Homeopathic Medical Doctor license in Arizona.
Throughout his clinical career from 1986 until his retirement from private practice in 2019, Dr. Cowden became internationally recognized for his ability to address complex and chronic illnesses. His work has included pioneering integrative treatment approaches for cardiovascular disease, cancer, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, neurological disorders, and other challenging conditions.
Dr. Cowden is also a leader in medical education and research. In 2008, he co-founded the Academy of Comprehensive Integrative Medicine (ACIM), where he serves as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board and Academy Professor. In this role, he teaches physicians and healthcare practitioners worldwide, helping expand the reach of integrative medicine through structured training and education.
Books and Publications
He is the co-author and contributor to numerous books and publications, including:
- Foods That Fit A Unique You
- Create A Toxin-Free Body & Home Starting Today
- BioEnergetic Tools for Wellness
- Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer
- Longevity: An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide
- Cancer Diagnosis: What To Do Next
Comprehensive Medical Perspective
What distinguishes Dr. Cowden most is the diversity of his experience across multiple medical disciplines. He brings together the analytical rigor of conventional cardiology and critical care medicine with decades of clinical experience in integrative therapies. This rare combination allows him to approach health and healing with a uniquely comprehensive perspective.
Following his retirement from private practice in 2019, Dr. Cowden now focuses on teaching and advancing integrative medicine through physician education and professional training programs worldwide.
ALS Research and Current Work
For the last 4+ years, Dr. Cowden has been researching Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. He recruited other integrative practitioners for this research and, with them, completed a year-long pilot study of 45 patients with ALS, in which 85% improved functionally beyond what is predicted by the peer-reviewed literature. This data was presented at two national conferences.
Dr. Cowden is now the Principal Investigator for a multi-year, observational study of 1000 ALS patients, which began recruiting patients in early 2026 at www.HealingALS.org.
Guiding Philosophy
Throughout his career, Dr. Cowden has maintained a deeply held belief that healing involves not only the physical body, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the individual. His work continues to influence practitioners and patients worldwide, leaving a lasting legacy in advancing comprehensive, integrative medical care.
Added by Dr. Cowden:
“I was board-certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology, but chose not to renew those certifications once my focus shifted entirely to outpatient integrative medicine.”