(Note: Please see links to further information on each doctor at the end of the article, after the Addendum).
Health care has become infected with New Age and occult practices that initially were seen as alien but have been mainstreaming since the 1990s. Some practices are outright energy healing, such as Reiki, offered under the rubric of “complementary” or “integrative care,” while other treatments are based on belief in these energies but appear more conventional, such as acupuncture. Shamanism has come to the health field, both in the culture and in the church, and the doctors examined here are part of that influence.
Medical doctors are usually highly intelligent but intelligence is not a barrier to spiritual deception. Some doctors may have become doctors with their beliefs untouched by New Age spirituality but later became drawn to New Age ideas and later embrace them. Some might have already started off with these beliefs, like Deepak Chopra, but got a medical degree, planning to integrate their alternative views with scientifically based medicine. Certainly, the medical degree gives them more credibility although it also adds confusion (Chopra no longer practices as a medical doctor).
Others, like Surgeon General nominee (a nominee at this point August, 2025) Casey Means, have the medical degree but have entered other fields, such as functional medicine, a form of integrative health care started by a biochemist, Jeffrey Bland which includes unproven and disproven methods and treatments. Means, who never finished her residency and whose Oregon medical license is inactive, has fully embraced New Age beliefs and many New Age and occult practices (see Addendum).
The Doctors
These doctors are discussed individually below, but here is a brief introduction to each one. Doctors Oz, Amen, and Hyman were doctors with Rick Warren’s 40-day Daniel Plan, which he introduced to his church in 2011. Undoubtedly, the Daniel Plan fame helped put these doctors on the map.
One of the Shaman doctors is Dr. Mehmet Oz who admits he is a follower of Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), grandfather of the New Thought movement, which was foundational to the New Age as well as propping up much of the pseudo-scientific healing practices today.
Another doctor is Daniel Amen who promotes and teaches an esoteric Hindu mediation technique and what is known in Hinduism as tantric sex.
A third doctor is Mark Hyman who has worked with uber New Age entrepreneur Deepak Chopra and embraced a form of non-medicine called Functional Medicine which includes modalities based on spiritual beliefs and pseudo-science.
There is also Joseph Mercola, promoter of New Age practices and his own supplements, a follower of conspiracy theories, and slavish fan of a spirit that comes via a psychic-channeler. Mercola, who has made $300 million dollars off his trade, has been in a lot of legal trouble and has had several lawsuits filed against him from former employees, partly due to influence on Mercola from a spirit channeled by a psychic.
The last one is Dr. Andrew Weil, a New Age enthusiast of psychotropic plants.
These doctors are New Agers and embrace and promote New Age concepts. There are many more, not to mention many non-medical practitioners such as chiropractors, the naturopaths, and “natural healers” who are rooted in New Age thinking (a CANA article is forthcoming).
From Dr. Amen to Hinduism
Dr. Amen, a Roman Catholic and professing Christian, recommends in his book, Making a Good Brain Great, a Hindu meditation from Kundalini Yoga called Kirtan Kriya. A blog discusses this favorably, and this short video shows a woman thanking Dr. Amen for Kirtan Kriya and demonstrating it. The Kirtan Kriya meditation is based on the five alleged “primal” sounds, :sa-ta-na-ma-aa,” repeated over and over in a chant, at first aloud, then whispered and, finally, silently:
SA is birth, the beginning, infinity, the totality of everything that ever was, is, or will be.
TA is life, existence, and creativity which manifests from infinity.
NA is death, change, and the transformation of consciousness.
MA is rebirth, regeneration, and resurrection which allows us to consciously experience the joy of the infinite. (Source)
This video provides evidence of the spiritual nature of this meditation.
Such meditations are designed to induce altered states, making the mind more suggestible. Occult beliefs and purposes also undergird this meditation, with four fingers allegedly arousing within the meditator energies represented by the sun and the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury (astrology) correlating with those fingers.
Moreover, Dr. Amen partnered with “advanced certified Tantra educator” and trantric sex expert, T. J. Bartel, to produce a CD series, “Create More Passion Tonight.” Tantric sex is the use of kundalini energy in sexual relations. Tantric sex is a part of tantric Hindu spiritual practice, it is not just physical. In fact, tantra is the occult, mystical aspect of Hinduism. To engage in this is not only to pervert the use of the gift of sex, but it brings in a spiritual element alien to God. These ideas of tantric practices are also in Amen’s book, The Brain In Love.
There are numerous self-help books by Dr. Amen such as Memory Rescue; Making Your Brain Great; You, Happier; The End of Mental Illness; and even Stone of Remembrance: Healing Scriptures for Your Mind, Body, and Soul. The latter would certainly give Christians the impression that Amen bases his views and life on Scripture, which is easily demonstrated to be false.
Introducing these practices can lead some into danger. Numerous websistes and blogs warn of the dangers of tantric practices, and I myself recall warnings about Eastern meditation that involved kundalini energies (which play a role in trantric practices).
Enter Dr. Mercola
And now a warning on a New Age propagator of pseudo-science and conspiracy theories, as well as slavish follower of a psychic-channeler, Dr Mercola.
The Daniel Plan website has a video of Dr. Joseph Mercola talking about a breathing exercise which he got from New Age Dr. Andrew Weil (more on Weil below). Interestingly, he warns not to do this more than four times a day until you have practice it for a long time, then you can do it up to eight times a day. Due to his ethical legal problems, Mercola closed down his website so that it is only now accessible to paying subscribers.
I suspected Mercola for years as New Age because of his promotion of New Age practices and his embrace of conspiracy theories. Mercola has promoted the occult healing practice, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), also called Tapping, on his website, as well as the New Age money-making fad of Earthing/Grounding. Tapping/EFT is nothing more than a practice from the New Age pseudoscience field of Thought Field Therapy, based on belief in the Taoist principle of universal energy, chi (or qi, ki) and the invisible (and non-existent) channels (meridians) for the chi.
In his instructions on the breathing exercise, Mercola refers to putting the tongue behind the teeth. This reminded me of a technique I learned in Hindu meditation when I was in the New Age. This technique does indicate Hindu origin and belief in manipulating an internal energy force.
Information has come out about Dr. Mercola’s long time consultations with a channeler-psychic who claims to channel a spirit called Bahlon. Mercola is captivated by what Bahlon tells him and wants his advice. The video reveals a very dark side of Mercola (which does not surprise me).
Also see these articles about Mercola and the psychic here and here.
Andrew Weil, Yoga, and Psychedelics
First Let’s Talk Prana
On the website of the New Age publisher Sounds True, we find this information about Dr. Weil:
“To learn the art of healthy breathing, Dr. Weil turned to Eastern traditions, including yoga, which view the breath as a vital link to the prana, or energy of the universe. In easy-to-follow language, he explains the secret of breathwork’s power over your health, and its remarkable ability to influence —and even reprogram — the nervous system.”
The breathing techniques and exercises called Pranayama, Yoga Nidra (a form of guided meditation), and other forms of it are not physical practices such as breathing exercises done by singers or swimmers. Breathing exercises based on Hindu beliefs in prana, the “divine breath of the universe” – a type of life force — are done to manipulate prana and invisible forces in the body which are a part of Hindu views of the non-physical “spiritual body,” concepts also found in the New Age and alternative “healing.”
These concepts are found in Yoga, Hindu meditation, Hindu and New Age breathing techniques, and other esoteric practices.
As yoga scholar George Feuerstein puts it:
“Prana is like a knife which he [the student of yoga] carefully employs to operate on his own mind, to cut out the malicious thoughts and feelings in order to pierce through to higher levels of consciousness.” (George Feuerstein and Jeanine Miller, The Essence of Yoga, [Rochester, VT: First Inner Traditions, 1998], 111).
Prana is “the cosmic breath” and “man has moved away from this original rhythm of the universe,” but pranayama “endeavors to restore the primal rhythm and cosmic harmony as manifested in man, the microcosm,” (Feuerstein, 26).
Iyengar (1918-2014), a revered Yoga teacher in India who helped to initiate the spread of Yoga in the United States, advises that “if you can control the breath, you can control the mind,” but he also cautions that pranayama must be practiced cautiously because
“…it can make you or mar you. If your heart beat is uneven, fear sets in and death may be near at hand.” (B. K.S. Iyengar, The Tree of Yoga,[Boston: Shambhala, 1988], 128).
According to Iyengar, inhalation allows contact with the “cosmic breath” while exhalation expels toxins and is “the expulsion of ego,” the goal being to “reach a single mind” so that you are ready for meditation (Iyengar, 130). (This inhale-exhale that was adopted by the New Age seeped into the church in the form of breath prayers).
Not only does Weil buy into the esoteric spritual concept of prana, but he is a proponent of the use of psychoactive substances.
Weil and Psychedelics
Andrew Weil, known as an integrative physician (which means the use of pagan spirituality in medicine), explored the use of plants with psychedelic properties in the 1970s and has been a strong proponent of their use. He terms this use as “natural.” As pointed out before by this writer “natural” almost always refers to the use of New Age or pagan spiritual beliefs.
The description of Weil’s book, The Marriage of the Sun and Moon, states:
“Believing that the distinctions made between mind and body and self and non-self are unnatural separations, Weil explores the nature of the unconscious mind in its relation to ordinary consciousness.”
This book is about psychoactive “natural” substances, i.e., psychedelic plants. The “marriage” of the sun and moon is imagery from Hinduism as well as other non-Christian beliefs, often used to indicate a unity of opposites, which is a philosophy found in many pagan religions (yin-yang in Taoism and the ankh in Egyptian religion).
Weil is fully immersed in New Age beliefs, so to use breathing techniques recommended from Weil is foolish, and to follow anyone who uses Weil as a source is foolish. The “natural” label also covers psychedelic drugs and Hindu breathing practices.
Dr. Oz, Mediums, and the Angels of Swedenborg
Dr. Oz has publicly acknowledged that he is a follower of Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), who is considered the grandfather of the New Thought Movement. Swedenborg, who outwardly adhered to Christianity, soon began to deny essentials of the faith after claiming messages from beings he considered to be good angels. This led him to found a “new Christianity,” and a church which still exists today, The New Church (formerly the Church of the New Jerusalem). Helen Keller was a follower of Swedenborg, and Dr. Oz has stated his wife is a member (as well as being a Reiki master).
Dr. Oz has shown not only openness to but acceptance of mediums and psychics. He had famed medium Teresa Caputo on his show and commended her. On Jan. 17, 2014, psychic/medium and author Rebecca Rosen was a guest. Rosen first gave Dr. Oz a reading, including information about a dead relative, with Dr. Oz verifying her information. She advised him to get in touch with his guides — his angels. The psychic/medium then went into the audience to give readings.
Dr. Oz asked Rosen how we get in touch with our angels and how do they help us. Rosen replied that you must trust your feelings: “If it feels like it’s divine, it probably is,” she told him and the audience. The first step is prayer where you “ask the angels to come in.” Next is meditation where you quiet “the mind chatter” so that you can receive “divine guidance.” Lastly, “Trust yourself.” Trust divine guidance when something “pops into your head.” (Please note she used the ever-increasing popular Buddhist phrase for thinking, “mind chatter,” which is used to promote the Buddhist-based meditation of Mindfulness). These are techniques that psychics and New Agers use to receive information from beyond natural sources and to make the mind open for receiving it, or for contacting spirit guides.
Dr. Oz has promoted energy healing on his TV program with a Reiki healer, and his wife is a Reiki master (see interview with Lisa Oz) . Dr. Oz recommends “energy medicine” and Reiki in this 1 min. 45 second video clip.
Since Dr. Oz admits he is a follower of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the original angel whisperer; this is no surprise, but it is a danger signal that his advice should not be trusted. Sadly, he is in charge of a United States government health office.
Dr. Mark Hyman, Promoter of New Age
When we get to Dr. Mark Hyman, the news is no better. Hyman practices “Functional Medicine” which is just another term, for “complementary, “integrative,” or other name for the inclusion of spiritually based alternatives. The spirituality is usually disguised with words that sound scienc-y and impressive. Most people are unaware of the spiritual principles underlying the “alternatives.”
At a 2015 talk at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Integrative Medicine, Dr. Hyman referred to treating “mind, body, and spirit.” The spiritual aspect of this kind of “medicine” is very strong but it is not related to God nor to medicine. In the first three minutes of the talk, there were references to several Yoga practitioners being present and to a Qigong session which had just ended. Qigong is occultic, involving the manipulation of a life force, or life energy:
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- Energy, called qi or chi, flows through the body along “energy pathways” called meridians. If the flow of chi is blocked or unbalanced at any point on a pathway, it is thought that you may become ill. You do tai chi and qi gong to increase energy (chi or qi) flow and improve health through gentle, graceful, repeated movements.
- Nature, including the body, consists of opposing forces called yin and yang. Good health results when these forces are in balance. You do tai chi and qi gong movements in an attempt to help restore the body’s balance of yin and yang.
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Tai chi is a series of movements done either very slowly or quickly to help move the body’s chi. People use tai chi as a way to combine meditation and movement and to improve and maintain health.
Qi gong involves different movements that may be done in different orders. Some common qi gong movements include raising and lowering the arms, moving the head from side to side, and gently rubbing the ears, feet, and hands.” (Source)
More tellingly, Hyman speaks at New Age conferences like those at the Chopra Center, as well as others and often collaborates with Deepak Chopra. At one time, Hyman was highlighted on the Chopra Center website but now, as the founder of the UltraWellness Center has his own enterprise (Chopra’s is called the Center for Wellbeing; “wellness” is a New Age term). This is not something most doctors would be proud of, but for New Age doctors, it’s a win. Hyman’s willingness to be associated with Deepak Chopra should be warning enough just on its own.
The “functional” label is just another iteration of holistic-alternative-complementary-integrative, which means it includes concepts and treatments based on spiritual beliefs and traditions (Eastern, New Age, indigenous-shamanistic), laced with pseudoscience to make it seem credible.
From Doctors to Shamans to Deception
Doctors like Oz, Amen, Hyman, Weil, and Mercola pull people into dangerous waters. Rather than guiding people to health, they draw people to deception.
In the past few years, the practice of Tapping has mainstreamed, even being done and defended by Christians; New Age views of energy, vibrations, and frequencies have become more accepted, and New Age concepts of the body are no longer viewed suspiciously. It is alarming to have watched the speed at which New Age deception has invaded the culture and the church. Getting the New Age accepted via the disguise of health, usually under the code term “Wellness,” has been a clever strategy on the part of the enemy because it has worked. Shamanism has arrived as a “holistic” and “natural” health practice. In actuality, shamanism is demonic sorcery. Sorcery in healing is all about natural because “natural” is nature and nature is sacred in shaman terms.
The New Age is fluid and subtle, using familiar terms but redefining their meanings, thus drawing people into a spiritually, as well as a physically, dangerous realm. Remember that deception works because it appears helpful and beneficial.
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray.” 2 Corinthians 11:3
Addendum on Casey Means
Casey Means, as of this date (September 2025), has been nominated as Surgeon General but has yet to be appointed. To say this is alarming is an understatement. Though she has a medical degree, Means has rejected medicine and instead embraces an array of New Age practices and beliefs. The best illusration of her dangerous beliefs come straight from her website.
Quotes from Casey Means’ website:
“The feminine wing honors the truth that creation does not happen at a constant, extractive pace. Feminine creativity happens in cycles—like the seasons, the tides, and the phases of the moon. Women are lunar beings who exist on a 28-day moon cycle, inherently reflecting the cycles and patterns of the cosmos. This is a fact, not a metaphor. You can’t create human life without ovulation, and you can’t have ovulation without a cycle that has both yin and yang phases of hormones. Cycles are required. And nature thrives through rhythms of creation followed by rest, restoration, and fallowness. Rest and emptiness are necessary for the miracle of creation (think: autumn and winter, luteal and menstrual phases, ebb and low tide, waning crescent and new moon phases).”
“So I choose to ignore that noise and have complete faith in my process—as Kabbalah teacher David Ghiyam says, choosing to have “certainty beyond logic.” (PS: Follow David’s Instagram and Podcast for a daily dose of inspiring Kabbalah wisdom). I choose to see this type of judgment as a spiritual test… a test of “How committed are you, Casey, to your feminine power and light, and to your faith in what you sense you need to Create in this lifetime?”
“The feminine – which can live in all of us – but is uniquely potent and channeled in a Woman’s form – teaches us that real power comes from honoring the invisible currents.
- From trusting the unseen.
- From slowing down.
- From listening to the ancestors.
- From believing that we are not separate from nature, but expressions of it. And when we respect cycles, we can create miracles.”
“When we fight the natural cycles, we exploit. When we honor them, we regenerate.”
Critical article on Casey Means by Erick Erickson”
More Information
Put the words chi, breath, healing in search box at to see CANA articles on those topics.
“Dr. Mercola: Visionary or Quack?” in The Chicago Magazine
Critiques of Daniel Amen
Dr. Amen’s gimmicky controversial brain scan programs have no credible support.
“Dr. Amen “charges patients thousands of dollars to inject them with radioactive compounds and show them pretty colored pictures of their brains without any credible evidence that it adds to the diagnostic or treatment processes,” wrote Dr. Harriet Hall, a former Air Force flight surgeon and a prominent blogger on medical questions.” (Source)
“SPECT imaging uses an injected radioisotope to measure blood flow in different areas of the brain. Amen is exposing patients to radiation and charging them big bucks because his personal experience has convinced him SPECT is useful. So far, he has failed to convince the rest of the scientific medical community.” (Source, “Dr. Amen’s Love Affair with SPECT Scans”)
Women of Grace on Dr. Amen
Selected Critiques of Dr. Oz
“The Operator,” an in-depth perceptive look at Dr. Oz in The New Yorker
Misleading Health Claims from Dr. Oz
Mark Hyman and Functional Medicine
Dr. Mark Hyman is listed as someone not to trust for nutritional and health advice
New York Times article (you need a subscription)
The serious problems with functional medicine
Red Flags
Andrew Weil
“Andrew Weil, Shaman, M.D.,” by Larissa Macfarquhar
“Surprise, Surprise! Dr. Andrew Weil Doesn’t Like Evidence-Based Medicine” by David Gorski
Christian articles on Swedenborg
From CARM (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry)
From Watchman Fellowship, Profile on Swedenborgianism
Talk on The Daniel Plan from Janice Lyons of CINAM (Current Issues In Alternative Medicine) at 2015 EMNR Conference
“The Daniel Plan” by Marsha West
“We’ve written about so-called “functional medicine” on many occasions before here at SBM. The reason, of course, is that, of all the forms of “integrative medicine” pseudoscience practiced, functional medicine “feels” the most like real medicine, so much so that it often even fools physicians into thinking there must be something to it. Indeed, the guru of functional medicine, Dr. Mark Hyman, who originally made a name for himself advising moneyed urbanites who retreat to Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts, now counts Bill and Hillary Clinton as admirers. He’s also the founder of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, which, unfortunately, has apparently been highly successful (financially, that is) thus far, complete with stealth advertising disguised as news reports in Ohio. That’s because one of the hallmarks of “functional medicine” is the ordering of lab tests—lots and lots and lots and lots of laboratory tests. There’s a reason that I’ve described functional medicine as the “worst of both worlds”. It combines the massive overtesting and overtreatment that can happen in conventional medicine with pure quackery, like “detoxification,” naturopathy, homeopathy, and chiropractic. It’s basically “making it up as you go along” with respect to interpreting the dozens (sometimes hundreds) of laboratory tests ordered by functional medicine practitioners.”
Functional Medicine is Pseudoscientific Silliness
Image by Stéfano Girardelli
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