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Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Jul 22, 2025 • 16 tweets • 5 min read • Read on X

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I'm 63.

At 10, I began my 53-year study of ancient Eastern texts—Kashmir Shaivism, Vedanta, and Buddhist sutras...

What I discovered? Most Western "gurus" are reselling kindergarten versions of Eastern philosophies.

Here are my 7 best insights from a lifetime of spiritual work:🧵

1. Consciousness Creates vs. Consciousness Observes

Modern day: "Consciousness means being aware of the present moment."

vs

Ancient texts: "Consciousness is the creative force that manifests all reality."

This changes everything about how you practice.

2. Map The Universe vs. Empty Your Mind

Modern day: "Empty your mind of thoughts."

vs

Abhinavagupta: "Here are 36 precise levels from pure consciousness to matter."

They wanted you to understand reality's architecture, not just get calm.

4. Rigorous Philosophy vs. Just Feel Good

Modern day: "Don't intellectualize—just feel."

vs

Shankara: "Use viveka (precise discrimination) to distinguish real from unreal."

The ancients demanded sharp thinking, not fuzzy feelings.

5. Sacred Lineages vs. Weekend Certifications

Modern day: "Get certified in 200 hours."

vs

Vedanta: "Knowledge passes through unbroken lineages for millennia."

Because getting this wrong can seriously harm people.

6. Complete Systems vs. Random Techniques

Modern day: "Try whatever meditation feels good."

vs

Vijnana Bhairava: "These 112 techniques only work within their philosophical framework."

Like taking pills without knowing what they're for.

7. Confront Terror vs. Seek Comfort

Modern day: "Eastern philosophy brings peace and calm."

vs

Tantra texts: "Face the terrifying aspects of existence head-on."

They weren't selling comfort—they were revealing truth.

8. Cosmic Technology vs. Stress Relief

Modern day: "Repeat mantras to feel better."

vs

Sanskrit tradition: "Each sound vibration activates specific cosmic principles."

Mantras were precision instruments, not relaxation tools.

The pattern is clear:

We've turned profound systems for understanding reality into feel-good techniques for stress relief.

Here's what the ancients actually taught:

• Confronting difficult truths
• Years of philosophical study
• Identity-level transformation
• Practices within complete frameworks
• Direct transmission from teacher to student

Not available in app form.

My most important finding?

Modern day: "Enlightenment means feeling peaceful."

vs

Kashmir Shaivism: "Recognition means knowing yourself as Shiva—pure creative consciousness."

Not a mood. A complete identity shift.

After 53 years with these texts, my advice:

• Read originals, not interpretations
• Find teachers with real lineages
• Study the philosophy first
• Expect it to be difficult
• Don't settle for comfort

The real teachings will shake you awake.

As a Harvard psychologist who studied with the Dalai Lama, I bridge both worlds.

I see how Western psychology misses consciousness.

I see how Eastern pop spirituality misses depth.

There's a middle way that honors both.

Anxiety Relief Transformation™ opens August 4th.

12 modules bridging Eastern wisdom with Western neuroscience—the way these teachings were meant to be transmitted.

Join the waitlist for the 25% off early bird discount:

offers.lorwenharrisnagle.com/anxiety-relief…

Hi, I'm Lorwen Nagle.

I've spent 40 years as a Harvard-trained psychologist, studying consciousness with the Dalai Lama, and helping thousands untangle their minds.

Follow @Lorwen108 for threads on anxiety, mindfulness, and the science of inner peace.

https://twitter.com/3065974983/status/1947672181321961835

Which teaching surprised you most?

Drop a comment—I love discussing these ancient wisdoms with serious seekers.

Follow @Lorwen108 for more unfiltered truths about consciousness, psychology & spiritual traditions.

Repost if you're tired of Instagram spirituality 🧵

https://twitter.com/3065974983/status/1947672181321961835

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More from @LORWEN108

Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Feb 16

In my 30s and 40s...

• I made reckless choices.
• Anxiety trapped me for years.

Then I found Martin Heidegger.

He taught me how to stop living FALSELY.

Here’s his 4-step protocol for mental freedom: 🧵

Heidegger was a philosopher and when anxiety hit, his
Salience Network (SN) yelled: “Something is off.”

He also noticed he was spinning false stories:

“What does this mean about me?”
"Why am I a loser?"

(His DMN was activated)

But then he did something very different.

He observed his thoughts.

And, by observing, he came up with a cure for 21st century anxiety:
(I'll summarize below...)

Step 1: Treat anxiety as a signal, not a symptom.

Don’t ask: “How do I stop this?”
Ask: “What false life is being exposed?”

Practice (60 seconds):
Name it plainly:
“This anxiety is pointing at ____.”

One sentence. No spirals.

Read 11 tweets

Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Feb 15

The most influential psychologist of the 20th century wrote private letters to his children.

They weren’t about therapy.

They were about how to survive being human without losing your soul.

Here are 9 principles Carl Jung QUIETLY taught his children—that most people never hear about: 🧵

First, understand who Jung was:

• Medical doctor + psychiatrist
• Founder of analytical psychology
• Broke with Freud at the height of his career
• Studied myth, religion, alchemy, and dreams
• Treated world leaders, artists, and thinkers

But his most radical work wasn’t in books.

It was in how he taught his children to live.

Principle 1: “Do not become what the world wants from you.”

Jung warned his children that society rewards adaptation—but punishes authenticity.

“If you live only as you are expected, you will become empty.”

The task wasn’t to be successful.

It was to become whole.

Read 13 tweets

Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Feb 14

The most powerful metaphor about the human mind:

Plato's Cave.

It explains why most people feel stressed, depressed, and trapped—without knowing why.

Here are 7 warning signs + the exit protocol 🧵

Plato imagined prisoners chained in a cave since birth, facing a blank wall.

Behind them: a fire casting shadows from puppets.

The prisoners believed these shadows were reality because it's all they've ever known.

This isn't ancient philosophy - it's your daily life--RIGHT NOW.

Sign #1:

You react with hostility to ideas that challenge your worldview.

When information contradicts your beliefs, do you feel angry rather than curious?

That's your chains rattling.

True seekers say "that's interesting" instead of "that's wrong" when confronted with new perspectives.

Read 13 tweets

Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Feb 13

The hidden cause of chronic anxiety, people-pleasing, and “always on” stress:

Self-abandonment.

Warning signs appear long before panic attacks or burnout.

Here are 5 early signs to watch for (share this with someone you love) 🧵

Dread before social situations

It’s not “introversion.”

It’s your nervous system running an old risk calculation:
“If I’m fully myself, I could lose connection.”

So your body goes into threat mode—before you even walk in.

Ignore this, and the next signs get harder to miss…

2. You hesitate right before telling the truth

That pause isn’t shyness.

It’s protection.

Your system learned early:
Truth can cost love.
So it tries to keep you safe by silencing you first.

Once your body treats honesty like danger, what do you do?

Read 10 tweets

Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Feb 8

CO₂ sensitivity is one of the most powerful (and ignored) nervous-system interventions.

But, most people don’t know this system exists.

Here are 7 ways to calm your CO₂ alarm + lower your anxiety (in seconds).🧵
1. Stop “silent overbreathing.”

Most anxious people aren’t breathing too little.

They’re breathing TOO MUCH (fast, shallow, chest-only breathing).

That keeps your chemoreflex on a hair trigger.

Instead:

breathe quieter
breathe lower (belly/ribs)
slow your pace

2. Lengthen your exhale.

This instantly downshifts your nervous system's thread detector.

Slow breathing with longer exhales reduces nervous system anxiety and shift body stress within minutes.

Try:

Inhale 4 seconds → Exhale 6–8 seconds

Do 6 cycles at first.

Read 10 tweets

Lorwen C Nagle, PhD

@LORWEN108

Feb 4

Ernie Hudson is 80 years old.

And he looks stronger than most men half his age.

His secret?

No “get shredded in 30 days"...

Just repeatable systems he’s followed for years:

He basically treats physical fitness like mental fitness:

Small reps.
Daily repetition.
No drama.

And that’s why it lasts decades.

The lesson?

Consistency beats intensity.

A system you can run for 20 years beats a “transformation” you quit in 20 days.

Your body and mind are your responsibility.

Hudson says, "Build habits that compound."

At 30 you call it “fitness.”

At 80 you call it freedom.