Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan - Finding Inner Safety

This edition first published 2022.

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For both Nirvanas, past and present

When I began writing this book, I soon realized that all of me wanted to be wholeheartedly involved – the scientist, the practitioner, the philosopher, the survivor, and the thriver. So, what unfolded, and what you will come across in the four sections of my book, is a blend of the various ingredients that have, over the years, become my USP – I call them my 5Ps. In the blending of these 5Ps, I aim to present to you a more holistic viewpoint, and one that will not only ignite your intellect but also open your heart, nourish your soul, and spur you to action!

I started out as a scientist. I have a degree in physiology and a doctorate in neurophysiology. And I have also studied psychology and psychiatry. It wasn't long after my postdoctoral work and a couple of short-lived academic posts that I realized I wasn't really interested in being an academic. Actually, I thought I wasn't cut out for the world of work at all until I experienced the ‘click’ of working in the ‘human laboratory’ and realized that my real fascination lay in the workings of the mind, body, and spirit. Particularly fascinating were seemingly ‘esoteric’ concepts and how they might be explained by scientific theory, an interest I could never have pursued if I had stayed in academia, constrained by strict scientific protocols and peer review pressure. I needed to let my mind roam free! Free to find the answers to the Why's that petri dishes and test tubes were never going to give me. I believe this stood me in good stead when I began consulting in corporate environments where many of my clients tended to be more left brain – logical, rational, ‘if you can't see it, it doesn't exist’ human beings. For such clients, blending esoteric with scientific theories was probably more credible. Perhaps it felt safer too.

Observations from the ‘human laboratory’ started back in the 1990s when I headed to London's Square Mile to work in a health-screening clinic. Still wearing a lab coat but this time measuring the health of corporate employees. Since then, I've been measuring people's health, talking to them about their health, observing how life impacts on our health. And not only corporate executives such as law, accountancy, or insurance firms and investment banks. I've also worked with police officers, schoolchildren, lorry drivers driving oil tankers through the night, women recovering from cancer, stressed-out mothers, chief executives and their chauffeurs, famous actors, members of royal families from far-flung exotic places, members of Parliament. And I spent more than a decade working in a psychiatric clinic, The Capio Nightingale Clinic, where, ironically, years before, I'd stayed for a month as an in-patient. Here, I worked with people who had burnt out, people with addictions, people who couldn't sleep, felt depressed, anxious, afraid, and who'd lost hope. In this book I will share snippets of the stories of some of the people I've been privileged to help over the years, showing you how they found inner safety.

When I began my healing journey in 1999, the ancient sciences and philosophies started calling me. Maybe they'd whispered to me first and then I embarked on the journey without realizing I was being guided, woken up. By then I had my degrees, my left brain had been trained and honed by years of academic study and research but the Why's were clamouring for my attention and I needed to look beyond the reductionism of academic research to find more answers. My intuition was telling me that there was so much more to learn. I was feeling things, intuiting things, but unable to understand or trust what I was feeling. As Einstein said: ‘The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.’

So, I returned to my lineage of Hinduism, took a foray into Buddhism, explored the ancient sciences of Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine and found more answers.

I have learnt so much over the years and amassed so many tools and resources. I always share these in my work as well as practising them myself. I share nothing that I don't practise myself – physician heal thyself . Many of the tools I'll share with you might seem like small things – how could they possibly make a difference? But there are times when we are tired, burnt out, and feeling at a loss and we don't have the energy to make big changes. I have found that these small changes are a good starting point and might even be the tipping point that can help to lever you out if you are stuck in a rut.