Isabel Losada
Encyclopedia
Isabel Losada is a British writer and former actress, singer, dancer, and television producer. Her four most recent full length books (The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment; For Tibet, with Love; Men! and The Battersea Park Road to Paradise) combine humour with a serious look at their subject matters and are true-life accounts of her own experiences. She has one daughter and lives in Battersea
, London..
nuns. When a friend announced that she was going to become a nun (or more correctly a 'religious'), the author decided to interview ten more young women who were making the same choice to join a range of different Christian communities ranging from enclosed contemplative communities to Franciscan
communities. The interviews cover the women's feelings about the vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience as well as describing other details of the daily life of a religious sister.
The book is included in the Diocesan Directors of Ordinands recommended reading list for those exploring vocation.
, T'ai chi a retreat in a convent, Astrology
, Tantric Sexuality, Co-Dependent's Anonymous
, Colonic Irrigation, Rebirthing-breathwork
, Past Life Regression
with Roger Woolger
various forms of massage including Stone Massage
and Kahuna
Hawaiian massage, Neuro-linguistic Programming
, an Anger management
workshop, and a workshop on Angels with William Bloom
. The book was chosen as Radio 4’s Book of the Week
and Isabel performed it herself for the series. The book went on to become a bestseller in the UK and has been translated into 15 languages including Japanese and Russian. Oprah Radio host Mehmet Oz called the book "a pretty cool endeavour".
of the Chinese
Government in Tibet
. The book was republished in 2005 reversing the title and subtitle so became 'A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World' (which was also the title of the US edition). This second UK edition also had a different ISBN). In 2010 Bloomsbury brought out a new third edition, with a new preface under the original title. In this book Isabel travels to Lhasa
explores how individuals and groups can use the media to raise awareness and influence public opinion and finally travels to Dharamsala
to interview His Holiness The Dalai Lama
.
, which details the differences between the male and the female brain. During a tour of Ireland
to promote the book, she appeared on the renowned Gerry Ryan Show
(the interview lasting a whole hour). Following Ryan's untimely death, she declared that "making Radio with Gerry was better than having sex with most men".
, Anthony Robbins, Vipassana
, Advaita and Shamanism
was published in the UK and US in 2011.
— a banner depicting the Dalai Lama
was unfurled from the top of Nelson's Column
and a pro-Tibet campaigner made a parachute jump. Her list of 'top 10' books about the Dalai Lama
and Tibet
appeared in the Guardian.
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
, London..
New Habits
Her first book examines happiness among Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
nuns. When a friend announced that she was going to become a nun (or more correctly a 'religious'), the author decided to interview ten more young women who were making the same choice to join a range of different Christian communities ranging from enclosed contemplative communities to Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
communities. The interviews cover the women's feelings about the vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience as well as describing other details of the daily life of a religious sister.
The book is included in the Diocesan Directors of Ordinands recommended reading list for those exploring vocation.
The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment
The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment is an exploration of the subject of happiness. In it she tries out many of the ‘New Age’ courses available in the UK that claim to offer routes to inner peace and personal fulfilment. The book explores Insight SeminarsInsight Seminars
Insight Seminars is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The first seminar was led in 1978 by founders John-Roger and Russell Bishop under the name Insight Training Seminars. Insight has held seminars in 34 countries for adults, teens, and children, in...
, T'ai chi a retreat in a convent, Astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, Tantric Sexuality, Co-Dependent's Anonymous
Co-Dependents Anonymous
Co-Dependents Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who share a common desire to develop functional and healthy relationships. CoDA was founded in 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona...
, Colonic Irrigation, Rebirthing-breathwork
Rebirthing-Breathwork
Rebirthing-breathwork is a breathing technique that claims to heal suppressed emotions such as anger, fear, sadness, etc. It shares a common belief with various other therapies called rebirthing, with both groups believing that human birth is a traumatic event and that reviewing or revisiting this...
, Past Life Regression
Past life regression
Past life regression is a technique that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are memories of past lives or incarnations, though others regard them as fantasies or delusions. Past life regression is typically undertaken either in pursuit of a spiritual experience, or in a...
with Roger Woolger
Roger Woolger
Roger J. Woolger is a psychotherapist, lecturer and author specializing in past life regression spirit release and shamanic healing. He was educated at the University of Oxford and King's College London, where he gained degrees in psychology, religion and philosophy. He then trained as an analyst...
various forms of massage including Stone Massage
Stone massage
A stone massage is a massage that uses smooth, flat, and heated rocks placed at key points on the body.-Technique:Generally the rocks used in a stone massage are basalt, which has high heat retention qualities . Stones are placed in water and heated to approximately before placement on the body...
and Kahuna
Kahuna
Kahuna is a Hawaiian word, defined in the as a "Priest, sorcerer, magician, wizard, minister, expert in any profession." Forty different types of kahuna are listed in the book, Tales from the Night Rainbow...
Hawaiian massage, Neuro-linguistic Programming
Neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming is an approach to psychotherapy, self-help and organizational change. Founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder say that NLP is a model of interpersonal communication and a system of alternative therapy which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective...
, an Anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
workshop, and a workshop on Angels with William Bloom
William Bloom
William Bloom is a British teacher, healer and author in the field of holistic development.Born in 1948 in central London, at 22 he was a commissioning editor at Macmillan’s. He was responsible for creating the Open Gate imprint....
. The book was chosen as Radio 4’s Book of the Week
Book of the Week
Book of the Week is a BBC Radio 4 series broadcast daily on week days. Each week the selected book, always a non-fiction work, is read in five episodes; each fifteen-minute episode is broadcast in the morning and repeated overnight . The Act of Worship replaces the morning broadcast on...
and Isabel performed it herself for the series. The book went on to become a bestseller in the UK and has been translated into 15 languages including Japanese and Russian. Oprah Radio host Mehmet Oz called the book "a pretty cool endeavour".
For Tibet, with Love. A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World
For Tibet, with Love. A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World explores what one person can do to make a difference, in this case to the cultural imperialismCultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism is the domination of one culture over another. Cultural imperialism can take the form of a general attitude or an active, formal and deliberate policy, including military action. Economic or technological factors may also play a role...
of the Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Government in Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. The book was republished in 2005 reversing the title and subtitle so became 'A Beginner's Guide to Changing the World' (which was also the title of the US edition). This second UK edition also had a different ISBN). In 2010 Bloomsbury brought out a new third edition, with a new preface under the original title. In this book Isabel travels to Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
explores how individuals and groups can use the media to raise awareness and influence public opinion and finally travels to Dharamsala
Dharamsala
Dharamshala or Dharamsala is a city in northern India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu; it is the winter seat of government of the state of Himachal Pradesh and the district headquarters of the Kangra district....
to interview His Holiness The Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
.
Men! Where the **** Are They?
Her book Men! is a humorous examination of the widely experienced sociological phenomenon of their being many more single and available women over the age of 40 in our cities than men and answers the question "Where are all the interesting and available men?" The book considers the many factors that have produced this discrepancy including an interview with Simon Baron-CohenSimon Baron-Cohen
Simon Baron-Cohen FBA is professor of Developmental Psychopathology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He is the Director of the University's Autism Research Centre, and a Fellow of Trinity College...
, which details the differences between the male and the female brain. During a tour of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to promote the book, she appeared on the renowned Gerry Ryan Show
The Gerry Ryan Show
The Gerry Ryan Show was RTÉ 2fm's mid-morning radio show...
(the interview lasting a whole hour). Following Ryan's untimely death, she declared that "making Radio with Gerry was better than having sex with most men".
The Battersea Park Road to Paradise
Her new book The Battersea Park Road to Paradise, (Five Adventures in Being and Doing) explores Feng ShuiFeng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
, Anthony Robbins, Vipassana
Vipassana
Vipassanā or vipaśyanā in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi . Vipassana is one of the world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha...
, Advaita and Shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
was published in the UK and US in 2011.
Tibet
She has been a supporter of and active campaigner for the Tibetan cause for many years, and a founding member of Act for Tibet. In 2003, during the writing of her book For Tibet, with Love , she organised a stunt in Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
— a banner depicting the Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
was unfurled from the top of Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column
Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in central London built to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The monument was constructed between 1840 and 1843 to a design by William Railton at a cost of £47,000. It is a column of the Corinthian...
and a pro-Tibet campaigner made a parachute jump. Her list of 'top 10' books about the Dalai Lama
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
appeared in the Guardian.
External links
- Act for Tibet
- Facebook - Personal Facebook page
- Facebook - Official Facebook Fan page
- Isabel Losada's website
Further reading
- Case study: How and why I sell books through Facebook. A best-selling author owns up FUTUReBOOK, 26 July 2010.
- Isabel Losada on how to get published at the SW11 Literary Festival For Books' Sake, 2010.
- How to bag the right man before you’re 40 Independent, Monday Jul 2 2007.