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The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment
 
 

The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment (Paperback)

by Isabel Losada (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 252 pages
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (9 April 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0747553181
  • ISBN-13: 978-0747553182
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 19,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #36 in  Books > Mind, Body & Spirit > Thought & Practice > Mental & Spiritual Healing

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Isabel Losada leaves no stone unturned--literally--on her trip down The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment. Wishing to live her life "completely, abundantly, joyfully and stupidly" she makes an entertaining travelling companion as she describes her efforts to move away from her in-a-rut life where "nothing was changing". And she takes us everywhere with her: a life-skills course in North London; a convent retreat in Oxford; T'ai chi in France; a massage in Bath--even the past as she explores her previous incarnations. The journey is invigorating and exhausting and enriched by the numerous characters she meets en route.

The book is much more than a travelogue, however. Losada describes with considerable skill and sensitivity the breakthroughs in the lives of people around her--the woman who starts to work through childhood abuse, for instance, and another who confronts the bullies from school--and her honesty is refreshing and often surprising (her description of colonic irrigation takes the breath away). Often she picks up useful nuggets of inspiration that the reader can take away and digest and these are sprinkled through the text. Intercut throughout is her life with her daughter in a "shoebox" in Battersea and her burgeoning romance with Mark, the man she meets at a hypnotherapy seminar.

Losada has an entertaining and witty style and comes across as somewhat bossy but likeable all the same. And the stones she doesn't leave unturned?

The first part of this new experience involved sitting up and lying down again on to a row of hot stones that had been laid down to head up the muscles on either side of the spine. Damned clever
. --Christina McLoughlin


Product Description

'You know those people who always radiate cheerful optimism? Nauseating aren't they? I want to become one of those. I want to find out how to live life completely, abundantly, joyfully, stupidly. This is my quest. Enlightenment.' So proclaims Isabel Losada, Starbucks addict, exercise allergic and self-confessed sceptic as she sets out on the road to enlightenment. Beginning with an Insight seminar where hundred people with name badges discuss their 'inner beauty', Isabel journeyed through a gruelling course of 'Rolfing' nude Goddess workshops, a weekend of tantric sex ('Yes! Yes! Yes!') and a reincarnation session, not to mention a spot of colonic irrigation. Irreverent yet open-minded, funny and always honest, "The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment" is also moving and ultimately illuminating. For anyone who has ever been tempted to dip a toe in the waters of self-discovery, Isabel Losada plunges you straight in.

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Customer Reviews

43 Reviews
5 star:
 (37)
4 star:
 (6)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (43 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, down to earth new age exploration, 6 May 2001
By A Customer
Make no mistake, read this book and , whatever your views on the various routes to enlightenment it espouses, you will laugh a lot. Out loud and, according to my wife, annoyingly. This is the funniest book I have read since, well, Stephen Pile's Book of Heroic Failures (written a long time ago), which, now I come to think of it, has similar themes. I can imagine Mr Pile adding a section on the 'the world's least successful attempt at tantric sex - when a Ms Isabel Losada of Battersea went on a weekend workshop ... without a partner.' Or the world's least successful massage, 'When a Ms Losada of Battersea nearly lost her skin being 'rolfed'.' Indeed a number of these routes to happiness seem spectacularly unsuccessful, but others, surprisingly, appear to actually work - eg. colonic irrigation which left the author with an 'inexplicable feeling of happiness and well-being'. I am definitely going to try it - when I've plucked up the courage.

In addition to finding the book extremely funny and well-written, for me as an anglican Christian,it was also a bit of an eye-opener. I confess to long-harboured, deep suspicions about 'alternative' therapies. For many Christians (and the author appears to be of the 'post-evangelical-sits-lightly-to-actually-going-to-church' variety), there will be lots of questions about some of the 'new-age' practices described, about which the church is usually highly suspicious. But Isabel tackles each of her encounters with a healthy scepticism, and given the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent remarks about the value of new-age insights, this book provides a very accessible cynics guide to a number of well-established 'alternative' therapies. If like me, you too are sceptical then I would heartily recommend this book, at least if you're not easily offended by four letter words....

A great read, a surprisingly useful reference book, very funny (it needs to be placed in at least three sections of your local bookshop - health, humour, religion, books with odd covers, etc) and a book that demands a sequel exploring more roads to happiness - how about pyramids, crystals, yogic flying, thalassotherapy, or astral projection? But, as the book says, take care of yourself out there.

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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars VERY informative, 2 Sep 2001
By A Customer
I really enjoyed this book. VERY funny. Couldn't stop smirking and laughing when I was reading it. I read it very quickly. I loved her ability to have a laugh about all these exposing pursuits. She was able to be NOT politically correct, AND point out the heart warming conclusions brought about by these practices. She also tells you exactly what some of the therapists tell you; ie exact breathing techniques used for rebirthing, and what you feel like after. I loved her ability to mercilessly take the piss out of some of the people at these things, but at the same time fully participate in the processes, and come out with a kinder perspective afterwards. I like this because I think it is human nature to feel these things, and she said it out loud for all of us, so we don't need to feel bad about it. Having said that, although I really liked the book, she isnt the sort of person I would gravitate to at one of these workshops. She seems very likeable, but I would also say she is an extrovert, and a little reckless. Personally, I prefer my pals to have a little more impulse control, and not be so at home in the spotlight. I cringed a little at some of the stuff she got up to. A little clumsy from time to time. This is not to detract from the book. She is an excellent guinea pig, trying out all these new workshops, and she reports back in great detail, and isnt too shy to tell us *exactly* what she thinks. She tried some stuff I wouldn't have thought of trying, but after hearing about the benefits, I might just give it a go. She's no wallflower. Some of her observations are very perceptive as well as being funny. I would rather read this type of 'review' of a workshop or practice than the usual 'nicey-nicey' patter you hear about these things. Hers was a much more down to earth 'human' response. I might get her other (nun) book as well now.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, touching and honest story of discovery, 13 April 2001
By tim@hedger-gourlay.com (Surrey, England) - See all my reviews
I found myself snatching time at work to read Isabel's book; it's a real page-turner. I don't normally find time to read much, but I made time to read this from cover to cover in a couple of days. It really made me laugh, it was great to read such a personal story told in such an open way. I'm a bit of a sceptic about "workshops" and "that kind of stuff" but this book really opened some doors for me. It didn't try and push things at me, it just told me about someone else's experiences, warts and all.

The book reminded me of Bridget Jones. But I always felt with Bridget Jones that I wanted to turn a page and find that she'd actually learnt something and made progress towards what she wanted - it was so frustrating. Here is a book of a journey that does actually go somewhere, and on the way makes a lot of funny observations on life. Isabel is disarmingly honest and open about her experiences and the people she met.

It's a great combination of information and a very funny story of discovery. From dancing around nude and tantric sex to colonic irigation and hitting cushions with plastic pipes - I wanted it to go on and on when I got to the last page!

Despite my scepticism about "things new-age", having read the book, I'm going to try at least 3 of the things myself.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and real
This is a great real life story of how one woman ventured along her journey to elightenment. With a great sense of humour and humaness she ventures forth and experiements with... Read more
Published 5 months ago by oceanswim

5.0 out of 5 stars Tantric irrigation with tai-chi anyone?
Seeking some personal enlightenment is quite high up on my list of goals. When I engage my brain to the quest of defining my "Major Definite Purpose" (as prescribed by Brian... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Julie Anderson

4.0 out of 5 stars A gloriously amusing read
This book's a playful romp through the world of self development workshops, seminars and treatments. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2007 by Mary McNeil

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars just isn't enough!!
Wow I love this book! I've read it sooo many times now that I'm gonna need a new copy cos mine's worn out! Read more
Published on 21 April 2007 by Ms. K. L. Palmer

5.0 out of 5 stars Have a go you never know.....
I choose this book after feeling a bit lost in my life and wanting to see what other people were doing with theirs. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2007 by T. Horton

5.0 out of 5 stars Romping good fun!
A great romp through the alternative therapies many of us have wondered about but not had the guts to try. We sit on Ms. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2006 by Y. Barlow

5.0 out of 5 stars You name it, Isabel Losada has tried it!
A very funny, acutely observed romp through the wierd and wonderful practices of some of the world's more esoteric inhabitants. Read more
Published on 12 Jul 2006 by William Oliver

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, irreverent, informative!
Very readable ...... and if(like me) you've ever wondered what the hell NLP is all about, Isabel's chapter will tell you more than a dozen books!
Published on 2 Feb 2006

5.0 out of 5 stars Open, honest and funny. Very funny.
To tell the truth, books on enlightenment are not really my scene. I have tried a few but never got much further than the first couple of chapters. Read more
Published on 9 April 2003 by mmc

5.0 out of 5 stars The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment
I thought this book was one of the most enlightening I've ever read on the subject of personal development.
Why? Because it expressed Isabel's personal struggle. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2003 by Andrew Gibney

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