Awakening Consciousness: A Boy’s Guide!

Robin Marvel
Marvelous Spirit Press (2009)
ISBN 9781932690910
Reviewed by Ben Weldon (age 11) for Reader Views (6/09)


“Awakening Consciousness: A Boy’s Guide” by Robin Marvel is a workbook that helps the reader to “awaken his inner consciousness.”  The book’s format was interesting because, like a typical book, it had information and stories, but it was also a workbook in that it had spaces for the reader to draw pictures about how he felt about things or to write his thoughts.  I had fun reading it.  It was a short read so even if you are kind of impatient and not much of a fluent reader, you will be able to easily and quickly read it.  Of course, you could spend a lot of time doing all the activities.  It would probably be a good book for kids to do with their parents.

The book has some really cool activities such as making a balloon drum and a didgeridoo out of toilet paper tubes.  It also has Native American lore that is supposed to help you to understand your spirit, and some “ChakraCizes” that help to relax and energize your Chakras.  Meditation is emphasized.

My favorite part of the book was a Native American lore story.  It was about an old Native American who described his spirit as two wolves, each vying for control.  One wolf was at peace with everything around him, and the other was angry and wished to destroy everything around him.  When the storyteller’s grandson asked which wolf won, the grandfather replied by saying, “The one I feed.”  The moral of the story is to feed your good side, and not give in to the bad. 

I would recommend this book to boys who wish to understand their spirit or find inner-peace.  The book was pretty good and it was fun learning about spirits and other cool things.  “Awakening Consciousness: A Boy’s Guide” by Robin Marvel was an interesting book and kind of helped me to understand myself in a new way.