Ralph P. Brown (Tawennihake)

Awakening the Eagle by Ralph P. Brown, Ralph is a Mohawk Indian from the St. Regis Indian Reservation in upstate New York. He currently resides at Earth Lodge Studios in Nebraska where he and his wife, Anita, own and operate the Mirrored Windows Gallery which showcases his art, such as the beautiful stipple pieces used in the book he wrote.
Publisher: Booksurge
Genre/Market: Christian Life, Spiritual Growth, Life lessons, Indian Culture and ways
Publication Date: 2009
ISBN: 9781439228203
Book Length: 72
Price: $ 10.99
5 Out of 5 points

Headline for Book Review: What is the Medicine Wheel and how does it apply to me?
This is a great resource to learn the Introduction to the Medicine Wheel if you want to learn more about it. The book is a combination of fiction, tribal lore, existential philosophy, and spiritual guidance. If you are looking for truth and meaning to your life this is a wonderful guide that will give you wisdom and patience.
It’s a story about a boy and a man who throve through the world of tribal culture, values, and beliefs. The boy discovers on his journey the power of the medicine wheel and its benefits. You will learn about interpreting the Medicine Wheel’s life. I learned a lot reading this book and would recommend it to anyone open to understanding other teachings to learn life’s lessons and values.
QUOTES from the book:
Quote: “Awakening the Eagle explains a way of using the Medicine Wheel through pictures, stories, and direct instruction.”
-Life is an amazing thing. There are so many little wonders that occur all the time that it is easy to take for granted or become desensitized to the miraculous way that life is perpetuated.
-The search for self often begins with the questions, “Who am I and what is my purpose?” “Indian people are taught that our physical body is nothing more than a lodge for our spirit being.”
I received this book from Book Surge for my honest review.
© 2011 Jackie Paulson
The FCC guidelines as me to tell you that I picked up this book from http://reviewthebook.com/ for my honest review.… (more)

A little book with large motivation, the tales told and lessons to be found in this book can propel us to our goals. As quoted in the beginning, "One man dreamed of becoming something. Another remained awake and became." Ralph Brown (Tawennihake) is of the Mohawk nation, his research has taken him through several nations, including Mohawk, Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Cherokee and Navajo, meeting with many storytellers and Medicine Men. He has collected some of these tales, some might call them morality tales, through his travels, and some of the interpretations found in this book

These tales are incorporated into the Thirteen Virtues of the Medicine Wheel. These are profound and mysterious until with patience the reader begins to "See" with new eyes, eagle eyes that are so clear and can see so many ways and so far, the need to passionately seek whatever their goals are. The book is written in such a manner that reading once you only see part of the whole. It should be read more than once to take the most from it. As mentioned, this is a small book, it does not require much time to read, but it needs to be reread to get the whole of the journey. These tales, or fables, are all representations, allegory, there are more ways than one to interpret them, but the author is very clear in describing how to perceive everything that is there. He does not tell you what you must see but provides guidelines to help you to perceive whatever the representations mean to you personally.

These are life lessons that most of us have heard in one form or another, but have we really understood them? Have we "Seen" everything there is to see and have we actively set a goal and gone after it? Or have we denied ourselves that goal by not perceiving the way to look at it, to achieve it. The book gives us the guidelines to finding that perception and obtaining our goals and regain balance in our lives. This book is entertaining, educational, and completely natural, not technical in any way. Life is natural. This book can help us retain or regain our connection with the natural world. Well-written, non-demanding, it is a book well worth reading.… (more)

‘Awakening the Eagle: A Guide to the Medicine Wheel’ is a wonderfully illustrated book with eye and mind opening tales to allow change to the reader, if they are open and perceptive to it. As someone that tries to hold true to seeing the world in various ways, I found that I was reminded again to look at the signs in life to decipher my course and my actions. The illustrations are thought-provoking and explained in detail with references to daily life. The stories with Okwaho are just as enlightening and show how each direction of the Medicine Wheel is explained.

I read the foreword presented in this book, and I have to respectfully disagree. Without giving all of this away, I feel that one can indeed gain insight on how to help themselves, but again, if they are willing to open to this presentation of another way of thoughts, feelings and understanding. I feel this is a very good starting point for any person willing to make a positive change in their life.… (more)

Awakening the Eagle: A Guide to the Medicine Wheel by Ralph P. Brown ISBN 9781439228203

Review by Chris Phillips

Brown takes an elusive Native American concept and uncovers the symbolic and spiritual meanings in this practical guide to understanding the Medicine Wheel. A Native American concept, the Medicine Wheel, deals with the cyclic nature of life. Spiritually he guides the aspirant into a better and more balanced life.

Brown is not only an author but an artist with interests in various media. One of the most striking features of Awakening the Eagle is the art used to illustrate important points and section beginnings. Brown is not clear on whether the art or the book came first, but has integrated both very well.

The fact that Brown is of Mohawk lineage is mentioned on the back cover, but this book is directed to everyone wishing to understand Native American ideas and spiritual development. Brown takes the reader from a rudimentary description of the Wheel through a thorough explanation of the spiritual concepts of direction, symbols, colors, and animals associated with each aspect. Starting in the East he explains the cycles present in life and present with each major struggle the reader might encounter in that life.

The book is constructed conceptually by the Medicine Wheel as well. Each section describes one direction. “The East: Struggle with Self” begins by describing the symbols related and then some stories that expand on the original concept. The following sections use the same structure. Each section has a painting by Brown to identify the major concepts. As a mnemonic device this artwork lends itself to pedagogy very well. The book itself is a great learning tool for education in Brown’s interpretation of Native spirituality.

The Introduction is very long, but contains some very important information about the Medicine Wheel. Brown provides an illustration of the Wheel with word associations identified with each aspect of the Wheel. There is a Foreword, the Introduction, a Conclusion, an About the Author and finally an acknowledgment page amounting to several pages of information. Although it is relevant, this reviewer believes Brown would benefit from re-structuring the book into at least one more chapter describing the Medicine Wheel. That would also allow him more plates for his decent illustrations.

The editing and proofing of Awakening the Eagle, is very good. The continuity is exceptional within each section but the transitions between them would be improved by a little more explanation of how the different stages are encountered.

The book is very well written. It would be an asset to anyone interested in Native American spirituality and spirituality in general. This reviewer hopes that Brown will write more about these concepts.

Published by Book Surge (www.booksurge.com) (SRP $10.99/Amazon $10.99) Book for review sent by author.… (more)