Chi Energy: 5 Methods to Unleash The Power Within

Side-blown elephant tusk horn, okike, blown by Ezema Nwodo Eze, 1965. Photo: David Ames.

Five Ways You Can Revatilize Your Life Force (Chi) Energy

Chi is your life force, that inner light, energy, part of God within each person that animates the (whole) human being. It is a personalized providence of source energy from Nnechukwu Okike (our Supreme Source of life), a spark of the divine essence given and assigned to each person. Chi is a persons spirit, a personal life force, as well as a portioned out life principle from source. One’s Chi is believed to be responsible for deciding or paving the course of a person’s life or destiny, at the very least it is the singular energetic force that enables one to lead a particular course of life or walk a certain path with destiny.

Given that Chi is our life force (that pulse or influence that gives us life or vitality), i.e it is energetic. It’s important to know and understand ways we can revitalize it from time to time, in other words it’s important to engage tools that can help us add newness and strength, as well as restore vitality or animation to our Chi.  Especially since as human beings the human condition requires us to use up lots of energy as we partake in the activities of human existence.

5 Ways Anyone Can Revitalize or Feed Chi Energy:

1. Breath Control, Deep Conscious Breathing: Deep conscious breathing involves taking slow, deep breaths and engaging the abdominal muscles and diaphragm to breathe, instead of shallow chest breathing. It is a mindful exercise that allows for better oxygen supply to the tissues and cells in our bodies, leading to increased energy and vitality in our lifeforce. We can practice deep conscious breathing anywhere, all it takes is becoming conscious of our breathing and taking mindful control of that process from time to time. It is better still to dedicate a seperate amount of time, preferably some quiet time when one can focus solely on this exercise and mentally focus mainly on this idea of recharging Chi energy with life, while taking conscious deep breaths. This practice can equally be used as a therapeutic approach to improve ones health and well-being.

2. Early Morning Sun Baths: Anyanwu Ututu (early morning sunlight or the rising sun) in Igbo spirituality, is believed to have a powerful spiritual energy that can help balance the energy centers within the human being. Anyanwu Ututu refers to sunshine that illuminates the world in the early hours of the morning up until midday (noon), it is a significant aspect of Igbo spirituality and culture, representing the (spiritual) power and beauty of the sun, as well as its life-giving and sustaining force as a natural element. Early morning sunbathing has been present as an ancient indigenous wellness practise, especially when it comes to the idea of feeding or revitalizing ones chi with source energy. Within Odinani, it entails the practioner covering their skin with Nzu powder and sitting under the early morning sun for a couple of minutes in mindful meditation as a way to revive and recharge one’s inner self as well as higher self. In addition to its spiritual significance, early morning sunbathing has several physical health benefits, including getting a daily dose of vitamin D, improving skin health, boosting mood, and strengthening bones and the immune system. It is important to note that sunbathing should be done properly by avoiding prolonged exposure during peak hours to prevent skin damage and other health risks, this is why Anyanwu Ututu (early morning sun) is specifically recommended for the practice and not the sunshine available in the course of the whole day.

3. Chanting & Incantations: Chanting is a spiritual practice that involves rhythmic, repetitive singing or speaking of sounds and phrases either vocally or mentally. While incantations are a spiritual practice that involve the use of rhythmically organized words of power that are chanted, spoken, or written to accomplish a desired goal by binding spiritual powers to act in a favorable way. They both involve the rhythmic use of words in a language to cause energy to move in our favor. The right combination of words in a ritualistic and rhythmic fashion channeled towards revitalizing ones Chi, by calling upon ones Ezumezu Mmuo (collective of spirit guides, including natural elements) to help achieve that goal can be used as an effective way to revitalize ones chi.

4. Ritual Way of Offerings: This method is largely based on cultural context. Each indigenous community even within the same groups e.g the Igbo community, have different centralized ways to ritually feed a person’s life force (their Chi). Cultural context refers to the social and cultural environment in which a persons life, including their values, beliefs, customs, and language that shape their experiences, as well as their behaviors and realities are formed. It is a framework that provides meaning and context to the communication and interaction of humans within a specific region with the abstract (unseen) forces that affect their environment directly, as a result of their collective agreements or covenants (or that of their progenitors) with those forces as it impacts their lives. It can (unconsciously) influence how people perceive or respond to different situations, including the tools or specific methods they engage to execute their spiritual practices. It is the reason why a tool might work for one person within a culture and not work for someone else. With that said, there are some general ritualistic ways within Odinani to feed ones Chi which involve the use of a part of a sacred plant e.g the Ogilishi Plant (either a branch or its leaf), using it as an external contact to call on ones Chi and serving whatever follows on its surface e.g presenting Nzu (sacred white chalk), Oji (Kolanut), Mmanya (Drinks), Nchuaja (sacrifice with an animal form of life or regular food or fruit offerings), to ones Chi as way to feed it with cosmic energy.

5. Taking Good Care of Mind & Body: Being intentional about nourishment, watching what one feeds their mind and body can be a good active way of revitalizing one’s lifeforce. One of the best ways to feed your Chi is through yourself. The human self & body is the highest channel that Chi occupies in this realm, it is the highest shrine, the highest form of technology for communication with the higher self and its revitalization. If we can take good care of ourself and watch how we nourish ourself, our Chi can consequently thrive. There is a belief attached to this, also within the frame of cultural context, which is that the more a person keeps to their Nso the more their Chi will thrive. Nso is a dual concept where one meaning has a negative connotation, referring to "avoidance" or "prohibition," that is certain things a person should not engage in based on their cultural beliefs (context) or life path. While the other meaning has a positive connotation, referring to "holy" or "sacred," that is certain ways a person should preserve their essence, or ways of being they should maintain for themselves, again sometimes based on their cultural context or life path, or even personal choices. The concept of Nso is used in various contexts, including purification rites, and especially as a personal devotion to godliness. It can be used in this sense to recharge or preserve one’s Chi energy.

To Sum It Up

We suggest that a combination of some of these methods, by being consistent with Igo Chi, Igo Ofo and Igo Mmuo, personal meditation practices in Odinani, can help anyone keep their Chi—lifeforce fed, recharged and revitalized with divine cosmic energy. These practices yield practical results due to the law of energy contribution, which is a cosmic law applied within indigenous realities which we will theorize and write broadly on in the near future.

We hope the methods highlighted in this post will prove be useful to you. Leave a comment below to let us know what you think, tell us which ways you apply to feed your Chi. Also share this post with a friend!

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11 Cool Igbo Proverbs & Axioms to Ponder on:

1. Aka nri kwo aka ekpe, aka ekpe akwoo aka nri - The right hand washed the left hand, and the left hand washes the right hand.

2. Chi onye adighi n’izu ihe anaghi eme ya - No matter how many divinities sit together to plot a man’s ruin, it will come to nothing unless his Chi is there among them.

3. Ebe onye dara ka chi ya kwaturu ya - Where a person falls is where they were tripped by their Chi.

4. Ebe onye oso ruru, onye ije ga eru ya! - Wherever one who runs reaches, one who walks would also reach.

5. Eriri ma ngwugwu, ngwugwu ma onye kere ya - The rope knows/identifies the parcel, and the parcel knows the one that wrapped it.

6. Mmadu anaghi akari Chi ya - One cannot be greater than their Chi’s potential.

7. Mmadụ bụ Chi ibe ya - Each person is their neighbors Chi.

8. Onye Chi ya akwatughi, o nweghi ihe na-eme ya- One who has the support of their Chi will remain unharmed.

9. Onye cholu iga Chi ya n’iru ga agbagbu onwe ya n’oso - Whoever wants to surpass their Chi will end up running into their own ruin.

10. Onye kwe, Chi ya ekwe - When a person says yes, their Chi also says yes.

11. Onye si na ya anaghi at anu nkita, ya erikwala mmiri ofe ya - The person who says they abhor dog meat should not eat the soup used to cook it.

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Recommended Resources:

• Agwụ Kunei Digital Guide | Conscious Breathing Meditation Techique | Oma (Pamphlet)

• Inspiring Lessons from the Igbos for Invoking your Personal Chi | Sreelatha Balasubramanian (Article)

• Step 2: Chi na Eke | Odinani: The Sacred Arts & Sciences of the Igbo People (Article)

• Chinua Achebe on Chi in Igbo cosmology (Article)

• Chi The Supreme Spirit | M. O. Ené (Article)

• Chi And How To Appease Your Chi | DIBIA NWANGWU UCHENDU (Article)

• Chi Explained - Igbo Cosmology | Medicine Shell (YouTube)

• Meaning Of CHI In Igbo Odinani | Understanding CHI In Igbo Cosmology | Igbo Spirituality | Voice Of The Sun (YouTube)

• What is Chi in Igbo Cosmology? | Ikenga Nation TV (YouTube)

• Practical Guide to Transform your Health by Optimizing Gut Bacteria | Dr. Pradip Jamnadas (YouTube)

• How Meditation Can Help You CREATE A NEW REALITY For Your Life | Dr Joe Dispenza (YouTube)