One of the most misunderstood aspects of Odinani is the idea of Nso.

When people hear the word, they often think only of communal prohibitions, things you are forbidden to do. But in Igbo worldview, Nso can be much more personal than that. While some taboos are shared by a family, lineage, or community, others are deeply connected to the individual and their relationship with their Chi.

The question then becomes —> How do you begin to discern your own personal Nso?

There are many ways this can be explored, but here is one simple exercise that may help you begin listening more carefully to your Chi.

Think Back to Your Childhood

Spend some quiet time reflecting on your younger years.

Ask yourself: What positive things did I naturally feel drawn to long before anyone encouraged me?

Not because someone told you they were good, or because they were fashionable, or because you wanted attention.

But because something inside you kept gently pulling you in that direction.

Perhaps you always felt the need to sit quietly in nature.

Perhaps you instinctively spoke to trees or animals.

Perhaps you loved keeping things clean and orderly.

Perhaps you found yourself drawn to not eating a particular kind of food.

Perhaps you naturally enjoyed solitude, reflection, creating, teaching, observing, or protecting others.

To the people around you, these habits may have seemed unusual, unnecessary, or even strange.

But to you, they simply felt... right.

Look for the Gentle Pull

The guidance of your Chi often feels less like pressure and more like a quiet certainty that continues to return throughout your life.

Think about the things that gave you peace.

The things that felt natural.

The habits that made you feel more like yourself.

The practices you kept returning to, even after abandoning them for a while.

These are worth paying attention to.

Focus on What Is Life-Giving

This exercise is not about remembering every unusual habit you had as a child.

It is specifically about identifying positive inclinations.

Look for things that:

Helped you grow.
Brought peace.
Made you kinder.
Encouraged discipline.
Deepened your awareness.
Connected you to life rather than taking you away from it.

Every person has unhealthy impulses as well.

Those are not what we are looking for.

The nudges of your Chi lead toward growth, balance, wisdom, and wholeness, not destruction.

Write Them Down

As memories begin to surface, write them down.

Do not worry if you only remember one thing.

One is enough.

Sometimes one genuine insight is more valuable than a long list created just to feel productive.

That single recurring inclination may become the beginning of understanding something deeply personal about your spiritual path.

Patterns Reveal More Than Moments

Once you have written them down, ask yourself:

Have these inclinations followed me throughout my life?
Do they still bring me peace today?
Have I ignored them because I wanted to fit in?
Do I feel most like myself when I honor them?

You may begin to notice that what appeared to be random childhood habits were actually consistent patterns.

Patterns often reveal what isolated moments cannot.

Your Chi Knows You Better Than Anyone Else

One of the beautiful ideas within Odinani is that your Chi is not trying to make you into someone else.

It is continually calling you toward the person you were created to become.

Sometimes that guidance comes through dreams, through experience and other times it can also come through elders.

And sometimes through the quiet intuitions that have been with you since childhood.

Many of us spend years silencing those inner nudges in order to fit into other people's expectations.

Yet they continue waiting patiently for us to listen again.

Final Thoughts

This exercise is not meant to provide a complete list of your personal Nso.

Rather, it is an invitation to begin paying closer attention to yourself.

Your Chi has likely been speaking to you far longer than you realise.

The question is not whether your Chi has been guiding you, but whether you have made enough space to notice.

So begin simply.

Reflect.
Remember.
Write down even one positive intuition that has stayed with you since childhood.
Honor it.
Live with it for a while.
Observe what happens.

Sometimes the journey of discovering your personal Nso begins by remembering the quiet wisdom your Chi placed within you long before the world told you who you should be.