“Remember to breathe. It is after all, the secret of life” – Gregory Maguire

Welcome to step 7. In the last step, you learned what your spiritual GPS was, and what can happen when you are in the state of “Ako bu Ije.” In the journey called life, one can say that “Ako bu Ije” is the closest one can get to your vehicle (Ikenga) being in “self driving” mode. As I stated in the second step, you were born with your Chi na Eke already in alignment, but along the way, you’ve fallen out of sync and now you need to remember (ncheta) how to get back them in sync. 

You’ve learned the importance of  understanding your dreams (nrọ) and by doing so, higher paths for your destiny (akaraka) can be revealed through them. And you’ve also learned that strengthening your intuition (Agwu) is the key to unlocking the state of “Ako bu Ije.” Now the next question is how does one strengthen the intuition, which helps bring Chi na Eke back in sync?

The great news is that the answer is something that you’re already currently doing without thinking about it. Let us go back in time to the first thing you did after you were born. Your first impulse would be to say that you cried. And while that may be true, there’s a crucial action that preceded that. In order to cry, you first had to breathe. Once you entered this new state of  existence, breathing on your own was the first thing you learned to do. You took the breath of life, which is the name of this step.

Take a few moments and make an observation of the activities that you have engaged in in the past that make you feel “energized” either while you’re doing them or afterwards. An extremely important point is these must be energizing activities that do not have a “crash” afterwards. Now pay close attention to your patterns of breathing.

If you notice that this energizing feeling comes from you breathing rapidly, then you should consider regularly engaging in activities like exercise (i.e running, weight lifting, boxing, etc). People who engage in these sort of strenuous activities often describe something called being in “the zone” or in a “flow state.” Those who engage in competitive sports may also describe this feeling as being “on fire.” Whatever the term used, the result is you fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, clarity of mind, and enjoyment in the activity you’re engaging in. You not only know what to do, but how to do it well. 

Another highly physical activity that can lead to a similar state would be dancing. If you happen to be of African descent, you have likely observed that dancing (ịgba egwú) is one of the primary ways that folks “catch the spirit” or get filled by the power of the “holy ghost”, especially at religious ceremonies. Of course, people (usually) don’t dance without music, which brings me to the next practice of ume ndu, which is playing a musical instrument. If you have an affinity towards a particular instrument, play it! Not just by the book, but to your own melody, rhythm and beat. You may be surprised with what you may come up with if you do.

And the last musically related ume ndu activity I’ll recommend is singing. This practice also utilizes the breath, but in a less intense way than the aforementioned activities. And while many of us may be not be the best dancers, all of us are great singers in our own minds, especially when we are by ourselves. I’d say that for some people, singing (especially in groups) is not only the primary way we get our Chi na Eke in sync, but also supercharge our Agwu (intuition) and engage in high levels of healing body, mind and soul. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that folks describe certain people as “singing from the soul”, nor that there is an entire genre called “soul” music. Now as I stated earlier, pay very close attention to how you feel when you engage in any of these activities. Use your discernment to select music that uplifts you and others.

Very closely related to song and dance is the theater. Now, with this practice of ume ndu, one can either be a participant (actor or actress) or a spectator. For the purpose of this step, we will focus on the spectators. Theater can mean a live action play, movie or television series, but all 3 can have the same impact. Now, the predominant themes in theater are comedy and drama. Let’s begin with comedy. There’s a saying that laughter is the best medicine. After you laugh, you definitely feel much less burdened and stressed than you were before, maybe even lighter.  I personally feel that laughter burns away negativity like few other things. And the great thing is that you can engage in laughter whenever you want. While laughter dramatically increases your breathing, drama on the other hand can take your breath away.

Watching a drama puts you in a state of “suspension of disbelief.” This means that you temporarily suspend your reason and logic and believe what you’re watching. This is the reason that you respond with sadness when a particular character dies, even though you’re fully aware that the actor or actress portraying them is alive and well. The wonderful thing about dramas is that the really good ones have a lot of important symbolism, which if you can successfully notice and decode, can teach you extremely valuable lessons without having to go through the experience yourself. But again, use your discernment to find the right types of comedy and drama to watch or participate in. 

Of course it goes without mention that prayer (ekpere) is an act of ume ndu, and so I won’t expound upon it. However, if prayer is talking to spirit, then meditation (ịgo chi) is the act of listening to spirit, and in my opinion, too many people engage in the former while neglecting the latter. Many folks have a preconception that meditation has to be a silent, solemn activity whereby one has to “empty” their mind for long periods of time, and a result, people often struggle to do it regularly and get any benefits from it. However I am here to tell you that there are many ways to meditate, and you simply have to find a method that works for you. You can choose to engage in what I would like to call a “moving meditation”, which may be walking outside, or engaging in disciplines such as yoga, qi gong, tai chi or pilates. For many people, they meditate while listening to music (especially instrumental). I’ve personally written a few of these articles while in a meditative state, usually listening to ogene (Igbo classical) music. 

“I write for the same reason I breathe because if I didn’t, I would die.” – Isaac Asimov

And speaking of writing, I will conclude my list of ume ndu practices with the very one I’m engaging in. Countless people utilize writing as a meditative practice, which allows one to not only get “in a zone”, but also have a record of the result. Writing each article has benefited me as much as it has benefited you, the reader, if not more. And I am extremely blessed to be able to share the light that I have been receiving over the years. If you haven’t already been doing so, I encourage you to keep a journal of the progress you’ve been making in each step. 

Step 7: I will find and regularly engage in activities that strengthen my intuition, get my Chi na Eke back in sync, while uplifting myself and others. 

Action items: Engage in an ume ndu practice of your own choice. Do not feel the need to limit yourself to anything I’ve mentioned. Explore and experiment and you will discover things you’re naturally intuitive at. Feel free to share your experiences in the comment section. And stay tuned for step 8, which is coming out the next new moon, which is March 13. Yagazie!