What your vision board can't hold

This week's Torah portion, Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1-17:27), begins with God commanding Abraham to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father's house for a land God will show him.

In the background of our lives right now, there's talk of peace plans and processes, and I find myself thinking about peace not as a destination we arrive at, but as a journey we commit to. Abraham never actually possessed the land he was promised - he bought only a burial cave. His entire life was about the journey, the movement, the trust. And maybe that's the point.

We're really good at setting destinations in our homes - vision boards, goal lists, places for our aspirations to live. Feng shui supports this beautifully. But here's what I've been sitting with: how does your house support the actual journey? Not the achievement, but the daily practice of showing up, learning, compromising, growing into who we're becoming.

According to the Talmud, the commandment to welcome the stranger appears more frequently than any other - Rabbi Eliezer teaches it appears "36 times, and some say 46 times." Maybe that's because transformation makes strangers of us all. 

The Kabbalah teaches that "lech lecha" means leaving three levels of attachment: our material desires (land), our emotional patterns (birthplace), and our inherited beliefs (father's house). When we shed these layers, we become unfamiliar even to ourselves. Abraham was a stranger. Isaac was a stranger. And the journey asks us to welcome the stranger we're becoming. 

This week, we're creating an altar to support that work - not toward some perfect future self, but into the messy, holy work of transformation itself. It's about creating conditions for growth to become instinctive, for the journey to feel as sacred as any imagined destination.

SETTING UP YOUR ALTAR

An altar is a dedicated space that marks the sacred within your everyday environment. Unlike vision boards that point toward future goals, an altar holds space for the present moment of transformation. If you've never created one, this is your invitation to start simple.

The key is assembling elements in the creative cycle (Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water), which mirrors the natural flow of energy:

Choose your location: A shelf, table corner, or windowsill. It doesn't need to be large - even a 12-inch square works.

Cleanse the space: Wipe it down physically, then set intention. You can use sound (bell, clap), smoke (incense), or simply your focused attention.

Assemble in creative cycle order (place from left to right or back to front):

Wood (growth, beginning): A small plant, flowers, wooden object, or even a photo of trees Fire (transformation): A candle or image with warm colors

Earth (grounding): Stone or ceramic bowl

Metal (clarity, refinement): Bell, metal bowl, white stone, or anything with metallic finish

Water (flow, wisdom): Small bowl of water, mirror, glass object, or blue element

Don't overthink the items - choose what feels elementally appropriate and meaningful to you. A vase with flowers can represent both Wood and Water. Trust your instincts.

Keeping It Active

An altar is meant to be touched, rearranged, engaged with - not preserved like a museum display. Change the water weekly. Rotate objects. Light your candle. This is a living practice, not decoration. You can keep your altar as a permanent fixture as long as you maintain this active relationship with it.

Bagua Note: Altars work beautifully in the Knowledge/Stillness area (Gua 8) or the Helpful People area (Gua 6), but trust where your space naturally calls for this focal point.

*In BTB feng shui, we determine the location of each gua by aligning your front door with the bottom of the map below that looks like a tic tac toe board. This is different from the Compass approach to feng shui which uses directions for alignment. Also note that the rooms and walls of your home won't perfectly align with the bagua map, and some rooms may fall in more than one gua area.

DAILY ENERGY FOCUS

This Week's Chi Focus: Transition Week

We'll explore Yang Chi and Yin Chi patterns, as they represent the balance between active journey and receptive wisdom that this week's Torah portion illuminates.

Sunday (Yang/Sun) 

OBSERVE Yang Chi indicators throughout your home. Notice: Where plants seem most vigorous versus struggling; Which rooms you naturally gravitate toward versus avoid.

What this can mean: Yang Chi is active, dynamic energy that supports movement and growth. If you sense this pattern: Open windows in rooms that feel stale, add living plants where energy feels forgotten. Yang energy reveals: the journey begins where life already wants to grow.

Monday (Yin/Moon) 

SENSE Yin Chi indicators in your home. Notice: Where natural quiet zones form despite household activity; Which corners feel like they hold you versus expose you. CHECK IF this is present by asking: Where does your breath naturally deepen and slow?

What this can mean: Yin Chi is receptive, restorative energy essential for integration and inner work. If you sense this pattern: Preserve these contemplative spaces by keeping them uncluttered, add soft textiles to absorb harsh sounds. Yin energy reveals: rest is not a detour from the journey but part of the path itself.

Tuesday (Fire/Joy) 

NOTICE the fire qualities in your main living spaces - how afternoon light creates warmth or glare, whether creative ideas flow easily or feel blocked, any pointed shapes directing energy. DETECT signs of Yang Chi by observing: Do colors seem vibrant and alive, or dull and tired?

What this can mean: Fire element activates transformation and reveals what's ready to shift. If you sense this pattern: Clean windows to let in more light where rooms feel heavy, add a candle to spaces that resist visibility. Fire's transformative energy reveals: what we bring into the light can finally change.

Wednesday (Water/Flow) 

OBSERVE water elements throughout your home - how easily you move from task to task in different rooms, where furniture creates natural flow versus awkward detours, smooth curves versus sharp edges. SENSE Yin Chi by asking: Which spaces let you linger without feeling trapped?

What this can mean: Water teaches us that the journey finds its way around obstacles rather than through them. If you sense this pattern: Clear one blocked pathway, add a bowl of water to rigid spaces. The flowing energy of water reveals: the easiest path forward is often the one we've been avoiding.

Thursday (Wood/Growth) 

FEEL the wood energy in your home - where ceilings feel expansive versus oppressive, rooms where you stand tall versus hunch, any living plants reaching toward light. CHECK IF Yang Chi is present by noticing: Do you feel uplifted entering, or does your energy contract?

What this can mean: Wood element carries pioneering energy and reveals what wants to expand. If you sense this pattern: Introduce vertical elements where energy feels compressed, ensure nothing heavy looms overhead. The pioneering energy of wood reveals: growth requires space before it requires direction.

Friday (Metal/Structure) 

SENSE metal qualities throughout your spaces - areas of organized clarity versus scattered chaos, how sound resonates or gets muffled, precise arrangements versus casual placement. DETECT Yin Chi by observing: Which rooms help you think clearly, versus ones that scatter your attention?

What this can mean: Metal brings discernment about what serves the journey and what weighs it down. If you sense this pattern: Organize one cluttered surface, add a bell or chime to mark transition between spaces. The structured energy of metal reveals: letting go of what no longer serves makes room for what does.

Saturday (Earth/Grounding) 

REST and INTEGRATE this week's chi observations without acting. Simply NOTICE: Square furniture grounding rooms versus rooms lacking solid center, earth tones that comfort you, what foundation feels stable, what still needs support - while considering both the active Yang Chi and the receptive Yin Chi patterns you discovered this week.

What this can mean: Earth element teaches us that both movement and stillness must be grounded in presence. Allow yourself: To sit in different rooms without fixing anything, witnessing how each space holds both invitation and rest. Earth's grounding energy reveals: presence is the destination we carry within us on every journey.

CLOSING INSIGHT

Your altar this week is your commitment to the path, not the endpoint. To the daily practice of leaving behind yesterday's certainties for today's unknowns. To welcoming the stranger - including the stranger we are to ourselves when we allow transformation.

For families with young children: Let them choose one element for the altar - children naturally understand the sacredness of special objects.