Why Your Clean Home Still Feels Chaotic

Something clicked into place for me this past month. I've been observing the creative cycle—how energy moves through the elements in sequence: water nourishes wood, wood feeds fire, fire creates earth, earth yields metal, metal collects water. And I noticed that when I work with the order, things flow. Not effortlessly, but without that grinding friction of forcing.

Last week's portion, Shemot, and this week's, Va'era (Exodus 6:2–9:35), span the beginning of liberation—and the unmaking of Egypt's order.

The Maharal of Prague—the 16th-century rabbi, mystic, and philosopher—taught that the ten plagues aren't random punishment. They too have an order and it's a systematic reversal of the ten utterances of creation. "Let there be light" meets darkness. "Let the waters swarm with life" meets a river of blood. "Let the earth sprout vegetation" meets hail destroying every plant in the field. What God spoke into being, the plagues unmake.

Both Torah and Tao teach that moral order and natural order aren't separate. You can't plant in autumn and harvest in spring. And when the invisible order is off, it doesn't matter how good things look on the surface—eventually, the surface cracks.

That feeling when you've organized everything but still can't settle? When you rush through your own home, never quite landing anywhere? That scattered feeling that follows you room to room? That's the invisible order asking for attention. If you're not sure where to start, locate the nexus—the center. In you and around you.

ROOM OF THE WEEK: THE CENTER

The center of your home isn't necessarily a room—but it is the hub from which all eight life areas radiate. It corresponds to health, stability, and overall balance. The area to work with when you feel overwhelmed. In Chinese, it's called the tai chi point—literally "supreme ultimate"—the stillness from which all movement emerges. In the BTB bagua (your home's energy map), it's the number 5: the center position that anchors everything around it.

You can work with center energy in multiple ways. The actual physical center of your home is ideal—but if that's a staircase or bathroom, you can work with the center of your living room instead. Even the center of your bed counts as a power spot for this energy.

THE PRACTICE

This week we locate and activate center energy throughout the home.

Sunday (Yang/Sun)

Clear any clutter from your home's center. Just moving one thing counts—but nine things is even better for catalyzing transformation.

Monday (Yin/Moon) 

Find the physical center of your home. Stand there for a full minute. What do you notice about this spot?

Tuesday (Fire/Joy)

Light a candle at the center of your living room. Fire activates earth energy.

Wednesday (Water/Flow)

Place something ceramic—a bowl, a vase, a decorative plate with something that symbolizes gratitude—at the center of your living room coffee table.

Thursday (Wood/Growth)

Place a living plant at the center of your dining table or kitchen island. Fresh flowers in shades of yellow with clear centers like narcissus, daisies, or chamomile are perfect.

Friday (Metal/Structure)

 Light incense at the center of your home—sandalwood for harmony, or sage to transform energy and invite change. Let the scent reach every corner.

Saturday (Earth/Grounding) 

 REST. Lie at the center of your bed. Notice what it feels like to occupy the middle.

CLOSING INSIGHT

This week's parasha describes a world coming undone: plagues reversing creation, order collapsing into chaos. But liberation doesn't come from matching chaos with chaos. It comes from finding the still point.

Tired of working harder in a space that works against you?

Check out my Shana of Shui mini-course to learn how to start working with your home's energy.