MadameNoire Featured Video
Source: Lucas Handwerker / Lucas Handwerker
There is something really humbling about walking into a brand new situation having no idea what you’re going to get into. When I initially got an email from a publicist about seeing a show with intuitive, Lucas Handwerker, I was blown away by the description of his work. He was described as a “part wizard, part Jedi Master,” and as a connoisseur of the esoteric, my interest was peaked.
On the way to his new show, “You And I,” I thought about what the setup would be like. I expected to see some sort of elaborate set or 100 lit candles and crystal balls. But instead, when I showed up, with my sister in tow as my guest, what I found was an intimate room of adults seeking answers to questions that were beyond them. This experience requires you to put away the distractions of the outside world and be fully present. Lucas can work with you as much as you are willing to let go of the skeptism, be vulnerable and work with him.
In one particular moment of the night, Lucas was able to pinpoint one of my deepest fears and present them back to me in a way that was digestible and less intimidating. Some of the revelations Lucas gave attendees throughout the night sent them into tears. It’s clear Lucas is tapped into something we all have access too, but we dismiss or don’t cultivate.
I talked to Lucas about his show and what he aims to offer audiences during each session.
How did you know you had a gift?
I never say I have a gift. We all have intuition. We all have unconscious knowing. We’ve all had moments in our lives where a small little voice inside us told us what to say or do or who to talk to. I think most peoples’ experience of listening to that voice is positive. Intuition is a muscle, and the more we use it, the stronger it gets. I started out just being sensitive to other people, later realizing that was unrealized intuition. What I do is about healing people, creating clarity, and overcoming blocks to growth. Intuition is one tool I use to do that.
How do you help others while still protecting and preserving your own energy?
Its a challenge. My primary work is with individual clients. I work with people on everything from fears to money blockages, to overcoming limiting beliefs and changing restrictive habits. With everyone, I work with there is a fine balance between helping them and allowing their energy to negatively affect me. A lot of my work is to put myself in a space where I can truly do good while preserving my own peace. Being totally present helps.
A lot of people are finally becoming more comfortable researching and leaning on shamanism and indigenous wisdom for healing. What do you think of this shift? Why do you think it’s happening now?
I think we as a culture move too quickly. There is this sense that something very important has been left behind. Something very important has been left out. I see it in the groups and individuals I work with. There is spiritual confusion. People feel they are in a tunnel and they don’t see the light. So they search for answers all around them and still feel like they’re drowning. Indigenous healing and shamanic practices hold this gentle thread of a human tradition. A tradition of light–work and healing which seems to have some speck of that light we’re missing. I think to try and rehash these practices as is, is a mistake because you can’t bring the past into the present without being nostalgic and appropriating a culture which isn’t yours. The spirit of those practitioners is something we are sorely needing today. That was a big part of my inspiration. Seeing that every culture across the globe had these naturalistic, community-oriented healing practices. Practices steeped in wonder. I just picked up that thread of light and started following it in my own way. In order to bring it into the world.
Your show is called “You and I.” Do you ever have moments where you connect with a part of yourself while helping and putting on a show for others?
The most profound moments of healing that happen in these group environments happen when I’m able to connect to the deepest part of myself and completely trust that it will sustain me. It always does. There is this place inside of me, and inside all of us, I think, where there is stillness, silence, peace. In that peace are the answers we need. I’m simply accessing that place inside myself and creating an experience where people feel miracles are possible. I also do my best to help others access this place of peace within themselves. That’s what a lot of healing is.
What would you say to people who are skeptical about this work?
I’m skeptical as well! My goal isn’t to convince anyone of anything. My goal isn’t to be impressive. My goal isn’t even to be correct all the time. My goal is to be helpful. That’s all. The only litmus test for what I do is how I can positively affect the people I work with. I released an artists’ statement that pretty transparently talks about this idea of the sacred trap. The sacred trap is a piece of conjuring or legerdemain used in order to create an environment where healing can happen more easily. Mystery is important to healing because it shows the power of the spirit over the physical world in a symbolic and emotionally potent way. Shamans and healers from around the world use their versions of sacred traps. It’s all in order to create the theater of healing. It’s to create an atmosphere of miracles. That’s where positive change is not only possible but easily achieved.
Lucas has shows January 23rd and 24th in LA and January 31st in NYC.
You can find more information about Lucas’ work
here.Follow him on Instagram
here.
