My overall philosophy is that our natural state of being is happy,” says Lucas Handwerker, a subconscious guide and spiritual counselor from his somewhere between Woodstock and Kingston home. “Being joyful is who and what we are. The challenge is to untangle any obstacles and strip away any blocks to that natural happiness, so we always have access to it.” Whether it’s through his remote private sessions, in-person retreats or newsletters, Handwerker delves deep with his clients to the core issues that impede their happiness. “I help people heal the unconscious roots—that’s my focus,” he says. “The unconscious mind is…
Happiness for me is being in a good mental space, healthy and connected to nature,” says Nkoula Badila, a native of Hudson, NY who’s making a unique and profound impact…
“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind…
“An ordinary sunny day with no plans and the ease that comes with maturity.” That’s how Hudson-based Pilates instructor Nicole Meadors Keegan defines happiness. But she also finds joy and…
Attention stressed out fellow mountaineers! If you’re feeling anxious, panicked or just agitated by something, don’t try to fix it (that’s not a mistake or typo, keep reading). To ultimately…
When the editor in chief sent over the theme for this issue, I almost leapt in the air and clicked my heels, like I was a lovesick fool in a…
As someone who’s been fortunate in my life to travel extensively—both within the US and abroad, for work as well as pleasure—it was becoming sort-of an annoying joke that for…
I don’t remember much from October 8, 2021, the day I buried both of my beloved parents (they died suddenly within 48 hours of each other, otherwise healthy and in…
In 1983, I donned a starched white apron as one of Café Luxembourg’s first cadre of waiters when it opened on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Since it was the second…












