Sister Stan's sanctuary

Inspired by the idea of a monthly retreat, The Sanctuary offers social workers and others respite from their daily stress, writes Anne Dempsey

The idea of a sanctuary offering an oasis of peace for overworked social workers had been with Sister Stanislaus Kennedy for many years. "In some ways, it began in Kilkenny in the 1970s, where, ahead of its time, the staff went off one day a month on retreat in beautiful settings," she says.

The founder of Focus Ireland sits in her large warm office, surrounded by books, with light streaming through the windows.

"Many carers are very uncaring of themselves; we go hell for leather. I've never suffered from burn-out, but in 1990 I became very tired, got a viral infection and was laid up for two months. I took a year's sabbatical in 1992-93, spent it in Berkeley College, in California, where I studied t'ai chi, theology creative spirituality. The germ of the idea probably developed at that point.

"I wanted to do something to help others to be better at what they are doing. It is like everything I have done; it's where I am myself, my own story. I'm a very busy person; because of this, I need to build in quiet and nurturing."

She gets up at a quarter to six each morning and walks, prays and reflects before starting her public day. "This is no heroic venture; if I didn't have that quiet time, I'd have been gone long ago."

The Sanctuary, in Dublin's Stanhope Street, has been open for a year. The half-acre site was part of the original 19th-century noviciate house from where thousands of religious left to work around the world. Today, instead of cloistered corridors and rustling habits, there is the Blue Room, lit by stained-glass windows, its floor full of huge soft cushions, used for workshops and groups.

Beside the Sacred Space is a small circular room with a glass roof for quiet, meditation and prayer. Across the corridor is an art room with the beginnings of a library. There are two treatment rooms, offices, a kitchen and a bathroom.

Outside, an award-winning garden has been designed for peace and harmony. Three gardens in one, it has a movement, floral and contemplative area, its paths laid by inmates from Mountjoy Prison. Last autumn, Brendan Kennelly presented a poetry and spirituality workshop outdoors.

The initiative has been funded mainly by the Irish Sisters of Charity, with Government help through FÁS workers in the construction phase. It is non-profit-making and run by a trust.

Social workers, youth workers, young people and locals are beginning to find their way to the softly coloured rooms in Stanhope Street.

Before Christmas, a group of human-resources managers from Government Departments came to reflect and learn. One was Dymphna Lynch of Area Development Management, a Government initiative to tackle social exclusion.

"The course was great. It came from a completely different angle. I've read a lot on stress and been to other courses; this one concentrated on the self, the present moment, helping us see how we react to stress. The course leader gave us exercises to bring us to the present which I continue to find helpful. The place itself was lovely. I felt really peaceful when I was there.

"The idea of taking such breaks is wonderful; you can be up to your eyes looking after other people, but you also need to listen to yourself and look after yourself. I got a lot."

The centre is hoping to promote more courses in the corporate sector, with employers paying for staff to take time off.

The 2002 programme offers four courses on balancing work and life. "Effective management of life work" is a two-day course, costing €3,174/£2,500 per group or €381/£300 per person.

Two half-day courses, "Nurturing the calm" and "Balancing our lives through awareness and creativity", explore mind and body harmony; "Balance within: understanding personality" helps participants look at their strengths. Half-day courses cost €508/£400 per group or €51/£40 per person.

The centre also runs night courses in yoga, meditation and t'ai chi; its weekend workshops include spirituality and painting, poetry and dance, at a typical cost of €38/£30 per person per day. Individual treatments include a range of massage therapies.

The Sanctuary will also tailor life-work programmes to the needs of specific groups, to help them begin asking questions about the vision and values that guide them, and what changes they would like to make in their lives.

Today's world, says Sister Stan, is not the best place to nurture the balance between body, mind and spirit. "We devote an enormous amount of time and money to caring for the body superficially. We also develop the mind without necessarily reaching its richness. But we neglect the spirit, the soul, whatever you want to call it. Our spirit dictates our whole way of life, and if we don't believe in it, we lose so much and we limit our lives.

"Harmony of body, mind and spirit makes us an integrated human being, makes us whole. It's a way of looking, and affects the way we see, behave and approach everything. You'll still have problems to deal with: this isn't a cop-out. We used to look on prayer as something totally separate from life. This approach is different, it's part of life. People coming here may not be linked to a religious institution or they may be; this is for all religions and none. It is about an opening-up in all of us that will lead us to our own goodness."

She accepts that in the past, a nun promoting yoga and t'ai chi would have been called to ecclesiastical account. "That was nonsense. Eastern religions have so much to teach us, especially in the area of stillness and awareness."

Last year, she released Gardening The Soul, a yearbook of reflections. "I took the theme of the seasons: in winter nothing seems to be happening, but it's all going on underneath the surface. The Sanctuary is a bit like that. People come here and there may be no dramatic change, but something can begin in quiet and carry on. That's the hope."

The Sanctuary is on Stanhope Street, Dublin 7 (01-6705419, e-mail thesanctuary@eircom.net or see www.sanctuary.ie)