Mindful Thoughts and Meditations for Every Day of the Year

Gardening The Soul

Soothing seasonal thoughts for jaded modern souls - New Edition

A new edition of mindful thoughts and meditations for every day of the year.

Even the most convinced cynics will find something in Sister Stan's basic premise: "Take time to live - it's what life is for."

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy was the first religious sister ever to receive an honorary Doctorate in Law from Trinity College, Dublin. She joined the Irish Sisters of Charity in 1958 and has become one of the most influential social innovators of her time. She founded Focus Ireland, the Immigrant Council of Ireland and Young Social Innovators, and established The Sanctuary - a place of peace and meditation set in the heart of Dublin. She has written several bestselling books, including her autobiography The Road Home, Day by Day, Seasons of Hope and To Live from the Heart - meditations on mindfulness. She lives in Dublin.

Sister Stan, as she is affectionately known, was brought up on a farm in Dingle, County Kerry, one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland. It was there that she learnt to appreciate the earth, its stillness and its energy, its beauty and its bounty. 
 
In this hugely powerful and evocative book, Sister Stan looks to the earth that is so precious to our existence for inspiration throughout the year. Reflecting the garden's changing rhythms through the seasons, Gardening the Soul offers us a daily thought to keep us going as we face the challenges of modern life. 
 
All our moods are covered here... 
* in January, when there is silence in the garden, she looks at Solitude in our soul... 
* in March, with emergence in the garden, she offers Hope... 
* in August, when there is fullness and abundance everywhere, there is Blessing, and 
* in October, the time of harvest, there is Harmony 
 
Comforting and insightful, Gardening the Soul is an inspirational daybook of lessons gleaned from the wisdom of nature.

Day By Day

A treasury of meditations on mindfulness to comfort and inspire.

Sister Stan's new book, Day By Day offers words of wisdom that will inspire and comfort you on your journey through life. Thoughtful and reflective, it draws upon some of the most enlightened figures from both the past and the present as it gently guides you through your day. 
 
Also included here are thought-provoking contributions on a range of subjects, including gratitude, belonging, friendship, courage and daring, from influential figures such as Abbott Mark Patrick Hederman, leading psychologist and founder of Headstrong, Dr Tony Bates, poet Brendan Kennelly, and producer/director Lelia Doolan – each helping Sister Stan to create an invaluable treasury for our times.

Mindful Paths To The Sacred

To Live From The Heart

A sacred treasury of prayers and mindful meditations to support and sustain you through good times and bad.

'This is a sacred treasury, a spiritual notebook which is very special to me, and which has touched and inspired me at different times over the years.' 
 
In To Live from the Heart: Mindful Paths to the Sacred, Sister Stan reveals how prayer can play an important part in all our lives, lifting our spirits and offering us hope and support in good times and bad. 
 
This comforting treasury of mindful meditations, prayers, proverbs and essays has helped to sustain Sister Stan through the years. In sharing them with us, she hopes they will nourish our souls, bring us peace on our journey through life, and inspire us to live from the heart.

Seasons of Hope

The follow up to the bestselling Day by Day, Seasons of Hope offers mindful meditations to still the mind and calm the soul

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy was the first religious sister ever to receive an honorary Doctorate in Law from Trinity College, Dublin. She joined the Irish Sisters of Charity in 1958 and has become one of the most influential social innovators of her time. She founded Focus Ireland, the Immigrant Council of Ireland and Young Social Innovators, and established The Sanctuary - a place of peace and meditation set in the heart of Dublin. She has written several bestselling books, including her autobiography The Road Home, Day by Day, a treasury of meditations on mindfulness and Seasons of Hope, mindful meditations to calm the soul. She lives in Dublin.

In Seasons of Hope, the follow up to her bestselling Day by Day, Sister Stan offers words of wisdom to calm the mind and refocus our energies. Through verse and inspirational quotations from many enlightened figures, she offers us a chance to step away from this frantic world – to stop, to look, to think – and be open to new possibilities. 
 
 Also included here are contributions on a range of subjects, such as the gift of life, compassion, meditation and the soul, from influential figures such as writer and playwright, Michael Harding, poets Theo Dorgan and Eavan Boland, and social campaigner, Ruairi McKiernan – each one offering a thought-provoking and unique perspective on our world.

My Journey

The Road Home

An inspiring, thought-provoking memoir which offers a unique insight into the life and work of one of the most influential social activists of our day.

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, or Sister Stan as she is affectionately known, has been described as a visionary and social innovator. Now, in The Road Home she looks back on her life - from her early years growing up on the family farm in the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, to the day when, at the age of eighteen, she made the life-changing decision to become a nun. Inspired by the work of Mother Mary Aikenhead, who founded the Sisters of Charity in 1815, Stan went on to dedicate her life to the service of the poor and to fighting for a fairer, more equal society. 
 
Here, as she reflects on the many challenges she has met, both personal and political, she recalls how she was also inspired by her mentor, Bishop Peter Birch and how, under his guidance she helped to set up an innovative model of community care in Kilkenny - a model that was to become a blueprint for the rest of Ireland. 
 
Over the years Stan also developed into a formidable campaigner and worked tirelessly - sometimes against severe opposition - to establish other immensely influential human rights and social justice agencies, includingFocus Ireland, now the biggest national voluntary organisation for the homeless, Young Social Innovators, a national social justice education programme for young people, and The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI), which supports the rights of migrants and their families and is a catalyst for public debate. In 2000, Stan also founded The Sanctuary - a meditation and spirituality centre in Dublin where, amidst the bustle of city life, people can experience peace, quiet, and the space to explore and develop their inner world. 
 
Inspiring and thought-provoking, this fascinating memoir provides a unique insight into the life and work of one of the most influential social activists of our day, the many political battles she has fought and won, and how, with dogged determination and courage, she has shaped the lives and the fortunes of thousands of people. Quite simply, The Road Home is the remarkable story of a remarkable woman.

the phenomenal instant bestseller perfect for anyone searching for a deeper meaning to life

Now is the Time

Spiritual Reflections

"Take time to live - it's what life is for." 
 
This is an inspiring and thought-provoking work of vision from multi-bestseller Sister Stanislaus Kennedy. A timely and prescient collection of thoughts and reflections, with one central message: we have the time, if we make the choice to take time... 
 
'Even the most convinced cynics will find something in Sister Stan's basic premise' -- Ireland on Sunday 
'Very beautifully written' -- ***** Reader review 
'A book I want to read &amp; reread in order to plumb its depths' -- ***** Reader review 
************************************************************* 
SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS ON TIME FOR EVERYBODY 
 
Now is the Time looks beyond the boundaries of any one faith or church and draws on the great spiritual and philosophical traditions of east and west. 
 
As Sister Stan focuses on a line of poetry from one of the world's great authors, an idea from a psychotherapist or philosopher, or a proverb from oriental wisdom, she weaves her own thoughts around them in a way that presents them afresh, and allows us to see them from a new perspective. 
 
This is book for everyone battling with today's current climate: young or old, male or female, for the converted, the irreligious or plain disaffected. 
 
Reflective, contemplative and spiritual, it is the perfect tonic to our busy and relentless world...

"Take time to live - it's what life is for." 
 
This is an inspiring and thought-provoking work of vision from multi-bestseller Sister Stanislaus Kennedy. A timely and prescient collection of thoughts and reflections, with one central message: we have the time, if we make the choice to take time... 
 
'Even the most convinced cynics will find something in Sister Stan's basic premise' -- Ireland on Sunday 
'Very beautifully written' -- ***** Reader review 
'A book I want to read &amp; reread in order to plumb its depths' -- ***** Reader review 
************************************************************* 
SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS ON TIME FOR EVERYBODY 
 
Now is the Time looks beyond the boundaries of any one faith or church and draws on the great spiritual and philosophical traditions of east and west. 
 
As Sister Stan focuses on a line of poetry from one of the world's great authors, an idea from a psychotherapist or philosopher, or a proverb from oriental wisdom, she weaves her own thoughts around them in a way that presents them afresh, and allows us to see them from a new perspective. 
 
 This is book for everyone battling with today's current climate: young or old, male or female, for the converted, the irreligious or plain disaffected. 
 
Reflective, contemplative and spiritual, it is the perfect tonic to our busy and relentless world...

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy

Stan's words map a way home for all of us. Through them she reaches into that place in our hearts where we are most afraid, and she takes us by the hand. Her words touch the part of us that yearns to belong, to feel alive

In her long-awaited book, Sister Stan draws upon her memories of childhood and the special moments of awareness and mystery which have nourished and enriched her life. 
 
As she offers simple reflections to help us focus on the many gifts and blessings that surround us each day, she helps us to connect to our inner world, and the deep, nurturing silence that lies within.

Sister Stanislaus Kennedy

Praise for Moments of Stillness

Stan's words map a way home for all of us. Through them she reaches into that place in our hearts where we are most afraid, and she takes us by the hand. Her words touch the part of us that yearns to belong, to feel ...

Books by Sister Stanislaus Kennedy

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