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CNN Sunday Morning

Centuries-Old Technique to Deal With Stress

Aired September 01, 2002 - 07:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: In today's hectic world, stress is everywhere. And for many of us, the noise of that stress can be deafening. Photo journalist Brian Kasisky introduces us to some folks who have discovered a centuries old technique to conquer it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN KASISKY, CNN PHOTO JOURNALIST: There will be times where I fell like I'm pulled and three, four different directions. The job is pulling me one way. The family with -- I've got three young children. So that means soccer games, baseball games, after school activities or just being there for the children. I think that's important is just spending time with them. And then of course, my marriage. I'm not doing anything very well. I'm juggling a lot of balls and feel like I'm not juggling any of them very well.

MARTHA HAUSER, EXECUTIVE RECRUITER: Like probably most of us, I often feel that I have too much to worry about for one person. I'm a mother. You know, I have a hectic career. And sometimes I do feel like there's just not time to even stop and think or reflect about where you are in your life.

BOB FITZGERALD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SAND SPRINGS, GA: When we talk about a silent retreat, the silence is just quieting, solitude, letting the static leave our head. And that's the idea of retreat. The silence in a retreat is to be able to listen to God.

One of the things we discover in a retreat is that we are very much spirit, as well as we are body. There's clearly a spiritual spirit part of us. That has very little to do with the reality of belonging to one church or another church, one religion or another religion.

KASISKY: It was a little unnerving, a little scary not knowing what it was going to be like, because the world we live in, we're so used to talking all the time. It's rare that we have any extended periods of time of silence.

HAUSER: I was terrified. I thought how will I spend three days without saying anything? because I talk all the time at work and at home. If I feel like I'm either talking or listening to someone all the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An important part of the retreat is it helps you get realigned, take stock of what are your priorities? You know, God, family, career. HAUSER: It is life altering when you suddenly realize that how much I needed to be able to pull away and sort of step out of what is the breadth of my everyday life. The people I'm communicating with is in a variety of ways, every second. And there's an expectation about, you know, us communicating back.

KASISKY: Most people like me spent -- spend the vast majority of your time inside, either at an office or your house or wherever. And so, we've become somewhat disconnected with nature. And what I love about the Ignatius House is I try and spend as much time as I can outside, either staring off into space or watching a bird fly in the air and being as free as can be, and saying, you know, that's what I need to be. I need to just let go of the burdens that are weighing me down, hand them over to God and just try and be as free as that bird that's flying in the air.

HAUSER: Most of us are pretty smart. We have a lot of answers to things already inside of ourselves. But sometimes we can't listen to ourselves because we are so distracted by our lives and all the -- you know, and all the things going on in them.

FITZGERALD: You're here to be a human being, not a human doing. And that's what we really encourage people to do during the retreat. Just to be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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