I am delighted to have this chance to meet you through these pages.
I am Toyokichi Taike, author of Flow of Consciousness—Together with Albert. I am truly pleased that Arigatō has been published as a companion volume to Flow of Consciousness.
For about twenty years, through seminars and my writings, I have shared the message that human beings are not the physical body, but consciousness—existing eternally. Ms. Kayo Shiokawa, author of Arigatō, is a living testament to that truth.
I especially hope that those seeking answers to questions such as the following will read this book at least once:
Ms. Shiokawa is by no means an extraordinary person. In the present moment, she has encountered the world of true vibrations, and she has come to a firm conviction that her own being is in the midst of a Copernican revolution—from the physical body to consciousness. She continues to take steady steps toward the truth of the world of consciousness.
I see her as a companion who continually radiates the vibration of joy, and I believe you will feel that same vibration through this book. I hope you will read it, and begin the practice of looking into your own heart. This book explains clearly what you can discover when you look within, and how to go about doing so.
Truth can only be understood with the heart. It can never be grasped by the intellect. And truth is something that should be accessible to anyone—regardless of age or gender.
Yet, in reality, the world is full of people who, without knowing the truth, are steeped in desire, unaware that their ego towers above everything else, and convinced that they are wonderful, that they are right, and that they are never wrong.
Now is the turning point. Cherish the eternal now. Meet your true self. Discover your real nature. And, like the author, be able to say with confidence to yourself: "My life is happy."
May you live your life to the fullest, able to say from your heart:
"I'm glad I was born. Thank you, Mother."
"Life has been joy."
"More than anything, I'm grateful to have met my true self."
"Even death was joy."
"Thank you—truly, thank you."
August 2006
Tomekichi Taike