Dear Taimyo Sisteres & Brothers:

From Omaha Beach, we send you lots of sunlight and good energy–and welcome hearing from you as well–
-Linda

To share with you a great moment of practicing, meditating for peace and Joy in the world
-Francoise

Enjoying the relationship with the nature and the others members, enjoying the free movements of the body, playing with the wind and the waves…
-Benedict

I was worried about coming here because of the history of this place. I actually found that the beauty of nature was more important than the human horror. To practice Taimyo is to be in the here and now.
I have thanked all those men and women who suffered.
-Nathalie.

Thanks to you, concentrating my consciousness on the waves, I could express my gratefulness to American people, here, on Omaha Beach, for freeing us; Also, after 2006 kangeiko in fort Mahon, you helped me open my body and soul to Ten all around above and below through Taymio kata; thank you Ito to invite me to let it go with the flo(w)
-Flo(w).

It was so rich to feel my friends all over the Shintaido world, there on the beach where many of the people of our countries died (american, canadian, english, norway, german) in the terror.
Since yesterday our first practice, the sun is blue, the ocean is peaceful and the wind blows but nicely enough to feel good and alive. I wish Mr. Dick Olton could have been physically with us. It is not possible for me not to bow in front of the sculpture monument of Omaha beach, a bow of big respect.
Nicole

Reaching Ten through Chi… The horizon through tide… Victory through defeat — we can take care of ourselves, now : Thank You very much!!
-Patrick

To fight for freedom….. The waves of the see, the strength of nature… one tide after the other bringing a new clean beach, a new world…..the immense peace inside and outside…..the power coming from outside as well as from within…… I cant connect and make sense of all those feelings yet, but I know they bring some truth about life, about death, and about what we are meant to do and to be on this earth. Thank you Ito for guiding us through this journey where we try to raise our consciousness and reconcile our hearts, our minds and our souls with the actual world around us.
-Jean-Louis

Hello Ito-sensei, hello Nicole,

I am writing in French because I am not confident in my poor English and I would like neither to distort expressions nor to be unable to express fully my thoughts.

First of all thank you very much for gathering us in this beautiful place. In a way it was difficult for me to think about those who landed there and those who awaited them… I did not want to think about life and death in such a brutal way ; I have rather concentrated my thoughts very intensely on images of rebuilding, of nature regenerating itself, “the healing power of Mother Nature” as Ito said, of unification, redemption, and repair.

This notion of repair is currently at the center of my thoughts and the practice we did at this particular place, with you, then the discussions, listening to Ito-sensei, are very important at this particular moment in my life.
To accept to repair is also to take risk.

Echoes of this week-end will keep resonating a long time for each of us.
I hope that you are doing well and I thank you again for your benevolent presence and for sharing again and always your joyful serenity.

See you soon!
Benedict
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Dear Ito,
We enjoy very much to practice taimyo kata with Valerie Kuntz, my love, and Jean-Marc a good friend. It was a wonderful time on th�・ beach of Le Touquet in th�・ north of France : blue sky, soft wind and beautifull light on th�・ wawes. All thinks seems to be quiet like my heart.
Thank’s to this nice idea of making taimyo kata for peace and meditation on death and life.
Best regard, Serge.
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Dear Ito,

It fills my heart to read all these deeply felt expressions of personal experience of Taimyo on OmahaBeach! The messages are full of affirmations of healing & finding beauty, transforming the memory of suffering. You know how much I wanted to be there with you. It turned out to be wise not to try, because unfortunately I was quite ill for a few days. But I swear I felt the energy of all of you as I did Taimyo here at home on Saturday & Sunday. Because I was sick I could not gather a group this year, but it was a healing practice even so. From my upstairs room I can see the water of Saratoga Passage, which helped me visualize being with you all at Omaha Beach. By Sunday–yesterday–my own tide began to turn & I began to feel light entering again.

Love & light to all of you, & gratitude for your gathering on Omaha Beach. Paula

—

Blessings
Chloe

We have fallen into the place where
EVERYTHING IS MUSIC!

Gamble everything for love
if you are a true human being

A Year with Rumi, Coleman Barks
Harper San Fransisco

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Dear Ito-sensei
I am leaving in a few minutes to take the trains to the ferry to
Cherbourg to try my best to return to Omaha Beach.

The year started with Jennifer’s meditations–which connected very
strongly to your meditation at Easter. That’s partly why I came,
because it seemed so clearly you were inviting me to part 2. I don’t
know why I have to return again now to the beach–I tried to talk
myself out of it–but then I read my notes from the beach and know that that’s where I’m going.

Don’t know if I’ll have access to a computer, so thought I’d check in.

I do have my first description of finding the rusted hulk of a ship
during sunrise/meditation on Easter Monday. I will fix it up a little
and send it to you.

The practice I did on the beach 2 days after everyone left took me into
touch with death, and not at all in a fearsome way.

I want you to know the light I experienced on awakening this
week–though words seem inadequate–did relate to death, as you
surmised in your email.

And if this is a true connection, and I completely trust that it is,
death is very beautiful. It is very much about life.

Thank you, Ito-sensei, for inviting us to join your Easter practice.
I need to get going:)
Linda