Multiple personality, manic-depressive psychosis, psychosomatic disorder. I see not a few people visiting my clinic suffering from these mental problems that I would call a case of “common cold,” in the sense that common cold is literally quite common among many people.　Encountering such patients reminds me of Carl Jung’s view on synchronicity and makes me think seriously of their problems as if they were my own, and realize the need to know more about my own life itself.

So, I bought about five books written by Dr. Hayao Kawai, my favorite clinical psychologist. Even just touching his books thrills me. It is as if my excitement is immediately detected by somebody. Dr. Kawai is an expert at exploring the unconscious. He takes us even deeper beyond the unconscious, I should say.

Suppose there is a borderline between the conscious and the unconscious, it must be very narrow and feeble in cases of the people who are susceptible to the chronic mental problems which I likened to common cold as above. For such people, if anything vicious invades their conscious, it may affect their unconscious as well and cause mental disturbance in many ways.

By the way, for 400 days since November 2011, I’ve been blogging on this homepage what I would call “poems” describing honest reflections of my thought. The responses of my readers are astonishing, because so many of them say they cannot help crying as they read what I write. Some even say they stop reading my poems not to be moved to tears so much.

Why and how do my poems impact the minds of the readers so much? Maybe it is the state of “frailty” of the border between the conscious and unconscious that causes the mental confusion or turbulence in their minds. Honestly, writing these poems is an outlet of my mental stress I beg to be forgiven by real poets for making this remark, but I think poetry is something that is born out of the stress that seeks to rise into the conscious mind from the unconscious.

What I want to say is that as long as the border between the conscious and the unconscious is strong and stout enough, crossing back and forth between the two realms is nothing so difficult. In other words, there is no serious risk involved in looking into and searching the unconscious minds.

Maybe what I say here is just based on my own conjecture. But I wish to be allowed to conclude that strengthening the border between the conscious and the unconscious is a way to develop the potentiality of those who suffer from psychosomatic disorders.

No matter how late I finish my work of the day, I seldom break the habit of taking a walk. That is because I always tell my patients to take a walk, saying, “Let’s take a walk at ease.” This is a case of practicing what one preaches.

At first, I was not much interested or thought I would take much interest in the simple job of just walking, so it is a kind of surprise to myself that I am still in the habit of taking daily walks. My bicycle has been left alone so long that its tires are all flat.

Taking a walk is a way of maintaining good health advised by my mentor to all his patients, too. Taking a walk at ease enhances the flow of the force of our spirit and gives good training to the bottom half of our body.

I once watched a US TV documentary program sponsored by a university in New York presenting the practice of walking as its theme. To summarize, its conclusion was that walking helps to get rid of pessimistic emotions and useless worries that are all taken over by some excellent ideas and thoughts.

A medical doctor also says that walking requires the use of 70 percent of our whole body muscles, enhances the function of the heart and lungs, stabilizes the blood pressure and
vitalizes the brains.

Mr. Yukio Ozaki, who was looked up to as champion of constitutional government would often say, “A good walker wins in life.” He himself was no exception and despite feeble health in his childhood did serve as a member of the Lower House until he turned 95 years old and made history in Japanese politics. Obviously his walking custom helped him achieve the miracle.

Among my patients I see quite a few people these days who think too much with their head without being able to have their mind keep step with what they think. These people tend to feel irritated or jumpy, especially as the season gets chilly and cold and