You can't think of anything new or original. Everything you come up with seems mediocre and bland (old hat). For those of you who are suffering from just this type of torment, there is something you really should try; making effective use of the right side of your brain. Makoto Shichida, one of the foremost authorities of right brain training, says "Everyone is born with potential talent inside their right brain; it's just that most people don't make use of it." Shichida adds, "If you learn to use the innate potential hidden away in your right brain, even to a small degree, you'll have inspired ideas and concepts just rolling out."

The right brain, which is known as the imaging brain, is most active when you are in a relaxed state. Everyone has had the experience of being faced with a problem and thinking really hard to find an answer, only to find that nothing is forthcoming. And it’s when you sit back and relax that you suddenly become inspired and a great idea surfaces. This is a process advocated by Shichida that he has dubbed "inspiration training."

1. It probably isn't necessary to add titles, such as Mr. or Mrs., in articles such as this. Occasionally, in special cases, we use titles such as Dr., but this isn't so common.
2. "Everyone" is probably a better choice here.
3. The simple present tense is better here.
4. I think specifying the ability using "that" works better here.
5. It's hard to tell if the work "little" is attached to "learn" or "use"
6. This term is correct in meaning, but the tone is too casual for this type of article.
7. Perhaps the word "described" is more appropriate here.
8. Why do you want to use the imperative form here?
9. I think "in which" or "where" fit better here.
10. I think the tense is wrong here – should be past tense because the rest of the sentence is in the past tense.

1. Kind of a strange word. What do you mean by a "square" idea?
2. Usually, it isn't necessary to add a title; also, does the article specify that this person is a doctor?
3. Article "the" isn't necessary.
4. You should probably take out the article or specify what kind of potential you are talking about (otherwise, you can’t use the definite article)
5. Is it clear who "them" is referring to?
6. Has it been established what potential you are talking about? What exactly do you mean by "potential ability"?
7. Do you mean to say that potential ability is developed inside the right brain (右脳の中)?
8. This needs commas because it sounds like there are two choices; the right brain or the image brain.
9. Do you mean one of the brain's sides is relaxed?
10. Wrong tense; should probably be "felt"
11. Because "inspiration training" has not yet been defined, you shouldn't use the definite article.

1. What do you mean by "straight"?
2. Is the basic idea here about enhancing the development of the right brain or making more effective use of the right brain?
3. What is the reason you are able to specifically give Shichida this title? Also, providing titles isn't usually needed when writing this type of article.
4. Is he an authority on right brain education or training? I don't really think we can educate the brain.
5. I think "also referred to.." or "…often referred to" works better here.
6. You need the definite article here; "…as the image brain", although I think "imaging brain" may sound better.
7. I'm afraid this sentence is a bit of a mess. It's pretty hard to follow. You may want to read the other translations to see how the class members tackled this sentence.
8. combination of a color filter with microcavities に変更。
9. I think the concept here is "inspiration" training, not "brainstorming" training.

1. "Have" is probably a better word here.
2. I think "Anyone who has…" works better here.
3. The article "a" isn't necessary here.
4. This phrase is a bit strange because it sounds like you want to say that coming up with uninspiring ideas is your goal.
5. I don't quite understand what this means here.
6. This word may be out of place here. By using it, you are saying the you will be describing the method in the next sentence, but you don't. So you should probably say something like "…should do the following:"
7. The construction of your sentence makes it a bit difficult to use the format. The sentence would be smoother if you said "…should do the following: making effective use of …"
8. It isn't generally necessary to use titles in this type of article unless the title plays some important explanatory role.
9. Is this the right word or would "training" be more accurate?
10. I think the Japanese original just mentions that the right brain is called the image brain; there is no mention of how the right brain works.
11. This segment is a bit confusing. Do you want to say that we need to tackle the idea after we struggle? Or do we fail to come up with an idea when we try too hard?
12. The connection of "giving up and getting relaxed" isn’t quite clear. What are we giving up and how does this contribute to our becoming relaxed?
13. Was the idea truly developed by Shichida or does he just recommend it? Is this made clear in the article?

1. I believe you can lament something, but you can't lament yourself. Perhaps this would sound better if you said, "Do you criticize yourself for having a poor…"
2. I think it would be better to say "…have a poor imagination" and to also add an article "…a stereotyped mindset"
3. This segment feels a bit choppy and hard to follow. It may sound a bit smoother if you say something like "…mindset that is incapable of coming up with something new?"
4. Is this person an education guru or a guru of a training method?
5. Does Shichida come right out and say that we all have creative abilities in our right brains or does he say our right brain has the potential for creativity?
6. This may be going a bit too far. Is this gift really marvellous?
7. We tend to say "taking a load off our shoulders" rather than "strain."
8. Does the method push "intuition" or "inspiration" with regard to the training?
9. Actually, "preaching" doesn't have a very good nuance. You may want to say "advocate" if you are writing a neutral or favorable article.
10. The word "about" isn't necessary.

● 出にくい知恵を絞る
rack one's brain for … (casual expression, almost slang)
Ex. I racked my brain in vain to understand the new taxation system. Let's rack our brain.

● 七田眞氏
おそらく Dr.であろうことは想像されるが、テキストには「氏」とあるのみ。欧米のカルチャーでは、Makoto Shichida とだけ書いて必ずしもいわゆる「呼び捨て」の失礼にはならない。

身分、性別あるいは女性の未婚や既婚が明らかでない場合、参考訳では Makoto Shichida とし、その後は Shichida で統一する。

ビジネス上の手紙の場合、最初の名前にはタイトルをつける。日本人の名前は外国人には分かりにくいので、下記のようにすれば親切になる。
Sincerely,
Toshie Iwata (Mrs.)

親しい人どうしは一般にファーストネームで呼び合う。
最近、日本人でも苗字を先に書く人が増えているが、欧米人には馴染まない。欧米人宛に手紙など出す場合、欧米人の流儀に合わせるほうが早く理解してもらえる。

● どんどん出てきます
You'll have inspired ideas and concepts just rolling out.

"More and more" is an expression that is very Japanese.
"One after another" or "an abundance of" puts a cap for certain limitations.

● リラックス
sit back and relax

● ひらめきトレーニング
inspiration training

intuition はトレーニングの対象にならない（霊感、女の直感、第六感など）。
"Inspiration" generally has a source. It needs to have seeds. It can be inspired by intuition.

▲ 原文の問題
・右脳教育
right brain education : 右脳を活用した教育
right brain training  : 右脳訓練
原文には「右脳訓練」でなく「右脳教育」とあり、訓練の実践が「至って簡単」であるならば七田氏の場合は教育と考えるのが自然。

・発想がどんどん
「斬新な発想が」とでもして、よからぬ発想などと区別する必要がある。

This training is quite simple. To activate the right brain, you first put yourself into a relaxed state through meditation and breathing by using the abdominal muscles just below your navel. While you are going through this process, you create a mental image of yourself achieving success in your work. It isn't necessary to think in great detail of how to achieve this success; the most important thing is to create an image of yourself succeeding. Try this for a few minutes every night before you go to sleep. When you wake up the next morning, a concrete idea or method will pop into your mind.

Shichida continues, "What is important is that you should always think through your problems to the best of your abilities. And if this fails, let your right brain, which is relaxed, to do the thinking for you. When you wake up in the morning, the answer will be waiting there for you." However, it goes without saying that ideas come only to those who, as a course of habit, make every effort to work out a solution.

1. This feels a bit odd. Who is doing the "keeping you"? This should probably be something like "…it is necessary that you remain in a …"
2. Since you are using italics for the Japanese and the entire phrase isn't the name of the exercise, the quotation marks are not necessary.
3. The meaning is fine; it just sounds a bit odd using the same type of word. Maybe you could say something like "Then visualize an image…"
4. A tense problem here. This should probably be ".. that you will succeed in your job."
5. This word means "後継者".
6. Is this about achieving your success or is it about coming up with an idea?
7. Probably should be "wake up"
8. Just using the person's last name is fine. You don't need "Mr."
9. This segment doesn't quite flow right. Maybe it should start out as "And when your thinking does not produce an answer, then you should ask your right brain…"
10. This doesn't sound right; it sounds really Japanese.

1. Perhaps you should give a brief explanation of what Tanden is (is Tanden the medical name or a yoga name of the area under the navel?)
2. A good job with regard to what?
3. Does the Japanese text specify that you should do this "right" before going to bed?
4. Unnecessary
5. I think that something like "…according to Shichida" works better here.
6. I don't understand what this means.
7. The tone of this idiom is not the same as the rest of the article; it's too colloquial.
8. A little odd for a choice of words. Perhaps "come up with" is better here.
9. This is a bit too strong. A more casual word, such as "thinking hard" or "concentrating", may fit better.
10. I think "…you have been searching for" works better here.

1. You "put" yourself in a relaxed state.
2. See remarks above.
3. Are you saying that there is a meditation exercise? This construction attaches the word “exercise” to both meditation and breathing.
4. This feels a bit odd. You perform the abdominal breathing in your room. You breathe using the muscles in the spot just below your navel.
5. This word is often used by children.
6. This word probably isn't necessary.
7. This feels incomplete. Perhaps you should say "You do not need to think about the details of how you got there…"
8. This should be "yourself"
9. Since you mention “Before falling asleep” at the beginning of the sentence, saying this at the end is redundant.
10. This presents a paradox, because later in the sentence you say that the idea doesn't come soon, but rather the next morning.
11. The meaning of "you have" isn't clear to me.
12. The preposition isn't necessary.
13. Title isn't necessary.
14. What do you mean by "digging"? Do you mean thinking through?

1. While this is a good phrase and generally acceptable, you have to decide if the tone of the article is correct for the overall feel of the article. Is it perhaps too colloquial?
2. Is this segment important to the understanding of the article, or does it add too much information?
3. I'm a bit confused. Is tanden a part of the body or an actual breathing method?
4. I think "imagine" is a better word here.
5. I think you should mention "..the details of how you can do it…"
6. The article "the" isn't necessary here.
7. Here, the article "the" is needed; "…get up the next morning."
8. This is a very nice phrase . It works quite well.
9. Same as before; you need the definite article here.
10. Is the commitment important or is the effort normally put into doing the task important?

1. If you use this form in this sentence, the previous segment needs to be in quotation marks because you are quoting what Shichida said.
2. This sounds redundant. A key is important, so basically this just repeats itself.
3. This sounds a bit odd. We breathe using the muscles of the abdominal wall; we don't breathe through the abdominal wall.
4. This should be "your"
5. Do you want to emphasize that the idea will come the next morning or some unknown morning in the far future?
6. Does the right brain work to solve the problem while you are relaxed, or because you are relaxed?
7. Be careful of using this phrase because it has two opposing meanings: one meaning is the same as the one you are using (although this usage is in the minority); the other more commonly used form means that you are too busy and can give no time at all. For example, "He could spare no time to look after his sick wife."

● 丹田
abdominal muscles just below your navel

Think how much information you should put into the translation. Too much info would be useless.

▲ 原文の問題
・翌朝起きた時
毎日寝る前に数分行うのだから、アイデアがパッと浮かぶのは翌朝より後の朝になる。

Yoshihide Takahata, a sports psychologist who has worked with a number of athletes, maintains that the balance between the workings of the left brain and the right brain is the key.

According to Takahata, "If the connection between the left brain and right brain is boosted, information that passes through the eyes in the form of images can be transformed into concrete plans. For example, I might look at a falling leaf as it flutters to the ground. This could inspire me to incorporate the movement into the training regime for an athlete. A good balance between the two sides of the brain can keep your mind flexible and open to inspiration."

So, how can we achieve a well-balanced brain? One thing you can try is the next time you read a book, don’t just read the words printed on the page, try to transform the contents into images. If you are too busy to read a book, read the advertisements hanging inside the train. Think about what was written on the ads and try to transform the contents into images.

1. This sounds a bit odd. Generally, when you put this adjective in front of someone, it means the person is crazy; for example, a mental patient is a person in a psychiatric hospital.
2. I think this needs to be "keeping"
3. Tense is wrong; should be "sees".
4. This should be set up as a conditional, so "if" is better.
5. Do you want to say "will be able to" or just "should be able to…"
6. Wrong article; should be "the".
7. This feels redundant because "enhances" means "more".
8. A person doesn't have more than one brain.
9. Is this the right concept? Do we trace words?
10. Probably should be "is".
11. Should this be plural?

1. This sounds a bit odd. Generally, when you put this adjective in front of someone, it means the person is crazy; for example, a mental patient is a person in a psychiatric hospital.
2. This should be a hyphenated word.
3. Is this guaranteed? Maybe this should be "might" or "could think…"?
4. Are you talking about the 登場人物 or 漢字? This is a bit confusing in English; perhaps you should say "words"?
5. Are you talking about the 登場人物 or 漢字? This is a bit confusing in English; perhaps you should say "words"?
6. Is this the correct word? I've never heard of it.

1. This may not be the best word here. The right brain doesn’t interlock with the left brain; it interacts with it, perhaps.
2. See earlier comment about titles.
3. This sounds a bit odd. Generally, when you put this adjective in front of someone, it means the person is crazy; for example, a mental patient is a person in a psychiatric hospital.
4. This should probably be "…who counsels many athletes."
5. The article isn't needed here.
6. The meaning of "materialize" isn't clear here. Do you mean "visualize"?
7. What exactly is a formal proposal and how does it relate to the rest of the sentence?
8. You see the leaf falling; not a scene of a leaf falling.
9. This segment should read "How can you improve…"
10. This segment may flow more smoothly if you say "One way you can do this is.."
11. Reversing the word order here makes this part flow more naturally.
12. Do you mean the characters in the book (i.e. people appearing in the book?) or do you mean the words? (using the word characters here is probably not a good idea because English doesn't have the concept of characters; only words.)
13. Does the Japanese mention magazine advertisements?
14. Since this is speaking in general terms, the plural form works better;
15. See earlier comment.

1. See earlier comment.
2. This sounds a bit odd. Generally, when you put this adjective in front of someone, it means the person is crazy; for example, a mental patient is a person in a psychiatric hospital.
3. This sounds redundant.
4. Are you saying that people have more than one brain?
5. Not really the plot. I think the emphasis is on the words or text.
6. This may should smoother if you say "You say you are too busy to read…"
7. What is a wall ad?

1. This current structure is a bit hard to follow. This segment may read more smoothly if you change the word order around. For example, "He notes that you are more creative when the left brain works more integrally with the right brain." or "He notes that you are more creative when the left and right brain hemispheres work more closely together."
2. It isn't very clear what the word "that" refers to.
3. I think the idea is of a leaf fluttering to the ground, not just up in the air.
4. Do you want to say definitely that this will happen? Or should you just say that it "may" happen?
5. Since you used "think" earlier, the sentence may sound more interesting if you chose a different word here.
6. I would move this to the end of the sentence.
7. Does the Japanese original say that the concepts are abstract? Or does the Japanese basically just say that the words should be put into images?
8. Should we visualize the contents of the book or visualize contents similar to those found in the book? If you use "like those" in this sentence, it changes the context.
9. Is it necessary to specify this as being "your" book?
10. This should be "following".
11. You can say "create an image" or "imagine".
12. Why is this the possessive form?

○ メンタルトレーナー
mental something は可、mental someone は不可。

○ 文字を追う
charactersやlettersよりsentences、words、text。
とくに characters は登場人物になる。

○ 吊り広告
ads in the train がキーであって、これのみ書けば電車の中のどこにあってもよい。
ただし、on the train だと「電車に関する広告」になる可能性がある。
「広告」にはadvertisementがよいが、具体的には poster、flyer、panel などがある。

● 余談「ひきこもり」
日本におけるこの現象はrecluse。
アメリカでは子供の自立が早い。しかし「舞い戻り」の例も多い。
糖尿病を誘発する couch potato の次の段階では nesting（巣篭もり、巣作り）という現象が復活している。