I was watching TV today - something I don't do too often, the time I have is spent writing this diary, looking after the kids, working, or thinking about how to factorise integers using pulse coupled oscillators - what a fascinating life I must lead - don't you wish you were me?

The article was about a movement in some schools to teach (what they described as) a brain training technique - mindfulness. Being a bit of a lapsed Buddhist I've encountered this before, right-mindfulness being one of the elements of 'The Noble Eightfold Path' a practice to develop awareness of the here and now. I'm not overly familiar with this as an educational technique and I hope the idea has been properly evaluated - I have an inherent distrust of psychology and can see that incorrectly applied it has the power to do more harm than good.

I got to thinking whether introducing a mindful eating programme would be a good idea here? The general plan would be to sit eating silently in quiet reflection. Slowly chewing our food, concentrating on how the texture feels in our mouths. Tasting, dispassionately, every mouthful, not judging whether the taste is good or bad but whether it is salty, sour, sweet. We could perhaps do a little meditating beforehand, to get our minds in a calm and receptive state. Half way through we could pause for a moment to consider our seating position, backs straight, face and shoulders relaxed, breathing calm and fluid. We could even chant something in Pali to keep us alert.

Could we bollocks.