"35. 1) up 2) in 3) down 4) back Mindfulness   Have you ever driven somewhere and realised when you arrived that you couldn’t really remember 30______ there was on the…

"35. 1) up 2) in 3) down 4) back Mindfulness   Have you ever driven somewhere and realised when you arrived that you couldn’t really remember 30______ there was on the journey? Or have you ever eaten a whole packet of biscuits when you were planning to only have one? Or have you stayed up much later than you planned, or even all night, watching ‘just one more’ episode of a TV series? All of these are examples of mindlessness.   It is when we are mindful 31_______ we are more conscious of our thoughts, our actions and what is happening around us. We might notice a beautiful sunset or really listen carefully to what a friend is saying. For most people life is getting busier and busier. The 32_______ reason why we always have something to do and there isn’t much opportunity to just ‘be’ is technology. People are often doing two or three things at the same time: texting while watching TV, or even looking at their phone while walking along the pavement. People are working longer hours and bringing work home. All this can make us stressed, and it is 33______ mindfulness became a way of reducing this stress. A very simple technique that you could try right now is to close your eyes for a couple of minutes and count how many sounds you 34_______ notice. Another technique is to focus on a piece of food. Instead of eating it without thinking, slow 35________. Look carefully at it and think of how it feels in your fingers. Smell it. Only then start to eat it, paying attention to how it tastes. 36________ of these techniques force you to focus on the present moment, and there are plenty of other ideas you can find online if you want to try mindfulness for yourself. "