There is a very high probability that, as you go through today, you will discover that you're not where you think you are. You may be sitting in a meeting whilst thinking about something or somewhere totally unrelated.

Therefore, get into the habit - a good habit beats mindlessness any day - of momentarily stopping what you're doing and asking yourself where you are. What state of mind am I in? How do I feel? How does it feel to really be where I am right now?

Focus is further cultivated by every small step that we take.

You may recollect, two weeks ago, that I mentioned that a recent French Government Report had concluded that 600,000,000 euros are wasted every year in France as a result of what the report described as 'irrelevant minor regulations".

Well, hard on the heels of that report, my local doctor tells me that she has to find new premises by March 31st - she was informed last week by Government edict that all medical facilities must be in "professional buildings" - and that her long-established practice (including an X-Ray facility and theatre for setting broken bones) is no longer appropriate becase, and I quote "the facility has the resemblance of a private dwelling".

The more I think about it, the more I'm coming to the opinion that the legislators should not be turning their attention to doctors at all... it's a psychiatrist that they need!

Neuro-psychology tells us that neural pathways within the brain wither and die without use. As we begin to specialize our activities in early life - for example, we are all born with a multi-lingual ear but very quickly specialize in our mother tongue - some of the neural highways in our mind become redundant. We may lose up to fifty percent of our neural connections during our early years.

At the same time research has shown that active use of a particular part of the brain actually contributes to a building of new neural networks and even a growth in brain size. The classic 2001 study of London Cabbies' hippocampi confirmed that, because of the manner in which taxi drivers in London must learn 'The Knowledge' (how to get from any A to any B using any number of routes) their hippocampus was up to 50% larger than normal - and the longer they were taxi drivers, the larger the hippocampus.

Now, Canadian research has demonstrated that deep stimulation of the brain, using electrodes, can have the same effect - with possibly major medical consequences in the field of Alzheimers.

The point I would make though is that you don't need electrodes plunged into your brain. You can stimulate yourself. In 2000, Maunsell & McAdams confirmed that parts of the brain that are never otherwise activated literally light up when we hit a natural high. The same effect is experienced when we meditate - because meditation focuses the mind in the same way as a natural high.

So stimulate yourself - take control of your mind. Rejuvenate your brain. Take charge of your own mental health.