ABSTRACT Purpose: To validate if mindfulness practices contribute to increase the perception of clarity of the own professional sense of purpose. Originality/value: The research shows synergy of mindfulness practices with metacognitive reflections based on Otto Scharmer's Theory U attention modes, increasing the perception of authenticity in the statements defining the own professional sense of purpose. Design/methodology/approach: This is an exploratory, prospective intervention study, with pre and post-intervention data collection. Data collection was carried out with organizational professionals who voluntarily participated in the proposed course in the cities of São Paulo and Ribeirão Preto, in Brazil. Findings: The proposed educational program improved the perception in relation to the "meaning in life at work", "greater purpose in the work", "meaning in life" in general, the "satisfactory purpose in life" and the "level of mindfulness". We also concluded that mindfulness practices are synergistic with metacognitive reflections based on Theory U attention modes, providing a greater perception of clarity, focus and authenticity regarding the sense of purpose statements.
Background: Only a small number of articles have investigated the relationship between mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and biomarkers. The aim of this systematic review was to study the effect of MBIs on specific biomarkers (cytokines, neuropeptides and C-reactive protein (CRP)) in both healthy subjects and cancer patients. Methods: A search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and the Cochrane library between 1980 and September 2016. Results: A total of 13 studies with 1110 participants were included. In the healthy population, MBIs had no effect on cytokines, but were found to increase the levels of the neuropeptide insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). With respect to neuropeptide Y, despite the absence of post-intervention differences, MBIs may enhance recovery from stress. With regard to CRP, MBIs could be effective in lower Body Mass Index (BMI) individuals. In cancer patients, MBIs seem to have some effect on cytokine levels, although it was not possible to determine which specific cytokines were affected. One possibility is that MBIs might aid recovery of the immune system, increasing the production of interleukin (IL)-4 and decreasing interferon gamma (IFN-gamma). Conclusions: MBIs may be involved in changes from a depressive/carcinogenic profile to a more normalized one. However, given the complexity and different contexts of the immune system, and the fact that this investigation is still in its preliminary stage, additional randomized controlled trials are needed to further establish the impact of MBI programmes on biomarkers in both clinical and non-clinical populations. ; Instituto de Salud Carlos III of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness ; Network for Prevention and Health Promotion in primary Care from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain) ; European Union ERDF funds ; Aragon Hlth Sci Inst IACS, Zaragoza, Spain ; Showa Univ, Dept Psychiat, Sch Med, Tokyo, Japan ; Primary Care Prevent & Hlth Promot Res Network RE, Barcelona, Spain ; Univ Zaragoza, Miguel Servet Univ Hosp, Dept Psychiat, Zaragoza, Spain ; Univ Zaragoza, Fac Social & Human Sci, Dept Psychol & Sociol, Teruel, Spain ; Fed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Prevent Med, Mente Aberta Brazilian Ctr Mindfulness & Hlth Pro, Sao Paulo, Brazil ; Hosp Israelita Albert Einstein, Sao Paulo, Brazil ; Univ Zaragoza, Fac Hlth Sci & Sports, Huesca, Spain ; Univ Balearic Isl, Res Inst Hlth Sci IUNICS, Palma De Mallorca, Spain ; Fed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Prevent Med, Mente Aberta Brazilian Ctr Mindfulness & Hlth Pro, Sao Paulo, Brazil ; Instituto de Salud Carlos III of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness: PI13/01637 ; Network for Prevention and Health Promotion in primary Care from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain): RD12/0005 ; Web of Science
