Mindfulness is examined from a cultural-psychological perspective, arguing that its need arises from conflicts between personal fantasms (private needs, goals, wants, wishes) and community myths (e.g., the imperative to work hard to be a good citizen). Drawing on E.E. Boesch's theory and an autoethnographic account, the paper shows that mindfulness can alter one's hierarchy of fantasms and one's stance toward a community myth. This transformative role for individuals and groups is further illustrated through analysis of Hermann Hesse's glass bead game. The work provides a theoretical and historical analysis rather than an empirical intervention study.
The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage activates Maslow's Being values (B-values)—wholeness, interconnectedness, and harmony—through culturally situated, liminal practices. Analysis of 32 pilgrim travelogues revealed themes of unity, clarity, and self-transcendence aligning with peak experiences. A survey of 501 pilgrims found over 60% reported experiencing interconnectedness, highlighting shared walking rituals, sacred landscapes, and narrative reflection as key. B-values emerge as culturally co-constructed rather than purely individual, bridging humanistic and cultural psychology and reframing self-actualization as relational and embodied.