Metamodernism Is Not That Complicated—The Privileged Just Made It That Way

How I Came to Metamodernism, Integrated It, and Watched It Get Co-Opted

"Yes, the world is becoming increasingly complex—but the antidote to complexity is not more complexity. It is simplicity, lived with depth, clarity, and intention."

Metamodernism was never meant to be a curated intellectual space for elites who love their own complexity. It was never meant to be an exclusive club for people who use big words to make themselves feel superior.

It’s actually very simple.

But somewhere along the way, the usual cycle happened. People with privilege, education, and access found it, intellectualized it, theorized the hell out of it, and built yet another hierarchical social structure where "understanding" is the currency of belonging.

I know this because I was there. I came to metamodernism not as an academic, not as a theorist, not as a guru or social media personality—but as someone who lived it, integrated it, and shared it.

I want to talk about:

• How I discovered metamodernism.

• How I disseminated it.

• How I integrated it into my life.

• And how I realized that the real challenge is not complexity—it’s translation and simplicity.

Because metamodernism is not complex.
The metamodern elite made it complex because it makes them feel important—but in reality, it’s one of the simplest frameworks out there.

How I Came to Metamodernism (And Why It Wasn’t Through an Intellectual Ivory Tower)

I didn’t find metamodernism through academia. I didn’t get it from some elite intellectual discourse, or through high-brow philosophical discussions in curated spaces.

I found it on the heels of a major awakening—an absolute rock-bottom, dark-night-of-the-soul, complete disintegration of everything I thought I was. A positive disintegration, in the truest sense.

I was not an intellectual. I wasn’t part of any spiritual elite clubs or private communities. The closest thing I had to a “philosophical circle” was Alcoholics Anonymous—which, let’s be real, is more honest about human transformation than half the pseudo-intellectual metamodern spaces I see today.

I was a lower-middle-class white chick, an ex-punk rocker, autistic as fuck, and had been through the ringer of life. I’m not telling you this for sympathy—it’s just the reality of my path. These were the cards I was dealt, and so I played them.

And part of playing those cards was realizing that after getting sober, my brain worked really fucking well.

So I started reading.

And then I kept reading.

And then one book turned into 300—Ken Wilber, the offshoots, consciousness studies, meditation, yogic philosophy, Buddhism, Hinduism, complexity science, liberation psychology…

I could keep going, but you get the point.

I have this type of brain—some call it gifted, but honestly, it doesn’t feel like much of a gift to me.

• I process and absorb information like nobody’s business—but I do it differently than how our Western institutions think it should be done.

• No linearity.

• No structured curriculum.

• No approval from intellectual gatekeepers.

I’m a gestalt language processor—which means I see big-picture first, then let the details fall into place however they need to. I don’t follow a set order. I don’t learn “step-by-step.” I see the full structure before I even know how I got there.

It’s an emergent process—I just go with the flow, absorb, integrate, and make sense of it organically.

So when I hit this major conceptual phase after my slate had been wiped clean (which is what a spiritual awakening does), I was ready to understand the world through a completely new lens.

And that’s when I stumbled into metamodernism.

Not through an intellectual pipeline.
Not because I was trying to sound smart.
Not because I wanted to belong to some "Metamodern Club™."

I found it because it named something I had already been living.

And that’s when I realized:

This isn’t complex.
This isn’t hard to grasp.
This isn’t some inaccessible intellectual framework.

Metamodernism is simple.
The elitists just made it seem complicated.

How I Share and Disseminate Metamodernism

(Spoiler: It’s Not Through Intellectual Gatekeeping)

Since I have a gestalt brain, I didn’t learn metamodernism in a linear way. I didn’t sit down and absorb it chapter by chapter, paper by paper, theory by theory. I worked backwards, sideways, diagonally, and every which way in between.

And that’s exactly how I share it.

• I be me.

• I share my truth.

• I live my values.

That’s it. That’s the whole model.

I don’t need or desire to climb some intellectual hill just to be taken seriously. That’s not metamodern, folks. It really isn’t.
Like really, really isn’t.

So yeah, I could write you a dissertation on what metamodernism is. I could point you to the people documenting it. I could name the scholars, the books, the thought leaders. I could break it down into a clean, digestible model.

But that’s not the point.

The point is it’s already here. It’s been here. It’s in how we live, how we relate, how we break cycles, how we integrate.

It’s not theory first, life second—it’s life first, theory optional.

And here’s something you might not be ready for:

Black metamodernism is the only metamodernism.

You could fight me on that all you want.
But it’s the truth.

I know it’s true because I know. That’s it.
Don’t believe me? I don’t care.

• I don’t need to prove it to you.

• I don’t need to argue with you about it.

• Because if you need it proven to you, you don’t get it.

• And if you think you need to prove it, you don’t get it either.

So yeah, how do we share metamodernism?

We stop keeping it a secret.

Why doesn’t everyone know about it?
Because of the exclusion feedback loop.

And until that loop is broken, you’re gatekeeping the future.

Stop making it hard.
It’s not hard.
It’s what we’re living right now.

Metamodernism Is Simple. Here’s What It Really Comes Down To:

The so-called "complexity" of metamodernism is a myth.
It’s only complex if you’re trying to prove you’re smart instead of actually understanding it.

Here’s what it actually is:

1. Yes, and…

• Metamodernism is about holding contradictions without forcing them into resolution.

• It’s about yes, and instead of either/or.

• You can be spiritual and rational.

• You can be hopeful and skeptical.

• You can believe in meaning and also question everything.

It’s not hard. It’s just both/and thinking instead of either/or thinking.

2. Heal Your Own Way—But You Must Heal

• Metamodernism isn’t just about intellectualizing reality—it’s about actually doing the work to heal.

• That healing looks different for everyone.

• There’s no one-size-fits-all path—but you can’t skip the work.

3. Decolonize Your Mind & Question Everything—Consistently

• Ask why you believe what you believe.

• Then ask again.

• Keep asking until you get to the root.

• Then create your own path forward.

And here’s the kicker: This never stops.

• You don’t "figure it out" once and then you’re done.

• You are constantly unlearning and re-learning.

4. Find Meaning in Something Bigger Than You—But Don’t Assume It’s Superior

• You don’t have to be religious or spiritual.

• You don’t have to believe in a specific God, fate, or cosmic destiny.

• But you do have to find meaning beyond yourself.

And here’s the key: What’s bigger than you is not superior to you.

• You are not separate from the universe—you are part of it.

• Metamodernism doesn’t put God or The Cosmos on a pedestal above humanity—it puts us in relationship with it.

That’s It. It’s That Simple.

So when the Metamodern Complexity Brigade™ shows up with their jargon, their developmental models, their theories, their endless abstractions—don’t feel like you have to understand all of it.

Because you already do.

The people who make it complicated do so because it makes them feel superior.
Maybe for them, it’s hard to grasp. I don’t know.

But for me? It was always this simple.

Final Thoughts: Metamodernism Needs to Be Accessible, Not Another Intellectual Hierarchy

Metamodernism was supposed to be about bridging worlds, embracing complexity while staying connected to what matters.

But instead of being an open-source philosophy, it’s turning into another elite, invite-only, self-referential intellectual circle.

If we want metamodernism to actually have an impact, we need to bring it back to its essence:

1. Yes, and…

2. Heal your own way—but you must heal.

3. Decolonize your mind—consistently.

4. Find meaning in something bigger than you—but don’t assume it’s superior.

That’s it.

It was never supposed to be complicated.

It’s time to take it back.