Metabolism: The Spiral Eversion of “No” into “Know”
Where composting deals with breaking down external forms, Metabolism is a more internal alchemy – a transformation within the substrate of our being and knowing. We can think of metabolism as the spiral eversion of NO into KNOW: the process by which negation, resistance, or the unknown (“no”) is turned inside-out into understanding, integration, or wisdom (“know”). This poetic wordplay points to an ontological flip – what was rejected or inert becomes assimilated as nourishment.
Metabolism is not a linear path but a spiraling process, everting from the inside, like a Mobius strip twisting “no” into “know.” It suggests that saying “no” – encountering a limit, a contradiction, a dark night – can, if properly metabolized, lead to a deeper “knowing.” It's an alchemical turning in the depths of the system: the raw “lead” of our denied aspects or systemic shadow can be transmuted into the “gold” of new insight and capacity.
Meta-Relational Law #5: “Transformation Requires Multiple Temporalities” underpins this metabolic turning. To truly turn no into know, one must operate in more than the single timeline of immediate results. “Linear time alone cannot metabolize complex emergence." Metabolism involves layers of time: the past (the ancestral or historical context that lives in our bodies) must be digested, the future (latent possibilities and intuitions) must be courted, and the present moment must “break open” to something novel.
This corresponds to the law of hyparxis– a term of John Bennett's implying the intersection of past, present, and future (or of time and eternity) in the now. In practical terms, a community undergoing metabolic transformation will honor memory (acknowledge and feel the inherited wounds and wisdom), court possibility (dream and intuit beyond the current paradigm), and stay present with what is emerging here-and-now. Only by engaging all these temporal layers can a system truly turn itself inside out. If we attempt change in a shallow “project timeline” manner, we end up merely rearranging parts (or composting superficially) rather than undergoing a real metamorphosis.
This temporal depth is essential because metabolism works through paradox – it must embrace both decay and growth across time. The “no” and the “yes” coexist in a dynamic churn. The law of initiatory unknowing (paradox as portal) comes into play again here: often the wisdom (“know”) only emerges after passing through a period of confusion, contradiction, or negation (“no”).
As Regenerative Law puts it, when paradox appears, do not flee; “let it disorient you into deeper seeing." In metabolic transformation, negation (No) might be an outspoken “No, this system is unjust!” or a collapse of meaning that forces us to stop. If we can hold that negation without resolving it too quickly (recall: tend the tension), it begins to ferment insight.
The “No” becomes the nigredo stage of alchemy – the black soil in which seeds of “Know” germinate. This process is inherently spiralic: we revisit old themes with new awareness, each turn of the spiral integrating what was previously rejected. The spiral eversion means that what was inside (implicit, unconscious) flips outward into explicit form, and what was outside (imposed form) flips inward into subtle inner knowing. It's a dance of inner and outer over time.
Meta-Relational Law #6, “The Field Remembers. Tread Lightly,” is also crucial in metabolism. This law of energetic consequence teaches that everything we bring or withhold in the process leaves a trace: “Your words ripple. Your tone sculpts. Your silence echoes… What you pretend not to feel still registers in the space”.
In a metabolic transformation, all those subtle energies are being cooked into the new state. If we carry denial, unacknowledged anger, or hidden agendas (unmetabolized “no”s), the field remembers and they will surface eventually as distortions. Thus, to turn “no” into “know” authentically, we must be conscientious cooks of the field: fully feel what is present, speak truth with care, and be aware that the process itself has a memory. Each act of integrity or avoidance shapes the alchemical outcome. This perspective invites an ethic of presence and honesty; it's a caution against trying to cheat the process by sneaking unresolved elements under the rug. The field knows and will reintroduce them later if not tended.
A hallmark of metabolic transformation is that it decentralizes authority in favor of responsive adaptation. This aligns with Meta-Relational Law #7: “No One Owns the Process. But Everyone Shapes It.” In metabolism, there is no single hero or leader who makes the change; rather, each part of the system participates in the reconfiguration of the whole. “Authority in the field is not control – it is responsiveness."
Just as in an organism's metabolism every cell contributes to maintaining balance, in a social or ecological transformation each participant must notice their own impact and adjust, again and again.This is the law of distributed authorship – the process is co-composed, not conducted by a single baton. When “No” turns to “Know,” it often happens through a collective intelligence: people listen to the initial negations (No to the old way) and through dialogue and iteration arrive at new understanding (Know a new way forward). No one person can claim credit for the emergent knowledge; it crystallizes from the interactions. Maintaining this distributed agency prevents metabolic change from sliding back into a dominator mold (where one authority defines the outcome). Everyone must shape the process by bringing their piece of truth and adjusting to others'. Here again we see how epistemic humility and partial witnessing are key – each stakeholder holds part of the “know,” and it's the weaving of these partial knowings that yields a coherent new pattern.
Throughout metabolism, the attitude toward ambiguity and the ineffable must shift from fear to reverence. This is captured by Meta-Relational Law #8: “Make Room for the Untranslatable.” Not everything meaningful in a transformation can (or should) be put into clear words or metrics. The codex notes, “Not everything wants to be made clear. Some truths are too alive for articulation. Let them hum in the space between.” This law of sacred ambiguity says that ambiguity is not a bug but a feature of living systems.
In metabolic processes, often a felt shift or a symbolic insight precedes intellectual clarity. For example, a community might experience a ritual or an emotional breakthrough that shifts the field, even if they can't fully explain it – this is an untranslatable “knowing” that guides change. If we demand every aspect be translated into analytical clarity, we risk killing the magic (resolving the tension prematurely, again). Instead, we honor silence and the unspeakable as part of the process. Silence can be a deeper intimacy than explanation; in metabolic alchemy, the void or unknown is a womb for the new. By tending the ambiguity rather than cutting through it, we allow the emergent “know” to form organically. This is the opposite of dominator impatience which asks for immediate clarity or consensus. In practice, making room for the untranslatable might mean sitting with a powerful question without answering it, or respecting a gut feeling even when the mind cannot justify it.
In short, Metabolism as a transformational model highlights an inner spiral of change: it engages multiple timescales, turns negation into wisdom, and relies on distributed, responsive participation. The Meta-Relational Laws inform this model by encouraging a non-linear, field-centric approach: honoring memory and potential (hyparchic time), respecting the field's subtle feedback (energetic consequence), sharing authorship (distributed authorship), and valuing ambiguity (sacred ambiguity).
Metabolism is the alchemical turning of a system, akin to how an caterpillar's body dissolves in the chrysalis – a messy, paradoxical “no” to its old form – and then recombines into a butterfly, a new knowledge of flight. Notably, that metamorphosis doesn't happen by external command; it's orchestrated by the field of cells communicating and responding to genetic potential – a wonderful example of no one part owning the process, yet each shaping it. The spiral eversion from No to Know teaches us that authentic emergence often requires going through darkness, allowing the unknown, and trusting a deeper pattern to reorder the pieces into a more coherent whole.