Hearing Jan

What will never be captured in words now, is the experience of listening to Jan Cox talk. I at least cannot begin to explain, among other things, the way he could say two different things, literally at the same time in a public (well at least the group) setting. Not two contradictory things, but two separate intellectual points.

He could also direct his comments in this group setting to one person, or --- sometimes he could give the impression he was talking directly to you, while HE was on stage and sharing his speech to a group of people.

And then there was his speech to individuals which was based on his knowledge of that person, his knowing exactly what at a certain moment had the best chance of helping that person look in a certain direction. In a sense this description applies to all his talks to a group of people he allowed to stay based on their purpose and potential. These were the people he did not kick out, deliberately scare away, or gently discourage. (This last I to myself called the velvet boot.) This speech to individuals, though, may be information that was not really relevant to others. A street level example of this last, is his telling me that I should take my car to the dealer to get it fixed. This advice was based on his knowledge of me, and was not at all transferable to others in general.

But more typically his speech to individuals was not about such mundane matters, but focused the same knowledge of the person he was speaking with a regard for their potential at that moment. Speech received in this mode could be something the individual remembered well, though it may actually be only relevant to that individual, at least only relevant to that individual regarding the surrounding details of what he said. Thus he might frame a point to someone who was given to hero worship differently than he would speak to someone who grasped that a certain respect was appropriate when relating to a real teacher, rather than the "horizontal guru" to use an exact quote from Jan Cox.

Such talents that a real man could possess are one way myths about psychic powers begin. I use the word myths to stress that when a man has a certain base of knowing, then the usual descriptions just do not apply. There was nothing psychic per se about some of his talents, it was just that most men do not think themselves, really think, at all, and so were impressed by what was really a minor aspect of the talent of a man who knew the source of his knowledge, and remembered it.