About Kevin Cann
His friends call him Kev. He’s the “Kevin” who co-authored How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else (University of Chicago Press, 2024) with Jeffrey J. Kripal. Initially Kevin was hesitant to go fully public, to shield his family from controversy. But after re-remembering Platonic Surrealism, he felt compelled to come forward, as the framework is a powerful means to stabilize people living extraordinary inner lives and conventional outer lives.
Kevin Cann: Two Lives, One Story
Most of Kevin’s life looks like the story of a determined, practical man. But quietly, another life unfolded—one that defies easy explanation.
Clark Kent’s Life (The Visible Story)
- Early Years: Born in rural Minnesota in the 1960s, raised in tough circumstances.
- Military Service: Seven years as a Navy Nuclear Engineer, responsible for two reactors and leading 80 men.
- Combat Zone: Served a year in a classified warzone.
- Entrepreneurship: Founded a dot-com that earned over $2 million from an eight-page website.
- Tech Career: Spent 31 years as an IT architect and systems engineer for top companies, government and education.
- Academia: Retired from the California University system after years of service.
- Family: Devoted to and encouraged by his wife—who faces end-stage heart failure—to share his full story.
These are the achievements anyone might see: somewhat impressive but grounded and ‘conventional’.
Superman’s Life (The Quiet Story)
Behind the ordinary was a thread of mystery. Kevin was “born aware,” with vivid consciousness before birth and lifelong experiences that didn’t fit the usual map. Childhood trauma opened doors to unusual states of mind. He spent a decade studying Kundalini energy with the Kundalini Research Foundation, had a self-delusion free near-death experience, and once summoned a black triangle UFO during a CE5 encounter. He met thinkers like Jacques Vallée and quietly explored the edges of reality.
Today, Kevin co-authors How to Think Impossibly with Jeffrey J. Kripal and teaches at Esalen Institute, sharing insights from Platonic Surrealism—a ‘cosmic Swiss army knife’ tool, that anyone, atheist, agnostic or theistic can use to fully integrate their beings, both the ‘Clark Kent’ and the ‘Superman parts’, as EVERYONE has these same potentials.
Two lives, one story: the visible and the hidden, Clark Kent and Superman—now woven together seamlessly.
Updated: 11/29/2025
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Kevin Cann
Public Domain
11/29/2025