Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Via NPR: Better Late Than Never: Olympic Champion Greg Louganis Gets His Wheaties Box


Greg Louganis in an inward dive pike on the front of the Wheaties box. The "legends" series boxes will be on shelves starting in May.
Greg Louganis in an inward dive pike on the front of the Wheaties box. The "legends" series boxes will be on shelves starting in May.
Courtesy Of General Mills 
 
In his competitive diving career, four-time Olympic diving gold medalist and five-time world champion Greg Louganis has been all over the world. Now he'll be in one place that's eluded him for years: your kitchen table.

Wheaties announced that Louganis — who is openly gay and HIV-positive — along with two other former Olympians, hurdler Edwin Moses and swimmer Janet Evans, will be featured on the cereal boxes as part of the revamped "legends" series.

In a 2015 HBO documentary called Back on Board: Greg Louganis, the diver said he understood that he wasn't featured on the Wheaties box during the prime of his career in the 1980s because he didn't fit the company's requirement of a "wholesome image" as he was rumored to be gay. He came out publicly about his sexual identity and HIV-positive status in 1995.

Louganis says he's glad to finally be getting the recognition.

Janet Evans is one of the greatest women's distance swimmers in U.S. history.. i
Janet Evans is one of the greatest women's distance swimmers in U.S. history..
Courtesy Of General Mills 
 
"[It's] so incredible to be honored with the likes of Edwin Moses — we were in our first Olympic games in 1976 together," Louganis told NPR's All Things Considered. "Janet Evans — we trained at Mission Viejo together — I watched her grow up."

Louganis became the only man to sweep the Olympic diving events in back-to-back games when he won gold medals in both springboard and platform diving in the '84 and '88 Olympics. He's now a role model for other athletes including British Olympic diver Tom Daley, who came out as gay when he was around 20 years old.

Edwin Moses was a three-time world champion in the 400-meter hurdles. i
Edwin Moses was a three-time world champion in the 400-meter hurdles.
Courtesy Of General Mills 
 
"I would have always wanted someone like him as a role model on the front of a cereal box," Daley told NPR's Ari Shapiro. "He's a great model and forever will be the greatest diver to walk this earth."
General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas told NPR he couldn't provide an answer as to why Louganis wasn't on the box previously because no one who was involved in those decisions still worked at the company. Siemienas said a committee is responsible for determining which athletes are on the boxes.

Wheaties unveiled the "legends" cereal boxes after the documentary detailing Louganis' athletic career and experiences as a gay man sparked a petition on Change.org to get the diver on the iconic Wheaties cereal box. Created by Julie Sondgerath, who had never met Louganis, the petition garnered nearly 45,000 signatures.

Wheaties told NPR that the petition did not factor into their decision to put Louganis on a Wheaties box.

"We were aware of the petition, as we see this all the time from fans wanting their favorite athlete on the box," Siemienas said. "But appearing on a Wheaties box is not a popularity contest. Wheaties chooses athletes based on their achievements on and off their field of play."

As for Louganis, he says that he appreciates the honor more now than he would have in the 1980s.
"Back in '95, I wasn't expected to live very long because we thought of HIV-AIDS as a death sentence, so to be here today, now 56, the box means so much more to me than it would have then because I feel like I'm being embraced as a whole person, not just for my athletic achievements."

Make the jump here to listen to the orginal and more at NPR

Via United Nations Free & Equal / FB: No one should have to choose between God and their sexual orientation!


 
Vicky Beeching: no one should have to choose between God and their sexual orientation!

Via Bike Friday / FB:

This is Nirvana... a Bike and Buddha...  __/|\__

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 05/04/2016

“O processo do despertar inevitavelmente gera fricções, porque parte desse processo diz respeito à desconstrução de tudo aquilo que é falso. Se toda a sua história foi construída com base na falsa identidade, então você tem a impressão de que tudo está desabando. Quando inicia o caminho do autoconhecimento, você começa a despertar (inicia-se um processo de iluminação), o que é sinônimo de deixar de fantasiar. E isso pode ser bastante desafiador. Nesse momento é preciso lembrar que isso faz parte do processo. Você está renascendo para uma nova vida.” 

“El proceso del despertar inevitablemente genera fricciones, porque parte de este proceso se basa en la deconstrucción de todo aquello que es falso. Si toda tu historia fue construida con base en la falsa identidad, entonces tienes la impresión de que todo está desmoronándose. Cuando inicias el camino del auto-conocimiento, comienzas a despertar (se inicia un proceso de iluminación), que es sinónimo de dejar de fantasear. Y esto puede ser bastante desafiante. En este momento es necesario recordar que esto es parte del proceso. Estás renaciendo para una nueva vida.” 

“The process of awakening inevitably creates friction, because part of this process has to do with the deconstruction of everything that is false. If our entire lives have been based upon a false identity, then we may get the impression that everything is falling apart. When we begin walking the path of self-knowledge, we begin to wake up and move towards self-realization, which is synonymous with putting an end to our fantasies. This can be very challenging. At this moment, it is necessary to remember that this deconstruction is part of the process. We are being reborn to a new life.”

Via Daily Dharma / April 5, 2016: The Body’s Quiet Movements

Sitting motionlessly quiet, for minutes or hours, regardless of length of time, is being in touch with the movements of the body—mind, gross and subtle, dull and clear, shallow and deep—without any opposition, resistance, grasping, or escape.

—Toni Packer, "Unmasking the Self"