Greg Louganis and Vishen Lakhiani on the Silva Method

in this episode of the Mind Valley show I'm bringing you the American Icon and diver Greg luganis Greg is an anomaly he is a man who despite being HIV positive went on to win an Olympic gold medal for diving in fact he has four Olympic gold medals and one silver medal his story of overcoming hardship from discrimination to HIV to sexual abuse and then going on to become an American Olympic icon is so powerful Mario Lopez played him in a movie about his life so I had Greg luganis come and speak on stage at mine Valley University in Tallinn Estonia in 2023 and our interview following that speech is what you're about to hear in this episode of the Mind Valley podcast stay tuned because this is going to open your heart it's going to empower you it's going to give you new faith in yourself and you're going to hear the incredible Tale feel of this incredible man Greg luganis I want to make this conversation a little bit more intimate right the the talk that you delivered at Mindvalley is going to be available on the Mindvalley talks YouTube channel hundreds of thousands of people are going to watch that and there's so much information about you and your success but today I want to talk about the that you went through right primarily those that list of things being given up by your by your birth parents being being a gay man in a world where that can be highly unfriendly to people who are lgbtq being raped by your partner being diagnosed with HIV and all of that stuff surely took a blow on you I'd love for you to to tell us about your life Greg and what you've been true well the the biggest key of moving forward is it forgiveness forgiveness I mean I have a lot of people they don't understand you know well how can you forgive your rapist and um you know and I've heard you say this many times hurt people hurt people you know I learned that Jim was molested as a child by his stepfather you know so he was in a lot of pain and also at that age you don't feel like you have any control so the you know rape is not about a sexual act it's about control you know and so you know learning that and and also the other thing that I that I learned in that process sure I was a victim and then you moved to Survivor and but beyond Survivor is forgiveness you know that it it's just an event that happened and I'm actually grateful for to have had that event happen because it opens my heart to be able to uh you know to be empathetic to somebody who's had a situation you know in a similar situation that's a pretty bold statement that you're grateful yeah that you got raped yeah I mean it it you know it it was a violent act you know it was scary but I survived I'm here so it was an event that uh taught me a lot about myself about people you know that I could uh you know I could forgive him you know because uh one of the meditations that I did you know bringing him back to his childhood what his childhood may have been like and yeah I mean I could forgive that wow you seem to be the king of bouncing back you have bounced back from so many of these things for example in 1988 as this clip is about to show you were at the Olympics in Seoul you took your dive hit your head on on the diving ramp and then you got back up yeah and you did it again and you won the gold medal what is that well in you you know it was just uh a part of it was my job it's the way that I was trained I mean because I was a dancer uh did acrobatics gymnastics all of that uh when we were having doing recitals you know if you if I sprain my ankle you wrap it up get back get out there you know so uh you know so I had practiced that so I could the one thing in that situation I only everybody says you know how'd you get over that I didn't have time to get over it I only had like 22 minutes um for them to sew up my head and get back out there and do the next dive and so I didn't have time to get over it so I had to set it aside like it never happened you know and that was one of the things I I remember so clearly is uh my my coach Juan O'Brien he said look you've got all these records you don't have to get back out there and you know knee-jerk reaction is like I don't want to give up without a fight right and he got back up and I got back up there let's roll that clip take a look at this yeah so taking off the board I knew I was going to be close and then I thought I I was well past the board and then all of a sudden I heard this Big Hollow thud and I went crashing into the water and I was like what was that and that's Dr James puffer sewing my head up and Dr Ben Rubin hovering over uh who were suturing up my my head before the next dive and um and you know and and also the other thing that was uh you know kind of a false narrative was that I bled in the pool right because six months six months before this you were diagnosed with HIV yeah yeah and so um but I mean when you get an injury like that you it you don't bleed right away yeah so it was all the drama the hype you know media I just never corrected it you know so um but yeah I mean I you know I went to my coach and you know and I said I don't want to give up without a fight and so uh he said look I know that you lost all of your confidence because when something like that happens you lose all your confidence well this was in prelims so what happened was I'm going through prelims fortunately it was prelims I hit my head on on on the springboard on my reverse two and a half pike I had two more Dives to get through the semi-finals and so I got through the next two Dives and then the following day I had to repeat those Dives all over again clean slate and uh and we competed so um so that's how I I was able to win because after I hit my head on the board I was I think in fifth place I dropped down to fifth place and then I thought it was out of the contest I thought I got I saw zeros and I thought you know I'm out of the contest and so uh Ron's my Coach Ron O'Brien sent somebody to check and he said you're in fifth place what do you want to do and I was like okay fifth place that's still in the finals but I did have to do those last two Dives um and so I did did my next dive uh and uh you know it was funny because I was on the board and I you know I was I was terrified because I didn't know what was going to happen it's going in the same direction I didn't I don't know what I did uh you know as far as error and uh and so you know the last thought in my head was okay this is the Olympic Games you can't hold back and so I did my reverse one and a half with three and a half twists and it was still too close my coach said jump it out you know because I had my reverse three and a half after that yeah let's take a look at the um at what happened at the actual dive that wanted to go metal [Music] [Applause] [Applause] off of everything that you went through of everything that you went through what do you think was probably your biggest challenge you know my biggest challenge uh uh actually was forgiving my my birth mother my the the mother who my my biological mother I was really angry you know for a long time you know uh I knew she didn't she didn't hold me and um but she was also only 16. so uh you know I got to a place in in my meditation work I realized that she was only 16 and she couldn't give what she so desperately desired and that was you know a hug and so I mean I I was just you know in the meditation just weeping crying because I realized she was just a child your birth father was Samoan and your birth mother was Swedish northern European so Swedish and English and I'm a whole mix but I'm like cutting right right in half you know it's a Polynesian you know so that's American Samoa Tonga uh New Zealand Maori and on my dad's side and then northern European on my mother's when did you forgive your birth mother and how did that happen um you know I was doing a meditation over it I was just I was struggling I I was stuck you know I was like what is going on what is going on just asking myself you know what's you know what's what's what's happening because I know that there was like some anger there and frustration and um you know and and the feeling of abandonment and so then you know I meditated on it and then what came to the Forefront was seeing my mother because I did uh I think it was uh 2017 I think is when I met my birth mother so that's when I met her I didn't I didn't want to find her I had no interest in finding her how did you guys well okay so um uh when I had my documentary back on board it aired in um uh we we were doing a screening in Hawaii and my dad was there and my half-siblings you know were there they've always been very supportive uh and so I was there I got wind that my biological father's last name is lutu so I heard that they were doing a lutu family reunion the following year in Hawaii and so I asked my half brother Malcolm I said you know do you think it'd be okay if I came and they go oh my God if you talk about us then we can talk about you because they were trying to respect my privacy they were really very uh protective right and it was so sweet and wonderful and so you know as time went on I was like oh my God I should find out if he is in fact my dad and I I was pretty confident so I did ancestor.com DNA and found out that he was in fact my dad uh but what I wasn't expecting is I got a message from this woman said look I Know Who You Are and you came up as a leaf in my in my family tree the only thing we can think of is that you might be my aunt's son and she had a conversation with her with her aunt and and she said okay she reached back out to me and she says well if you were conceived in Midway born in San Diego and your father's name is fuvali lutu then she's my mom so that's how I found Cindy through ancestry.com yeah yeah what was that like meeting your mom that was hard uh in in a sense because I had the best mom I mean I was so grateful your adoptive mom yes mother who raised me Francis lugena she was she was my rock she was you know really my everything and um you know I loved her so much and I didn't want to do anything you know that would disrespect her or um you know I didn't want her to feel that you know I loved her any less or anything like that um but uh yeah I I uh Cindy reached out and said she she'd like to meet meet me um she did have to have a conversation with her two children um her other children John and Lori and um so when she had the conversation with her uh because I I talked to John later my half brother on my mother's side uh he he said that he remembers when he was 16 that his mother said that she had another son um and but and we grew up in the same area I mean they were an El Cajon I was we were like we our paths had to have crossed you know because we're only three three years apart and so um yeah fascinating um but yeah I I didn't want to find her and I'm grateful I you know I did because I didn't realize how much anger I was hanging on to in resentment uh and then you know after I met her I you know I just realized in meditating on it that you know she was just a child and she couldn't hold me because she you know absolutely sorry are you guys close no no no we're um we're we're aware of each other um I I did go to a few family functions of my uh um my niece uh she got married and I went to the wedding and um and then my half-brother got remarried and I went to that wedding um it just kind of happened but uh and you know I I like I I all the times that I've had conversations with my half brother you know have been really really good um uh Cindy's in uh in a in a care facility for uh mental I think she has dementia or Alzheimer's so and so you discovered these half this half-brother which is is now part of your family yeah that's beautiful yeah I mean I mean I I feel closer to my paternal family um I spent Hawaii you know Christmas in Hawaii you know I stayed with my my half-brother Malcolm and it was really interesting because uh they I I'm a high chief they named me high chief tamale IFA is my chief name high chief name and uh yeah you know they wanted to honor my family and so they made me high chief my biological father was there and my brother was there and it was interesting because I I felt there was some tension between my brother my half-brother uh you know there was there was something and I realized in the Polynesian culture everything is about the Elder it's about the Elder and I realized oh my God I'm the Elder I mean when I was raised I was the baby I know how to be the baby you know but I don't want to be the Elder too much responsibility you know and so I went to Malcolm and I said Malcolm look I I know I'm older than you but I'm looking to you as my Elder because I wasn't raised in this culture you know and then from that point on it it just turned our relationship turned around he was like okay Greg you know this is how we're related this is what we do this is the family this and that and that you know so he's explaining all of these things that I I grew up in the Greek Church Greg what what makes you I want you to tell us what makes you happiest about life right now and What Makes You saddest about life um wow okay so uh I mean I I get so much joy for my dogs I yeah you know that they are so much joy um G my Hungarian pumi we're working towards uh potentially making world team in dog agility and so I'm really excited about his progress he's only two and a half so you know we're both coming along um yeah you know because I competed in dog agility with my Jack Russells years and years ago and I was away for 10 years and now that I have G I'm getting back in the swing of things um so that brings me joy uh and probably what makes me um the saddest is uh you know the whole issue of transgender I don't know why I don't know why all of a sudden I have all of these transgender friends I mean I did do a play in uh in Chicago with Alexander Billings and um and she was transgender and she's very open about her HIV status so Larry Kramer who wrote just say no um it was like the three of us and we were comparing notes okay what medic medications have you been on and you know so kind of taking you know taking notes of our HIV care um and then uh in the conversations this was the first transgender person that I've ever been exposed to and just to hear the stories and for her to share herself and who she is you know it was I I just felt so blessed and so honored uh and then uh I became friends on uh on an app Clubhouse and uh with uh Dr Kate Stone and she's transgender and we just hit it off she inspired me to go more plant-based you know diet wise and she said oh I've never rollerbladed and she was in California I didn't realize she was in California because she was born in England and she has this English accent I just assumed she was in England and what makes you sad about this is how transgender people are misunderstood and how they politicized yeah I mean it and all yeah Miss totally misunderstood because we have been given this information false information about transgender the ioc came forward with okay to compete as an uh as a female As an X Y transitioned female you have to your testosterone level has to be such well I had a conversation with Dr Richard Schwab who's a neuroscientist who studies uh sexual preference preferences and and gender identity and he explained to me how that happens that uh sexual preferences and gender identity happens in like the first trimester of a pregnancy and it's such a you know small percentage but it's uh you know it it's been so polarized and so much misinformation and if you you think that the ioc all of that uh information is research science-based research and it wasn't it wasn't and and it's hurt a lot of people you know some transgender individuals um but when you have a belief then it's hard to change even if you do have the proper information um you know it's logical that if you with new information that you have to change your beliefs but beliefs are much more embedded in us than often times who want to we want to believe and this is why one of the reasons why I guess you are such an Ardent LGBT activist yeah yeah I mean in um you know and also I mean years ago I mean there was so much stigma surrounding HIV so uh education is so uh you know is so important you know prevention prevention prevention um but also uh understanding I you know because I've been to a lot of doctor's appointments with some young gay men who have serial converted and they're terrified you know they think it's a death sentence in their home in their own minds and I'll go with them to their their doctor's appointment you know because I've been on just about every medication so I can say well this is my experience with this medication and you know and so that they can choose a protocol that would work for them and be proactive in their care what is the hottest spot about living with HIV uh the hardest part you know what I take my meds in the morning and in the evening and go about the business of living you know I I it's it's just a part of who I am now so I've you know come to come to terms with it and at peace with it and science has progressed to a point where where it's it's it's not a big issue anymore yeah right the death rate has completely plummeted yeah now let's talk about your personal growth practices I know you're an Ardent meditator I know that you've practiced the silver method you've also tried my meditation the sixth face yeah tell us about that well it was so funny because like I was um going through your six phase meditation and I was like oh my God this is a stuff that you know I was doing as a kid uh I didn't know that it was Jose Silva I I just had cassette tapes and and a book I don't know it must have been my dad's I mean I was probably 11 or 12. I was like oh my God this is the stuff that I've been doing and it's so well put together and concise I I just how how was quit a visualization helping you as a child well um I I mean I learned visualization so early it was almost like reflex you know if I'm going into any situation because I also you know have social anxiety I mean I I I didn't have the normal socialization that other kids do so you know people scare me people scare me and I yeah it's funny because like um my ex-husband you know if we went to a social Gathering uh and I Disappeared then he'd go to the host and say do you have dogs where where are they and that's where I'd be that's where I'd be and so so growing up you you did a lot of different spots right dancing and so on uh but let's talk about the mental game like you you mentioned your dad you were you were getting access to these books and these cassette tapes and meditation from your dad this was the Silver method yeah and what do you remember how you were using it because you mentioned creative visualization uh in your talk earlier and Jose Silva kind of pioneered that field right right right well I my interpretation because like I was uh when I was three years old that was my first performance on stage I sang dance with me and did a little tap number and so uh that's that was my interpretation my my teacher uh played the music and she my instructions were to make make the the the routine fluid and she left the room put the music on left the room and so my interpretation of that was okay imagine myself doing the routine fluid it took four tries and I got it fluid all the transitions everything was there in time to the music and then I found my teacher and I said okay made it fluid and then she came back into the studio room and she uh increased the tempo so it was faster than what I was actually going to be performing and she said make it fluid and the first time through I made it fluid and then she said okay you're ready you know and then I had the performance that night and it was so it makes so much sense you've seen everything in your head yeah I could you know because a three-year-old's imagination is Limitless did you ever use this for Olympic Training oh sure I I used it uh okay so when I started doing the more difficult uh higher degree of difficulty Dives back three and a half or verse three and a half inward three and a half I started doing those uh I knew that I had to get a lot of repetitions in before mastery and so uh my coach one training session he just kept saying do another one do another one do another one do another one and by the time I finished that workout I got through the workout I was in tears I was just so upset because you know I felt like I couldn't do anything right and my Coach Ron O'Brien he said no no no I wanted you to do six a piece of your optional Dives to get the numbers in and I said oh my God I I was taking it so personally and I said if you want me to do six a piece of my difficult Dives my optional Dives then tell me the night before because what I could do is go through my mental preparation my you know visualize I can rehearse it and that number to be able to Pace myself to be able to be successful because otherwise I was giving it my all giving it my all giving it my all and and feeling like a like a failure like I couldn't do anything right that's beautiful now did you ever use this to overcome some of the the unusual cards that life to help you um save for forgiveness or for healing well in in my meditation you know like when I was forgiving my my mother um realizing all she wanted to do is be held you know she all she wanted is is a hug um and that was a very visual experience you know in in my meditation so yeah I I I go by you know feeling sensation but also uh visually what that what that looks like as well yeah there's there's interesting signs coming out now that shows that forgiveness actually improves your athletic ability yeah right like um one one Israeli study found that it improves endurance and another one in in uh in Holland found that it improves your vertical jump yeah so I wonder what it does for diving yeah you know it's just um I mean forgiveness is key to Joy so it really and and I mean I talking about Jim who raped me um when I was going through that process and I was probably still in that mindset of Survivor um yeah I you know um you know the visualization work that was so helpful is that uh you know as long as you're hanging on to a p a piece of Survivor you're still hanging on to a piece that victim you know and so through the sensations in my body that I was aware of that's where I kind of discovered a lot of that stuff you know because the uh you know the meditation you know it's not only visual you know it's the sensations these emotions it's the emotions you know and it's it gives you the the freedom to let go of that you know and and crying laughing all of that is just a movement of energy so Greg what what is your hope or wish for the world right now like what if you could leave a legacy or a message what would that be um maybe Legacy okay I I I think it's whatever it is it's you know because that's a lofty question um it it has to be rooted in kindness you know I'm always asking myself before I say anything you know I is it kind you know because oftentimes things that come to us and before we spew it out it's not very it's not kind um and when you practice that I sometimes I don't I don't realize that you know that it's happening and you saw it on the side of kindness it it really it just becomes a part of Who You Are I love that message that that's actually a really beautiful thought is it kind yeah yeah you know that and the the other thing that uh my My Mother Frances Louganis who raised me she always told me to make everywhere you go better because you were there and and you can do that in so many ways picking up a piece of trash smiling at somebody at the grocery store you know and and that strikes a chord with me because I remember being in in Malibu and feeling just so alone and depressed and this woman smiled smiled at me she saw me and I was like oh my God I mean that totally changed my day and the power of that you know or the power of touch you know those are powerful things that we can you know that we can utilize very easily and and incorporate them in our lives as a practice that's a beautiful message Greg Greg thank you so much for opening your heart and your soul with us over here and sharing your story uh thank you for watching this episode of the Mind Valley show you can watch Greg's full talk on the Mindvalley talks Channel there's a link in the show notes and if you want to discover more about the silver method and creative visualization the silver method now officially sits on Mindvalley the the latest protocol from Jose Silva is now um exclusively produced by Mine Valley and because Jose Silva passed away in 1999 I am the current face of the Silva method you can get information on that at mindvalley.com forward slash Silva mindali.com forward slash Silva thank you Greg for joining us thank you Vision I I am so uh I feel so blessed to be here and to finally meet you face to face likewise right and you're such a beautiful person and I so appreciate everything you're doing thank you Greg yeah thank you for joining let's give it up for Greg luganis [Applause] [Music] thank you by the way many of you who watch that might be interested in actually being in the audience so what you saw over there was Greg luganis on stage at Mindvalley University this is a really cool project that we do every year so think of it as a university that is open for just three weeks it happens in the beautiful medieval city of Thailand Estonia it's where I live and it's incredible here in the summer and thousands of people from all around the world descent to the city and for three weeks the most amazing speakers come and share their wisdom on stage for three weeks we have the most incredible parties festivals it is a full immersion not just in in learning but in play in fun in music in dance and in community people come because you meet so many close friends check it out it's at mindvalley.com forward slash you and it happens for the first three weeks of July in 2024 and every July go to mindvalley.com forward slash you immerse yourself in this beautiful city of Thailand Estonia and be part of this incredible Mindvalley community and learn from icons like Greg Louganis hundreds of the world's best speakers come and speak at this project because they want to add value to the community that comes together so check it out mindvalley.com forward slash you and the best part about it is if you have kids like I do we have programs for kids you basically learn with your children even if they are as young as six perhaps I'll see you there