Tami Simon (Part 2) – Waking Up the World: Being True to Life with the Founder of Sounds True

Ep. 165 (Part 2 of 2) | Tami Simon, founder of the highly regarded multimedia publishing company Sounds True, covers a lot of inspiring ground in this heartening, lively, candid conversation. She tells the extraordinary story of how she came to devote herself to disseminating spiritual wisdom; about finding the edges and growing into them on her own path of awakening; the spiritual teachers she has encountered whose teachings have affected her the most; the wholeness of spiritual vision and psychological health; and discovering that, like all of us, spiritual leaders can be both luminous and in need of healing at the same time. Tami is an ardent torchbearer for the conscious business movement, explaining that business can be the way we give our gifts—that the endeavors of an inspired entrepreneur can be expressions of love and provide an incredible way of connecting with other people.

What is so striking throughout is the depth of Tami’s clarity about what matters in life and her unwavering commitment to acting with integrity. Tami has a remarkable ability to translate her spiritual insights and principles into action—as co-host Roger Walsh points out, she is a beautiful example of a karma yogic life, where being of service is the fuel, the inspiration, and the content of her life, as she continuously works towards furthering both her own spiritual awakening and the awakening of all. Tami offers a lovely, poetic rendering of the effects of living a true and meaningful life: “The litmus test is always somebody’s wake, the ripples of their life, how they’ve impacted others . . . the beauty, love, and justice that live in the wake of a person.” A genuinely engaging, illuminating, memorable conversation. Recorded October 17, 2024.

“What I feel I owe people is the truth.”

(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)

Topics & Time Stamps – Part 2

• What are some of the people and ideas that really stand out to Tami? (01:14)
• Every podcast guest has given a gift (02:01)
• Learning somatic practices from Reggie Ray (03:30)
• Meeting Adyashanti, the ‘goodest’ human Tami ever met (04:31)
• A. H. Almaas’ Diamond Approach: the possibilities for expanding knowledge in the spiritual universe (06:10)
• Coming into the notion of original voice with Clarissa Pinkola Estes; Caroline Myss’ illumination of shadow work (06:45)
• Discovering that spiritual teachers can be luminous and also have parts that are harmful and need healing (09:52)
• How spiritual vision & psychological health seamlessly come together in the Diamond Approach (13:38)
• Psychotherapist Bruce Tift’s idea that we alternate between spiritual vision and the developmental work of psychology (16:00)
• The litmus test is what lives in the wake of a person (17:13)
• Tami’s practice: asking what is needed now, moment by moment (19:26)
• Paying attention to what is being said to us by others and our environment (23:58)
• The Integral movement: we benefit from having it in our consciousness (25:43)
• The Internal Family Systems (IFS) movement: the notion of being self-led in any given moment: compassionate, courageous, curious, calm (27:14)
• Conscious business: the movement for business to be a crucible for personal growth (29:05) 
• What were the darkest times for Sounds True? (33:40)
• What does it mean to be true? That’s what matters (37:22)

Resources & References – Part 2

• Tami Simon, founder of multimedia publishing company Sounds True
• Tami’s podcast, Insights at the Edge
• Tami Simon, Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life & Love (audio program)
• Reggie Ray, The Awakening Body: Somatic Meditation for Discovering Our Deepest Life*, The Practice of Pure Awareness: Somatic Meditation for Awakening the Sacred*
• Adyashanti, spiritual teacher, Open Gate Sangha
• A. H. Almaas, founder of The Diamond Approach, see also Deep Transformation podcast’s A. H. Almaas Wisdom Series
• Clarissa Pinkola Estés, About Original and Wild Voice in Speaking and Writing 
• Caroline Myss, The Shadow Course, Part 2, with Andrew Harvey and Tami Simon
• A. H. Almaas, The Inner Journey Home*
• Bruce Tift, Buddhist psychotherapist, Already Free*
• Sally Kempton, Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoying Your Own Deepest Experience*
• What is the Integral Movement? (Integral Life YouTube video)
• Richard Schwartz, The Founder of Internal Family Systems

* As an Amazon Associate, Deep Transformation earns from qualifying purchases.

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In 1985, at 22 years of age, Tami Simon founded Sounds True, a multi-media company dedicated to disseminating spiritual wisdom. She is also the founder of the Sounds True Foundation which creates equitable access to Sounds True’s programs and the Inner MBA, an immersion learning program that teaches the inner skills of conscious business. Tami hosts a popular weekly podcast called “Insights at the Edge,” where she interviews Sounds True authors, delving deeply into their discoveries and personal experiences. With Sounds True, she has released the audio program “Being True: What Matters Most in Work, Life, and Love.” Tami lives with her wife of twenty-three years, Julie M. Kramer, and their two spoodles, Raspberry and Bula, in British Columbia.

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Podcast produced by Vanessa Santos and Show Notes by Heidi Mitchell