Sharon Salzberg – Metta Hour – Ep. 154 – Tami Simon

For episode 154 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Tami Simon.

For episode 154 of the Metta Hour, Sharon speaks with Tami Simon.

Tami Simon is the founder of Sounds True, a multimedia company that has produced over 3,000 titles and been nominated twice for the Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing companies. Tami also hosts the popular Sounds True podcast, Insights at the Edge, with more than 15 million downloads. Tami has been instrumental in the creation of the Inner MBA Program: a nine-month interactive program featuring esteemed CEOs and conscious business and mindfulness leaders created by Sounds True, LinkedIn and Wisdom 2.0.

In this episode, Tami shares how she came to the practice of meditation and her journey integrating those experiences in her life. She discusses the history of Sounds True and her original inspiration that launched the company, and how that has evolved to present day. They also discuss the Inner MBA program and the nuance of bringing mindfulness and compassion practices to the workplace. The conversation closes with Tami leading a 7-minute guided meditation.

Endless Fulfillment: Disseminating Spiritual Wisdom

Welcoming Tami Simon to the podcast, Sharon acknowledges her as a visionary and a seer throughout her life, exemplified through Tami’s 36 years of groundbreaking work of disseminating spiritual wisdom with her multimedia publishing company, Sounds True. Sharing her continued passion and commitment to the long arc of service that Sounds True is offering the world, Tami shares the endless fulfillment inherent in a life of devotion to the dharma.

“I feel as committed, interested, and passionate about Sounds True and what we’re up to in the world as I ever have. I don’t see any end in sight. It’s a long arc for me. I think that’s because once your life becomes devoted to the dharma, it’s endless, it’s endlessly fulfilling.” – Tami Simon

For the endless fulfillment of ‘disseminating spiritual wisdom’ with Sounds True, join Tami Simon, on Ep. 71 of Mindrolling
Homecoming: Goenka, Meditation, & Devoted Sharing (4:50)

Invited by Sharon, Tami recounts applying to college for philosophy, wanting to know the meaning of life, but quickly learning she was better suited for religious studies, as her true interest was in personal revelations. Making friends with a Buddhist from Sri Lanka, she traveled there and learned meditation from (Sharon’s first vipassana teacher) S.N. Goenka, in what she describes as a homecoming that inspired her to devote her life to sharing meditative and contemplative practice with humanity.

“The discovery of meditation gave me something that I thought I would originally find in philosophy or religious studies department. I couldn’t find it reading books, but I did find it sitting on the cushion—a sense of homecoming, belonging, acceptance, relaxation, knowing, and being okay as a human being…

…The birth of Sounds True came out of those initial days of meditation, and a devotion that came forward in me to bring the practice of meditation and similar contemplative practices to as many people a possible. I dedicated my life to that while I was in India.” – Tami Simon

Join Sharon’s friend and colleague, Jack Kornfield, in tribute and homage to their mutual meditation teacher, S.N. Goenka, on Ep. 96 of Heart Wisdom
Inner MBA: Spiritual Wisdom in the Workplace (28:15)

Feeling that the cultural soil was finally fertile enough to bring true spiritual wisdom to the workplace, Tami discusses linking up with mutual friend, Soren Gordhamer of Wisdom 2.0, and partnering with LinkdIn. With their mutual intention in creating companies and work environments driven by compassion, love, and inner-wisdom, they co-created the Inner MBA, a nine-month immersion program to train leaders, entrepreneurs, managers, and employees in cultivating these skills.

“It’s time for loving kindness at work; it’s time for tonglen practice at work; and self compassion at work. It’s time for a deep look, not just at how we can be purpose-driven in our work, but at where the real meaning from our work will come from.” – Tami Simon

For a deeper dive into Sharon and Tami’s friend, Soren Gordhamer, and his Wisdom 2.0 project, tune into Ep. 136 of the Metta Hour
Somatic Body Meditation (49:50)

Tami closes the episode by leading a guided somatic-based body meditation.