“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When the student is truly ready, the teacher will disappear.”
-Lao Tzu
“For God’s Kingdom dwells in your heart and all around you; when you know your Self you too shall be know!”
-The Gospel of Thomas
When the Teacher Disappears
The best teachers have nothing to offer except mirror for you to see yourself more clearly. Once you know what you look like, the reflection is no longer needed.
I’ve had many such teachers or guides. They’ve formed a sort of psycho-spiritual cloud of witnesses I carry in my body. Some journeyed with me for a few decades, others for a few years, but in each case the alchemical makeup of our relationship altered. Inevitably, the divine intoxication I felt with each individual faded, as an inner and relational sobriety settled within.
What disappeared? What happened here? They bore witness to my “inner gold,” the Divine image within me, which I could not see. They held my godlikeness for me, until I was solid enough to hold it myself.
Robert Johnson, in his book, Inner Gold: Understanding Psychological Projection, describes this process well. He writes:
“When we awaken to new possibilities in our lives, we often see it first in another person. A part of us that has been hidden is about to emerge, but it doesn’t go in a straight line from our unconscious to becoming conscious […] We project our gold onto someone, and suddenly we’re consumed with that person […] That’s a sure sign that something is changing in us, and we are projecting our gold onto the other person.”
We Must Project to Become Whole
“Our gold goes first from us to them. Eventually it will come back to us. Projecting our inner gold offers us the best chance for an advance in [wholeness].”
When you project, you give away something of yourself to another. It’s essential to do this. You’ll never know what you look like if you never see your reflection. Similarly, if you don’t project your inner gold onto someone else, it will remain hidden. If you find yourself “consumed” with another person, it is likely you are seeing in them a hidden part of yourself. Psyche (Greek for soul) may be drawing you to them, in part, for the sake of greater wholeness. Projecting inner gold onto another is not only unavoidable, it’s essential. Our work is not to abstain from this, but to be aware when we are projecting. Read more about projecting in my previous article, Shadow Projection: Finding Our Hidden Life in Others.
When Our Projections Begin to Fall
“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must […] suffer many things […] and that he must be killed […]. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” – Matt 16:21-23:24
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the [Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” – John 16:7
“However, I also understand discipleship as a stage in human development that can become an appropriate step in maturation. That is, the projection of the Self can be a precursor to the awakening of the Self within.” – Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path, by Connie Zweig, PhD
When you find someone to project your inner gold onto, it can feel overwhelming to imagine life without them. However, if you try to maintain the projection, you will deny yourself the vitality your soul requires. When Jesus informed his disciples of his looming death, their reaction was defensiveness, insecurity, and prompted a need for certainty. They couldn’t imagine the divinity they saw in Jesus springing up in them. Owning back your inner gold is terrifying, but it is the way of Spirit, the way of wholeness.
Mythologist, Michael Meade poetically spoke this in his Living Myth podcast:
“When the cracks in the world become more pronounced, the call of Spirit and the need for awakening, become more apparent. When everything on the outside falls apart, the hidden message inside life moves closer to the surface, calling for our attention.”
Where do you see this in your life? What projections are starting to fall? Who are the individuals, institutions, organizations, or initiatives beginning to crack? What are you giving your life to, which no longer supports the new life emerging from within? Is your soul experiencing a changing of seasons that your ego-consciousness refuses to recognize?
Psychologically, death is not an image of failure, but of completion; it reflects loss, but loss in the service of greater wholeness. When the guide in any story or myth dies, they don’t disappear. They simply take up residence within the hero’s/heroine’s interior life–the qualities that once lived outside, have now taken root inside. As the title and opening quote remind us, when the student is ready, the guide disappears.
Practical Next Steps
Below are a few ways for you to engage the essential work of owning your inner gold.
For those who’ve had their inner gold stolen, or desiring to reclaim what they’ve given away:
Perhaps you’ve trusted a leader, mentor, pastor, or spiritual guide to carry your inner gold, but in the end, they took it for themselves, and never gave it back. Maybe you gave away your gold so long ago that you don’t even know where to start searching for it. Or, maybe you recognize your inner gold, but owning and living into it feels overwhelming, wrong, or selfish. If this resonates, I invite you to consider individual shadow work as a way of encountering your hidden life. Email me at innerworkcommunity@gmail.com, and I’ll send you details. Our first step would be a 15 minute chat to share what you’re desires and hopes for our time together, and how I’ll share how I can support you.
Upcoming Events
Inner Work Community has two very affordable upcoming events. You can read more and register at innerworkcommunity.org/events.
- Workshop: Jung’s Map of the Soul | $50
Workshop Description: I bet you are familiar with the terms “ego,” “shadow,” “persona,” and “archetypes,” right? However, they likely feel a bit opaque in terms of their meaning and connection to one another. Carl Jung developed a “Map of the Soul,” which offers clarity for identifying and interacting with our inner and outer world. Understanding this “map” can guide us deeper inward to discover greater depths, soften our soul, and strengthen our relationships. For in-depth study read Jung’s Map of the Soul by Murray Stein PhD.
- Live Event: Shadow Work for Romance & Spirituality | $25
Live Event: This interview will explore key themes from Connie Zweig’s Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path and Romancing the Shadow. Both books focus on the shadow—the hidden, disowned parts of ourselves—and its impact on personal and relational growth. The interview will highlight shadow work as a trailhead into a more integrated path of psychological and spiritual growth and fulfillment.
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