Savoring the Best Wine: The Alchemy of Essence and Mystery
In this poem, the best wine is not just a metaphor for essence but for the entire process of becoming, of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary through the alchemy of time, mystery, and surrender. It is a reminder that the most profound experiences of self and spirit come not from our demands to know and control but from our willingness to let go, to be patient, and to allow the divine mystery to unfold in its own time.
The Best Wine
The best wine
needs the secret ingredient
Those demanding to know
the finished product
don’t add the mystery
Put yourself in a bottle
pull the cork in tightly
Let the dust gather
as the mystery
unlocks the treasure
When time is ripe
life will pull the cork
And you
can taste the wonder
and mystery of you
On & On
John Harper
As I reflect on this poem, written from the depths of my 55-year spiritual journey—more than 30 years devoted to the Diamond Approach®—I see it as an intimate portrayal of the mystical process of self-realization. Much like the Sufi poets, who used wine as a metaphor for divine essence, this poem speaks to the alchemical process that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The Wine as Essence
In the traditions of mystics like Hafiz, wine often symbolizes essence—our true, undistorted nature. This essence is not something that can be forced or rushed. It requires the “secret ingredient,” which is the mystery, the unknown, and the divine hand we cannot control. The best wine, the most potent experience of essence, arises not from our efforts to understand and finalize but from our surrender to life’s mystery.
“In the inner wine cellar, I drank of my beloved, and when I went abroad through all this valley I no longer knew anything, and lost the herd which I was following.”
— St. John of the Cross
The Bottle as the Self
“Put yourself in a bottle, pull the cork in tightly” suggests a period of containment, of holding oneself back from premature exposure to the world. In psychological terms, it can be likened to the process of incubation, where the ego recedes and the deeper aspects of the self are allowed to ferment, thereby deepening in richness and complexity. The dust gathering is not a sign of neglect but of time’s patient work—transforming grape juice into wine or, in spiritual terms, transforming the surface self into the depth of being.
Human maturity is about the integration of spiritual attainment into every aspect of life, leading to completeness, balance, and inner health.”
A. H. Almaas
The Ripening of Time
“When time is ripe, life will pull the cork” speaks to the natural timing of spiritual maturation. This is the mystical recognition that awakening cannot be forced. It is a process governed by the rhythms of life itself. The moment the cork is pulled is the moment of revelation, where the essence—once hidden, once guarded—emerges in all its wonder and mystery.
“The wine of divine grace is limitless. All limits come only from the faults of the cup.”
— Hafiz
This unlocking process, allowing time and mystery to do their work, is central to the Diamond Approach. It is understood that our essence is not something we create, but something we uncover, something that ripens within us when we allow life, with all its mysteries and unknowns, to unfold as it should.
The Endless Journey
The closing phrase, “On & On,” captures the infinite nature of this journey. There is no final destination, no point at which we fully arrive. The process of tasting the wonder and mystery of ourselves continues, deepens, and expands as long as we remain open to it. This echoes the mystical tradition that the divine, the essence, is boundless—an endless journey into the heart of reality.
“True spiritual maturity involves realizing that spiritual attainment is not the end but an ongoing process. It requires the courage to face our fears and the willingness to continually explore the unknown.”
A. H. Almaas