Along these lines, later in life we have the opportunity to understand who we really are. The ego, as you note, is essential to developing an identity as we navigate the world through school, jobs, relationships, etc. We come to believe that this identity is who we are, but it’s just a part of who we are. It’s the part that we use to navigate the external world. As we come to rely on this egoic identity, we lose touch with essential aspects of who we are, our internal self. Rediscovering those elements is a great gift. To do so we need not dissolve the ego, just thank it for all its hard work and let it take a break. My 2 cents. 😊