The ego lives in a house of mirrors, chasing one reflection after another, mistaking each for something real. We wander the maze, looking for an exit. Eventually the mirrors can become a house of horrors.
The way out is not another reflection. It is the dissolution of ignorance.
The World swallowed you and spat you back out wrong and holy. Initiation finishes the day your own name stops fitting your mouth. The wound has flowered.