I would guess that by "losing our own identities" you allude to the myth of death of ego that is so "popular" among those who pursue "Eastern mysticism". It is true that one has to bring the ego to a halt to see through it (i.e. see its nature), but a permanent loss of ego is more an enlightenment gone wrong than a healthy outcome (though as it seems, in India a stupid grin, inability to string a coherent sentence, and permanent state of being blissed out is viewed with praise).

Anyway, this temporary loss of identity is an exact parallel of dying to world and being born again of spirit (see Jn. 3:3-7). Basically, it's a death while alive, shedding all worldly attachments (see Lk. 9:24-25), even those we hold most dear such as our close loved ones (see Mt. 10:37), and coming back to life with an unsullied perspective of a newborn child (poetically speaking). Then the world is seen in its perfection, as it always was, one sees that we never left Eden or the kingdom of God -- and this I mean in a completely literal sense. Everywhere one looks there is God. Kingdom of God extends everywhere.

It's obvious that when one looks at oneself one sees the same -- a child of God, a manifestation of the "most high". The same as Jesus was. Thus one can safely say, "Before Abraham was, I am." And that is the same "I am" which is in Ex. 3:14. After all, there is only one "I am". And this can be also experientially verified. For instance, Advaita Vedanta has the famous "Who am I?" inquiry (see here and here). Basically it's going within to search for kingdom of heaven. Or to quote Rumi, “I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God.”

As you can see, it is indeed a universal way and knowledge.