_live_ptr

Hi there,
I have struggled to find a way in the Python API to return an id for Ableton objects similar to what is easily done in the M4L API. I have a User_Action that I am writing where this would be very helpful when double checking against a dictionary to see if the clip is still on the track (for example). I know I could use index numbers, but this isn't helpful if a clip in a particular slot has been deleted and then a new clip has been added to the same slot. This is where cataloguing by id would make more sense.
I noticed that object classes in the API have a _live_ptr property. What is this? It returns a 15 digit number that does seem to remain consistent even when a clip, for example, is moved to a new clip_slot. If this is an id of sorts, is there a way of using it to address the clip directly? Or would I have to loop through all the clips on the track and select the object that contains this as a property to address the clip directly?

Hopefully this all makes sense.
Thanks for your time!