Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

When we finally realize that life is an initiation, we see there are no victims—just students. There are no schools of ancient wisdom to attend and there’s no rush to go or be anywhere. Instead, life is our playground—an alchemical laboratory where we’re given free rein to tinker, toy, experiment, learn, and create.
If we’re not intentionally creating our life, however, we are victims to it, and as victims, we react in very predictable ways. Being a victim means that someone or something in our external environment is controlling us, thus we believe we are powerless in changing how we act and react to those circumstances. Why does this occur? Because our brains have become neurological records of the past and our bodies emotionally and chemically conditioned to the past. Then we wind up wondering why our lives stay the same, when the truth of the matter is it’s because there’s an exact match between the biology of our inner world of thoughts and feelings and our outer world of reality.

When you start to view your life as a test or an initiation—when you stop thinking the same way, unconsciously demonstrating the same behaviors or habits, and emotionally reacting in the same manner to people, things, or circumstances, and instead hold on to a vision independent of the circumstances in your life—something interesting happens. As you do things you might not feel like doing, yet things that are consistent with your vision, your mindset begins to change and you no longer believe you are a victim with no choices. As a result, you meet the challenges of your life from a greater level of mind. Then all the sudden life starts to seem more like a game and less like a do-or-die situation in which we are helpless, hapless victims.

–Dr. Joe Dispenza