VIDEO Exclusive: Gregg Braden on Thriving Beyond 2012

On November 9, 2012, Elevated Existence presented best-selling author Gregg Braden with our 2012 Elevated Existence Spiritual Service Award in Pompton Plains, N.J.

The award is given every year to someone who had dedicated their life and work to uplifting the world’s consciousness, helping others learn to help themselves, and spreading spiritual awareness throughout the planet. Previous winners include Hay House founder, Louise Hay; award-winning actress and author, Shirley MacLaine; and best-selling author Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Braden was at the Regency House Hotel speaking at a two-day workshop sponsored by the Metaphysical Center of New Jersey and the Association of Awareness when Elevated Existence founder, publisher and editorial director, Tammy Mastroberte, presented him with the award. (Watch the video of the presentation on Elevated Existence’s new YouTube channel).

The author was in N.J. just after Hurricane Sandy hit the state, and told the audience Friday night to “give thanks for how blessed we all are to be in a heated and lighted room tonight.” He also explained how we are living in a very unique time in history.

“The best minds of our time are telling us we are facing the greatest number of crises and at the greatest magnitude in more than 5,000 years, and we are being asked to solve so many problems in such a small amount of time,” he said to the crowd. “It is a fact that we live in a time of crisis. But if the crisis is still happening, it means there is still time to fix it.”

In his latest book, “Deep Truth,” Braden shares the new revelations of science, overturning what we believed to be true for years, and proving what our ancient and indigenous ancestors have known for years. These “deep truths” must be embraced in order to not only survive beyond 2012, but to thrive, according to Braden.

“The world of the past no longer exists, but no one has told us,” Braden tells Elevated Existence in the December 2012 Issue cover story interview. “The world now has changed, and the way we think and live must change. If someone would explain that at a very high level, then we, the people of the Earth, could mourn the past that is disappearing, let go, and embrace what is new.”

Instead, many people are viewing the changes in the world as a small blip – or a rough spot on the road of life, he says. They are waiting for things to go back to the way they were, and it is these people who will suffer the most.

“They are clinging to the idea of a world that no longer exists, and as long as they cling to that and think in a way that supported that world of the past, they are suffering in terms of their jobs, careers, finances, relationships and families,” Braden explains.

However, he, and many other great evolutionary minds of our time, remain optimistic about the new world emerging, despite what we face. Crisis is a catalyst for evolution, and Braden believes the problems of today are actually providing an opportunity to evolve and transform the world into a better place.

“I’ve never been more optimistic about our nation, the United States of America, or any nation of the Earth, because our systems are broken, and that is what creates the willingness to look for and embrace new ideas, and look for new ways to solve our problems. That is what’s happening right now,” Braden notes. “If we can shift into a new way of thinking where these crises are giving us an opportunity, that is where we can begin a whole new world.”

When presenting Braden with the 2012 Spiritual Service Award, Mastroberte asked him about Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters happening in the world, and what it means for the future (see Part 1 of the video interview here), and also how we can best navigate the future beyond 2012 – along with what about our thinking has to change (see Part 2 of the video interview here).

For more on Braden and what he believes to be true about the new world emerging before us, visit our new YouTube Channel (be sure to subscribe to it while your there!) and see the December 2012 Issue of the magazine, available now.