Rev. Justin Sarno (arya)

Founder of Choose Heart - Counselor - Interfaith Chaplain & Spiritual Director

My journey into the Heart of my own Life has been a profound process–often slow and sometimes harrowing–of somehow both expanding beyond what I took myself to be, and also of deepening into what I truly am and have always been. What a paradox!

This process of Choosing Heart has & continues to progressively strip me down to the essential experience of my own raw humanness, dissolving false divisions & deceptions, steadily revealing a central yet indescribable reality that is Intimate, Vital, & Whole.

My personal path eventually led me to this calling–the privileged work of accompanying another individual, couple, or family deeper into the Heart of their own being, however that may be occurring. Since I began offering services in 2009, I have continuously dedicated myself to both inhabiting my own Aliveness more fully & sincerely, while also growing & refining my capacity to support others in doing the same.

Education & Certifications

Ministerial Ordination (ChI Interfaith Community)
Interfaith Chaplaincy (The Chaplaincy Institute)
Spiritual Direction (The Chaplaincy Institute)
Clinical Pastoral Education (Shaw Institute, San Francisco Theological Seminary, Kaiser Hospital System)
Authentic Feeling and Heart Intelligence (Adam Gainsburg & Open Heart Experience)
Mental Health Counseling (Interchange Counseling Institute)
Leadership Training (Coaches Training Institute)
Grief and Bereavement Training (Josie’s Place, The Chaplaincy Institute)
Mindfulness Training/Insight Meditation (Insight Meditation Society)
Transformational NLP (NLPMarin)
Breath of the Soul (Adam Gainsburg & Soulsign)
Ritual Work, Men’s Work (Various)
Yogic Sciences (Kundalini Kriya, Ashtanga, Sivananda)
Bachelors of Arts (Hampshire College)