The Most Important Thing

Quotes:

• "Reason is the natural organ of truth, but imagination is the organ of meaning. Imagination is truth bearer. The redeemed imagination is truth bearer. It's a way of knowing what is otherwise unknowable."

• "The physical human body is the liminal space between heaven and earth. Your human body is exactly the place where heaven meets earth."

• "Fantasy gives us an opportunity to commune with other beings, with our colleagues, with our friends, with our fellow adventurers. Fantasy is so essential for my medical life, for my health care life, and for the life of the church."

• "Rediscover your delight in the mundane. It's such a powerful way to reignite your sanctified imagination."

• "Be the mind through which Christ thinks. Be the heart through which Christ loves. The voice through which Christ speaks and the hands through which Christ heals."

In this inspiring talk, Dr. Lysa Owen shares her journey from clinical medicine to medical education, emphasizing the power of imagination and fantasy - drawing on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis - as essential tools for learning, healing, and spiritual growth. She explores how simulation in healthcare creates meaningful "secondary realities" that help professionals see their work and themselves anew, and encourages reclaiming imagination through practices like slowing down, delighting in the mundane, engaging with art, and embodying care. Blending personal story, practical advice, and Christian faith, Lysa invites viewers to embrace both reason and imagination, seeing the human body as a sacred meeting place of heaven and earth, and to become channels of Christ’s love, voice, and healing in their daily lives.