XV C. S. Lewis and Hypnosis

HGL to C. S. Lewis Institute

1.IV.2017

Good day, is there any documentation on how C. S. Lewis related to hypnosis? There are hints here and there in the Narniad.

When Lady of the Green Kirtle fails at what is essentially hypnosis, the failure is not due to someone just trying to resist "try harder, won't break my willpower, go on", it is due to Puddleglum making a row which breaks off the hypnotic induction like situation. I believe that is accurately describing the only way not to get hypnotised when someone is trying to, to break off the situation.

When Rilian gets out of it, he has to shake off "magic", but the sensation of shaking off also comes after hypnosis.

In The Last Battle Tirian does a self hypnotic trick (without involving Jill or Eustace), namely programs his nap to last for exactly the time he wants to sleep.

In The Magician's Nephew we find three traces of knowledge of hypnosis:

• it is reflected in how you get in and out of worlds by the rings, since the fading away and becoming clearer are related by similarity to hypnotic visualisations
• it is reflected in the drowsy calm of the Wood between the Worlds
• and also in Aslan giving Uncle Andrew sleep, by a simple command.

In Prince Caspian, Doctor Cornelius thought he would have been a very incompetent magician if he hadn't been able to do some "sleep magic" ... that is actually one kind of "magic" which can at times be done without a compact with demons, I suppose.

So, have you any idea what his ideas and experiences on the topic were?

Did they

take it as an April Fools Joke, or will they respond later?