# When the Room Tilts

“It was not at right angles to the floor. But as soon as I have said this, I hasten to add that this way of putting it is a later reconstruction. What one actually felt at the moment was that the column of light was vertical but the floor was not horizontal—the whole room seemed to have keeled over as if it were on board ship. The impression, however produced, was that this creature had reference to some horizontal, to some whole system of directions, based outside the Earth, and that its mere presence imposed that alien system on me and abolished the terrestrial horizontal.”
—C.S. Lewis, Perelandra

# A Shift in Perspective

In this scene from Perelandra, C.S. Lewis describes a strange and unforgettable moment: a visitor enters the room, and suddenly the whole space feels off. Not just emotionally or metaphorically—but physically.

At first, the narrator tries to describe what’s happening in normal terms: maybe the light isn’t quite straight? Maybe the floor is tilted? But then he realizes something bigger is going on.

The visitor brought with them a different sense of direction—almost like gravity itself was responding to their presence.

What was once “horizontal” doesn’t seem horizontal anymore. It’s as if the room, the space, the world itself is being realigned. The very idea of what’s “level” is being challenged.

# When Normal Isn’t Right

Most of us walk through life trusting what feels “normal.” We think of up and down, right and wrong, success and failure, in ways we rarely question. Our lives are built around these assumptions.

But sometimes, something happens—an experience, a relationship, a challenge—that shakes that sense of “normal.” It’s like the room tilts, and we realize the way we’ve been seeing things might not be the full picture.

Lewis is showing us what it feels like when something greater enters the room—something that comes from beyond our usual ways of thinking—and suddenly, our frame of reference no longer works.

It’s not just confusing. It’s humbling. And sometimes, it’s the first real step toward seeing clearly.

# From the Outside In

What’s so striking about this moment in Perelandra is that it doesn’t come with fanfare. It’s not dramatic in the usual way. It’s just a quiet, internal realization:
“Wait… maybe I’ve been standing sideways without knowing it.”

This is one of Lewis’s gifts as a writer. He helps us see our lives and our world as if we were looking at them from the outside.

He gently points out that the way we’re used to seeing things isn’t necessarily the way they really are.

And he doesn’t do it to make us feel foolish—he does it to invite us into something better.

# Realignment Moments

We all have moments like this. Times when something challenges the way we’ve always thought or felt. It could be:

A conversation that makes us rethink a long-held belief
A life event that forces us to slow down or let go
A glimpse of beauty or truth that stops us in our tracks

These moments can feel unsettling—like the ground is shifting. But maybe they’re doing something important.

Maybe the “floor” isn’t as solid or straight as we thought. Maybe we’re being invited to line up with a deeper kind of truth.

# What to Do When the Room Tilts

So what do we do when we feel like our world has been tilted?

First, we don’t rush to fix it or explain it away. Lewis’s narrator doesn’t try to “correct” the tilt—he simply admits what he’s feeling and lets it teach him something.

Second, we pay attention. These moments are often quiet but powerful invitations to grow. To reframe. To ask better questions.

And finally, we stay open. Because maybe the real “vertical” and “horizontal” don’t come from inside the room at all.

# Final Thought

Sometimes, what feels off-balance is actually a new kind of balance we just haven’t learned to trust yet.

When something enters your life that doesn’t fit your old framework, don’t panic. You might just be seeing things more clearly than ever before.

Let the room tilt. Let your sense of “what’s normal” stretch a little.

You never know what new perspective might be waiting for you just outside the frame.