Psychic Phenomena
Psychic phenomena originate from the mind and seem to bridge the division between this world and the next. Sometimes these phenomena are manifested as an ability to use only the mind to affect things aournd oneself or others, or to influence, perhaps control, other people or things. The Baha'i Faith has Writings which address psychic phenomena and give people guidance on how to handle such things. A good summation of the various Writings can be found in Lights of Guidance , which is a Baha'i reference text compiled by Helen Bassett Hornby. At its most succinct, the Baha'i attitude toward psychic phenomena is that there are some few- very few- kernals of truth to certain aspects of it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of psychic phenomena encountered are imagined, or are the products of either accidental or intended misleading. Those few true psychic phenomena encountered are glimpses into the emerging abilities of the human mind, as mankind as a whole is growing as a species. However, mankind is not yet mature enough to understand these abilities, nor can we yet truly use them for any worthwile purpose at this time. Thus, Bahai's are encouraged not to pursue phsyhic phenomena, nor to try and develop them for themselves, and not to attribute much if any importance to them beyond an idle, and momentary, curiousity.
"Revelation Visions" are often considered as psychic phenomena. Sometimes they are religious in nature and other times not. The problem with such revelation visions is that they most always take place during a state of altered consciousness, usually that of a trance, or semi-sleep like state. In such a state of mind, the distinction between reality and imagining becomes blurred if not impossible to determine. Although the vision may seem real to the person experiencing it, they have no way of determining how much was conjured from the imagining of their own mind. As regards religious visions, or "personal revelations", the Baha'i Writings tell us that there is a fundamental difference between visions revealed by God to his Prophets, and the spiritual experiences and visions which individuals may have. Such visions as experienced by individuals should in no way be considered an infallible source of guidance, neither by others or even the person experiencing them.
As regards dreams as "visions", the Baha'i Writings acknowledge that people can and do have dreams which impart to them certain truths. Often these come in the form of a realization, perhaps a very personal one, that such-and-such a thing is actually 'so' when previously they thought it was otherwise. These may be true for the person in question, but one must remember that such dreams are particular to that person and always colored and influenced by the mind of the dreamer. The time while we sleep is often a time for our minds to sort through the clutter of information and details that we have been experiencing that day. As we sleep, without the constant buzz of events and interactions coming at us, our minds have time to sort, consider, and see connections between events and occurances. No wonder we have mornings where we wake up feeling refreshed and "seeing things in a new light"; preparing for the coming day with a new way in mind to handle some particular problem, or a fresh approuch to some issue which has been holding us back.
Reference and Suggested Reading:
Lights of Guidance, section XLII Psychic Phenomena. A compilation by Helen Bassett Hornby. ISBN-81-85091-46-3. This will serve as a good starting point which lists the Baha'i Writing sources should one desire to further pursue readings regarding psychic phenomena and the Baha'i Faith.