If had a spiritual/religious vision, would you consider it an hallucination or a revelation?

Question

I've heard some people say things like they have actually seen angels or heard the voice of God speak to them. Some others have said they sometimes see a person's aura and it warns them about people who may mean them harm or tells them who is good. If you had one of these types of experiences, or someone told you they did, would you consider it a confirmation of your spirituality or a sign of mental illness? How would you tell the difference?

Answer 1

Friend - Each experience has to be viewed on its on merits. Sorry. GB

Answer 2

I think it's unfair to limit religious visions to Christianity. Regardless of your personal beliefs, there are other religions which go beyond God and the Devil. Claiming to see or hear things that others do not is a symptom of mental illness, but I believe that some things, like auras, are perceived only by some people. Kind of like a "How far down the chart can you read?" sort of thing. Just because it isn't clear to me doesn't mean that it's not crystal clear to others. If someone were claiming to have had a revelation, I think their believability would almost wholly depend on the vision's message. If it were something along the lines of "Love your fellow man" I could go with that. But, if it were violent or hateful, I think I would be more concerned that the "voice" was that of mental illness.

Answer 3

There were many people in the bible,and through out history that the world may have considered mentally ill.David danced as though he were drunk,Mary conceived Jesus via angel,Moses talked to God,Noah built the ark with plans GOD himself gave to him.I'm right up in that group,I want all God has for me,whether it is dreams,visions,laying on of hands to heal the sick,speaking in tongues,whatever and however he wants to manifest it OK with me.There are Prophets that walk today,they have visions,and are used in the christian community,I have seen miracles,I am one.So if I'm considered a mental case by someone who does not believe what I do,that's really not the point.My only job here this side of heaven is to know God,be used of Him,glorify Him.They thought Noah was a nut job didn't they,but when the rain came,they wanted in the boat.He did not care either what anyone thought,he did what the father told him to do.If you had a vision you are blessed,as for more,go get all you can from God.That is a wonderful happening,sometimes God might give a person a hallucination,dont worry hes God.

Answer 4

I think that if I were having a type of vision I would have a feeling of a presence that presses down on me and lifts my heart up at the same time. I would feel things I had never felt before. And if the revelation was something important that seemed to make sense rather than something random that didn't seem to have any real relevance to faith, you would know it was true although a vision may tell you something in a less than "black and white" way.

Answer 5

it should be taken on a case by case basis. What did the vision tell the person.

I think that people really can feel other peoples spirits. I dont think it is necesarily seeing someones "aura" but I think people can discern other peoples spirits.

People do have good/bad spirits with them/on them/in them, however you want to say it. And if you are discerning you can tell.

I dont think having "spiritual visions" is a mental sickness, maybe sometimes hallucinations, but God has spoken to people through bvisions in the bible. So I dont think it is impossible, just rare.

Answer 6

I have definitely and beyond any doubt at all seen auras, vivid and pulsating and beautiful auras. I consider it a perfectly rational phenomenon having to do with focusing one's vision in a way few people have had the occasion to do. In my case it has happened without any effort or thought about auras, when I was in a state of meditation. It's not spiritual or supernatural in the sense of being "mysterious". All things genuine which are considered supernatural will one day be clearly demonstrated and understood by science.

Answer 7

It depends on the person. Some people do have such revelations; others hallucinate about such things.

Usually, if it is a real spiritual vision, chances are you will be in contact with someone who has either had the exact same vision/revelation with you, or you both will have it at the same time.

I used to think that astral projection was just a strange mind-trick, and that I wasn't really floating through my neighborhood, but that I was floating through a duplicate of that neighborhood in my head. It turned out that a friend of mine projected, too, and in the projected state we floated around on top of building together. The next day, he asked me if I enjoyed astrally projecting with him. ;p

Answer 8

depends on how indepth they are. the aura thing is nothing but your senses. there are some people u can look at and say i dont like them, low and behold u meet them and u dont like them. they just give off that feeling. it can be called an aura but ive never seen any glowy lights around the person.

the visions i would call hallucination. my friend had clouds talk to him one time. thats what shrooms can do to you. u can take drugs to get visions and u can take drugs to get rid of visions. all has to do with chemical makeup in your brain. some people see things that arent there (skeptos for instance). they have meds to keep it at bay.

Answer 9

Because I don't believe in a person's aura, my conclusion would obviously be, in the case of someone saying they could see that, either a psychological effect, or a hallucination.
Because I believe angels exist, if someone told me they had seen angels, I would believe in 3 possibilities:
psychological effect
hallucination or:
they actually saw angels (after all they are there).

Answer 10

At first I though that I was loosing my mind. After a while I realized that it must have been real.

Several years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away.

While driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.

Three days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to.

I feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.
During the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible.

I can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.

I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings.

Your brother don

Answer 11

If your vision matched the Bibles teaching-then it's from God-also God doesn't give revelations to people who are't foloowing Him- so that a good thing to think about. Other than that- just your own mind-or worse a vision from the Devil.