Many religions, and Christianity in particular, speak of a deity as

[MineralMan]

27. Mysticism and Visions Have a Long History in the Catholic Church.

They are closely related. Belief that visions are more than hallucinations is part of RCC Doctrine. Here's an except from this link:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15477a.htm

Corporeal vision
Corporeal vision is a supernatural manifestation of an object to the eyes of the body. It may take place in two ways: either a figure really present strikes the retina and there determines the physical phenomenon of the vision, or an agent superior to man directly modifies the visual organ and produces in the composite a sensation equivalent to that which an external object would produce. According to the authorities the first is the usual manner; it corresponds to the invincible belief of the seer, e.g. Bernadette at Lourdes; it implies a minimum of miraculous intervention if the vision is prolonged or if it is common to several persons. But the presence of an external figure may be understood in two ways. Sometimes the very substance of the being or the person will be presented; sometimes it will be merely an appearance consisting in a certain arrangement of luminous rays. The first may be true of living persons and even, it would seem, of the now glorious bodies of Christ and the Blessed Virgin, which by the eminently probable supernatural phenomenon of multilocation may become present to men without leaving the abode of glory. The second is realized in the corporeal apparition of the unresurrected dead or of pure spirits.

The short explanation of how these "corporeal visions" occur is: "God Did It!" Like so many parts of religious doctrine, what is not explainable through natural phenomena is explained by references to God. A great deal of language is used to mask the true "corpounreal" nature of such visions. The expectation is that the reader will accept the supernatural, god-caused reason for such visions.

The Catholic Encyclopedia I linked to above is a rich source of exhaustive, imaginative, verbose, and erudite explanations of what is not so. I encourage people to consult it to discover just how far removed from reality Catholic doctrine truly is. And people actually believe this nonsense, or claim to believe it.