Towards a Visionary Fiction genre

[msuss]

What is visionary fiction?

I'm not sure!

Joined by several other writers--Shannon Sinclair, Jodine Turner, Saleena Karim, and Sandy Nathan--we have been trying to refine a description of the genre.

One author, Michael Gurian, defines it as “fiction in which the expansion of the human mind drives the plot.”

According to Gurian, what moves the story along in visionary novels are such things as visions, hallucinations, mystical experiences, paranormal abilities, channeling, precognitive dreams, eerie coincidences, profound insights, and a feeling of being “utterly at one with the world.”

There's clearly a good deal of overlap with several other genres, such as science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, and new age fiction. What seems to be unique about visionary fiction is its focus on the expansion and evolution of the human mind, imagining new frontiers for the human spirit.

Are there other writers here who are writing visionary fiction, or something like it? Would you care to help define the boundaries of the genre, and perhaps join a visionary fiction web ring?