How do I make invisible files (like bash profile) visible in the finder?
All you need to do is set the AppleShowAllFiles preference to "true." From terminal:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true


If you'd like to reverse the change, enter the following:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles false


For the changes to take effect, either restart the Finder or logout and back in.