Lucid Dreaming? Out-of-body Experience?

Sao Paulo, November/1976:

I was busy trying to finish my graduation semester at the Instituto of Fisica Teorica (IFT), and I had then a boyfriend, who was younger than me. That fact had caused annoyance to his relatives, and we had decided we should both finish our relationship for the sake of peace of mind on both, his relatives and us. Despite of our simple decision, I became discouraged to continue in Sao Paulo... I had seemingly accumulated hurt-feelings and this ending was just too much for my tolerance, and I decided to return to my parents home in Brasilia, stopping my graduation... That had been my decision when I went to get some of my books my boyfriend had stored for me at his parents home. I didn't know but he was there, instead of being at his school, and it was a surprise for both of us. I got my books and was leaving when I somehow felt impelled to tell him that our decision to finish was a mistake. He agreed, and there and then we resumed our relationship, and I abandoned my decision to quit grad-school.

That evening I was puzzled about that strange "impelling feeling" during the day, while at my boyfriend's home... But felt relieved about the turn of events, and I prayed to God grateful for this better solution. I was lying down on bed, thinking, the moon was shining through the window and it looked beautiful and peaceful, reflecting well my state of mind. Soon I turned on my tummy to wait for the sleep. At that time, I had the habit to use a chenille bed cover as my top bed-sheet, with the fluffy part of it inverted. I had done that during the winter to help me keep warm. Now summer was starting and I still kept it that way, but I would sleep only in my panties... So, lying down on my tummy, this chenille cover was about half-way down my bare back. I had my arms on the pillow, close to my face. That way I approached sleep peacefully, until suddenly, while I was almost falling asleep, I seemed to have noticed the chenille-cover move up my back!... That odd sensation alerted me back awaken, and surprised I verified that the cover was still half-way my back, as before. I shrugged out that odd sensation, and went almost immediately back to my former position and approached sleep once more... Again, it felt as if the chenille-cover moved up my back! ...And I decided to remain very quiet and observe that odd sensation.

While I observed I noted that what I believed was the chenille cover moving up my back, was actually a warm and pleasant sort of vibration-sensation on my back. It slowly moved up to my neck, then to my ears, covering it completely with that warm vibration-sensation. Right after it had covered my ears, I heard a man's voice talking inside my head! But I couldn't understand what he was saying... It was somehow "garbled". I courageously asked in my thought: "Repeat it!" And I heard it again, this time very clear and loud: "Believe in Jesus. I wish you peace." Again I asked: "Repeat it!" - "Believe in Jesus. I wish you peace."...And again: "Repeat it!" - "Believe in Jesus. I wish you peace." And this warm sensation slowly moved off my ears to the neck and the back, where it had started, and disappeared.

I then moved myself out of this sleep threshold to analyze that experience. I was very much impressed with the intensity and clarity of that voice, which I had heard as if "inside my head". It seemed more real than somebody's voice coming from outside through my ears! How amazing, I wondered. There was yet another remarkable characteristic about that man's voice in my head. Its accent was different from the people from Sao Paulo, where I was living. Also, there was a bit of similarity to my uncles' voice. ...And I then wondered if that "man in my head" wasn't my deceased grand-father Geraldino, my mother's father, whom I have never met. He died long before my birth, when my mother was about 15 years old.

For me that supposition of a deceased relative communicating with me was no problem. In Brazil spiritism is common, and I had attended several seances before. Therefore, I felt grateful that it could have been my grand-father coming to me... That impelling feeling to talk to my boyfriend to return our relationship had saved me from my decision to return back to Brasilia, consequently interrupting my studies in a very bad situation. So, "who else would care to save me from that bad situation, other than my long-deceased grand-father?", I had concluded.

Therefore, I did finish that semester, saving my graduation. Later, the following year, my boyfriend and I did break apart, and I did return to Brasilia, where I found a job at the university, a new advisor, and the Sao Paulo institution (IFT) did accept my thesis for a master degree in Physics. That "man in my head" had probably saved me from a big trouble, besides using well the opportunity to provide me with that very interesting experience.

From then on, every time I visited my grand-mother and looked at my grand-father's picture on the wall, I couldn't help but wonder: "Was that man you?..." Despite of my suspicions that it was my grand-father the responsible for that experience, I could obviously never know if it was true... But then I would remember: "Who else would care?..."