Real or trick of the mind?

So, are OOBEs and astral projections real or tricks of the mind? I admit I had some strange experiences myself. When I was a kid, I was asleep and I felt as if I were not asleep, but that I was in the bedroom and the living room at the same time. I don't know if I had astral projected or whether I had an interesting dream. But it felt so real. Still, it is not enough to convince me. I still doubt and wonder... is it real? Or is it just a trick of the human brain as the rationalists say?

There's no way to tell until you get a validation. When you do, you know it's what it seems.

Partly, it depends on how you choose to define "real" (and it is a choice).

As far as so-called rationalists, I don't have much use for dogma of any kind, including materialist dogma. ;)