no you will automatically return dont worry nomad. your soul is connected spiritually at the solar plexus through a silver spiritual cord. the only way of you not getting back is through death of the physical body and you dont have any family members out to get you in your sleep do you? and yes it is very close with the nightmare thing. you realized you were dreaming and then had controll. only thing is you could have stayed out instead of waking up.
Dick you may have been close too. It is a hard thing to do without going lucid. there is a very fine line between nothing and going astral but dont give up. keep trying because it does take practice. sometimes I cant do it either and sometimes can do it like 4 or 5 times right in a row. by sitting up just at the right moment you arent letting your mind fall asleep but are far enough out to just pop out. just keep trying and when you are laying there reassure yourself you will do it.
everyone weather they realize or not leaves thier body at night when they sleep.
the trick is having your concious mind in controll at the time
did you ever have a dream you were falling and then suddenly you wake up?
that is your soul reentering your body
or maybe you wake up and feel on the wrong side of the bed? what this is is your soul didnt reenter correctly and is out of alignment with your body. a quick snooze always helps this. it sounds wierd but its true. at least thats what Seth says