People who are unfamiliar with OBEs are usually incredulous and /or fascinated and may be afraid of the possibility. The truth is that it happens to all human beings every night. It is just that they are not aware of it or it is forgotten after waking; usually both. Astral Projection, Lucid Dreaming and Dream Yoga are all practices to enable recall of the experience and to have the experience at will.
Why would anybody want to do this?
First of all a third of ones life is spent asleep with hardly any recollection of what happened apart from spurious memories of disconnected events that are mostly meaningless. When one brings awareness to dreams and astral projections a wonderful vista of experience is enabled and this third of life is experienced directly and no longer waisted. When a person has their first vivid experience of either of these conditions, their understanding of life and reality will be changed forever.
Astral Projection or Out of Body Experience is similar to a Lucid Dreaming experience in that you are aware that you are in a different realm than the physical one. In lucid dreaming it is possible to change the reality at will but astral planes seem to be set. The main difference between an OBE or Out of Body Experience and Astral Projection is that Astral Projection is usually deliberate or may happen spontaneously in the sleep state. Whereas OBE generally happens in some traumatic event. They are both the same experience but the way they are invoked are different.
Imagine being able to exist in another dimension where it is impossible to be hurt and have wonderful experiences away from the sometimes very difficult problems of physical life. To go on holiday every night at no cost. Bares thinking about!
The techniques for Astral Travel are basically the same as for Lucid Dreaming. The only difference is in what realm you end up in which deepens and widens with practice. You may not know what realm you have achieved when you leave the physical body. For me the main difference is that in lucid dreams the dreamscape may shift and morph in its appearance if you make constant checks; while in Astral Travelling it seems to be more stable like the physical world but totally different in its possibilities. The concern about whether you have achieved astral travel or a lucid dream is irrelevant in the early stages. The most important thing is to exist outside the physical realm and proceed from there because that's where the fun and the learning starts. Fear is the main reason why people fail in their attempts but in reality there is nothing to fear. I have been doing this for over fourty years and found no reason for concern and every reason to try it if you feel inclined.
Bon voyage!