I'm a 20 year old college student, never had any sort of experience with the paranormal, at least to my immediate memory/knowledge. About two years ago, on my way back from the college town to my home town, I conversed with my friend, an odd fellow, as she drove. She is very intelligent and has given me plenty of insight/realizations of myself over the years that I've known her.
During this particular trip, in which I took up the majority of the trip with my constant chatter, we spoke of the spiritual. I am a Lutheran, she not believing in God, so it was very interesting and full of theory on both our behalves. I can't particularly remember how we got on the subject of astral projection, but as she explained it to me and how it works in her beliefs, I came to a shocking memory that merely happened months before, and had happened all throughout my childhood. I give you this:

I am close to sleep, in a state of complete relaxation. It doesn't matter where I may lie, I am always in some kind of trance; I suppose I start to dream at this point except I am still awake. An image of a rubber band would appear, stuck to the tip of a thumb. My perspective was very close to this thumb and rubber band, in fact I could feel my body at where the thumb was, my perspective attached to the rubber band. As some invisible force pulled on the rubber band, away from the thumb, I felt my perspective left away from where I felt myself at.

My second imagery that I have had would be a ball in some kind of blank room. The ball started at one point in the middle of the room, my body being located right where the ball was starting from, but then the ball would move, taking my perspective with it. I felt myself stuck in the middle of the room yet my perspective told me otherwise.

These two «dreams» that I had as a child, which occurred very often, were very confusing to me. I even recall telling my mother about said «dreams» during one school day, in which she simply brushed if off as a child's imagination. I remember, as I grew older, thinking that these «dreams» were just a part of the normal experience of being human, just as all humans feel love, hate, sadness, etc. and I was able to pass them off as mere human condition. As I grew older these «dreams» became less and less frequent to the point where I have not had one since my first year of college (been here for three years now).

My interests have gone back to this unexplained, reoccurring event after recently dabbing into the paranormal information that once plagued my childhood self, such as UFOs, ghosts, hauntings, etc. Looking up online regarding these events, I have found that my experiences do not relate to many of the astral projections that others claim to have had, making me wonder about my own. I have not found myself paralyzed after waking up, never felt some odd experiences involving my essence leave my body (in the wake), nor have I ever floated around to watched members of my family as they sleep. I have felt a sense of falling during the state of trance, which I most associate to the transition from the awake to asleep; I have had «dreams» that involved me walking around my house, which would normally turn into some very odd occurrences; and I have NEVER had a lucid dream in my life.

Whenever I look up information regarding this matter, normally the conclusion I am drawn to is that I do not astral project. Given my own personal experiences and knowledge on the matter, I have a strong belief that I have astral projected before. Am I looking for questions, yes I am; do I expect for everyone to come to my conclusion, no I do not; do I hope for some kind of in depth, great explanation of my experiences, I do but I understand that I may not get the answers I'm seeking.

Comment if you think you can help me.