I've had a numerous amounts of valid OBEs in my life, induced differently too.
My first ones were when I was a little kid and having an extreme fever - I remember at some point perceiving globular objects rotating and forming a way bigger globular object and it grew in intensity until I "blew up" - there was a characteristic feel to it - a sense of separation inside, like coming out of the bubble suddenly. Then I remember not knowing who I am or what I am and could not make any sense of any of my surroundings. Then for some reasons I assumed I am a machine and felt really cold and started making these weird creepy sounds scaring my mom, then out of a sudden I became a grown man, something about 40 year old or something, I think it was a doctor or something - I got up suddenly and started talking in a very serious tone to my mom about urinary infections and how she suppose to actually use the restroom. Mind that I was only 5 years old at that time and could not possibly know so much about urinary infections in women.
I am gratefully thankful to my Mom as she always understood those weird episodes of mine and treated them with respect.
That dream preceding the separation remained constant throughout my life and I would have it at times of heavy sickness or taking large doses of DXM (my younger wild years...8)), Amanita mushrooms and self-induced psychosis did that to me too. I think it was the first feelings and perceptions I had ever had in my conscious life - this enormous reddish-black metallic sphere rotating, gaining weight and overloading my senses.
My second and a very classic OBE was when I was 16 and taking a huge dose of DXM to reach the 5th plato. I remember it quite clearly - I was laying on the sofa and I remember that the TV was on and it kept becoming these squiggly lines of black and white as I was looking at it. Then suddenly I had the feel of the massive spherical object rotating somewhere within me and in no time I "popped" out of my body shell and started looking immediately down at it in awe - it had a weird pinkish tone and I remember thinking of how do I know what sex am I as this concept became completely irrelevant.
Then I was floating around rooms, eventually staying in the restroom (for some weird reason, maybe water "attracted" me?) and eventually being "sucked" in by that massive dark heavy sphere again, making me wake up in my body hours later.
My "naturally" induced OBE had the clearest memory and the most vivid image in my mind. It was in my early 20s when I was going through some very deep depression - my father just died, I was away from all my family and my old friends in a new country not knowing WTF I'm doing here and realizing that material concepts are complete flaw - eventually I locked myself in a room with no light, no food or water. And I specifically sat in the most painful and uncomfortable position for prolonged times, praying to God and crying - I must have spent there about 4 days or so - I became very delirious and was contemplating suicide very seriously - I started to write down all possible ways with advantages and disadvantages.
I remember nodding off into some weird dark dream during that process where I have encountered a huge green-yellow snake, then I woke up and I felt very weird and different - I walked out of the room for the first time in those days and decided to lay in the sofa in the living room. I remember it was an early sunny morning, around 5AM. I remained laying there for awhile and then suddenly I started having the feel of the "sphere" inside of me again so I just relaxed.
Next thing I know my body felt made out of lead and I felt completely paralyzed and unable to move even a finger, while remaining extremely aware and lucid. The feeling of heaviness grew quickly in intensity reaching it's peak as a popping sound and there "I" was, levitating right on top of my body.
I was able to view everything in 360 degrees - it was weird but extremely lucid and felt very normal to have that ability. It had made me feel so happy and appreciated - I felt some greater presence that "touched" my levitating "presence" and it gave me clear message - "Get up and LIVE your life, everything will be available to you if you just ask. You will have your time to depart."
And then "I" returned to the body, feeling extremely heavy but super euphoric. That moment had some of the strongest impacts on my life view. Later in life I would learn working with psychologist that it was a powerful self-induced psychosis episode.
The other significant OBE was induced by a large dose (above 10 grams dried) of Amanitas. I knew what I was up for so I was ready. In three or so hours I was seeing the aforementioned sphere come out, this time it was glowing red in color and very shimmering, it kept on being reproduced infinitely and each segment would be circling within itself and this image would go on forever with a strong feel of dissociation. At some point I "popped" from my body and once again "I" was able to see in 360 degrees and this time I had a weird giddy spirit trying to enter inanimate objects around me and each time every entrance would give me unique feel for what it was - I remember I liked entering the wood of my vintage Polk floor speakers - it was very entertaining and I had "memories" or visions of those trees and how they grew up, got cut and became parts of a speaker and now they are stuck "enjoying" vibrations that people send through them.
The objects "I" was entering were in different rooms and my body at that point had no way of moving - "I" left the body laying on the floor in the recovery position as I remember thinking that I gotta make sure I wont suffocate with my own vomit (I was vomiting pretty badly earlier), and when "I" returned, my body was still there laying in vomit.
During the spirit trip, after entering all the objects around I was pulled by some strong force (which felt like a gravitation) towards dark cosmos and I perceived planets, stars and constellations all around me - the speed with which everything was happening was insane but "I" was never afraid at any moment.
All these times I would never feel scared when I was out of the body - on the opposite, I would feel at peace and would not want to "come back". I would also start forgetting my physical self while floating around - I would forget what kind of animal I am even, it would just seem unimportant at these states.
I strongly believe that our physical bodies, along with our brains are "simply" vessels for something very intangible and huge and powerful at the same time.
Thats probably why I found a lot of resonation with Buddhist teachings after discovering them. Some excerpts:
Deep within all beings is a kind of spark that lights and warms our lives. It’s been called by many names in many different traditions. In the Buddhist tradition it’s known as “Buddha nature”— which is often described in terms of three qualities: boundless wisdom, infinite capability, and immeasurable loving-kindness and compassion.
One of the core teachings of Buddhism is that we all possess this nature. You may think that you’re an accountant, an executive, a teacher, a student, a parent, a child — and indeed, on a mundane, every-day level, you are. But underneath a particular identity and all the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may attach to it, what you are is the ever-evolving potential of a being who is capable not only of transcending suffering but of leading all other creatures out of darkness and pain, as well.
It is said to not to confuse your true nature with what you perceive - everything that is perceivable is considered of not of a true nature of being.
So we are not are bodies, we are not our thoughts, and we are not our emotions. We are truly that pure observers, playful and giddy, interested in everything.
And I believe that if we hurt someone, we actually hurting ourselves at the same time.
I dont think you can be me and vice versa, as above posters said - each one of us is a unique pattern and all we do in our life has this pattern embedded in it - that is our karmic path and that is what we ultimately try to work on, all our lives - to work out and align with our true pattern, or like Foreigner said, to play our own tune.
I also tend to think that death opens up a portal for our pure awareness (soul, true self, whatever) to go through and gather in one, bringing up all collected throughout our lifetime information to "the main office".
Reincarnation is not a rebirth of you, it is a rebirth of You. Think of it as having a successful pattern acquisition of subtle differences of data within physical realm will "make" "God" to send you out again - so pretty much all information, specific to that life you had, becomes irrelevant, only patterns of interconnections are important at the end I think.
I really dont know why it is the way it is but I have always been curious and that I think it is a direct sign of life.
