I've played around with binaural beats for quite some time, with mixed success.
The times they've worked the best have been when I can relax to the point I'm in that, "not quite awake, but not asleep," stage, and even then, the results are barely noticeable, but definitely above placebo. I think enough evidence exists, and enough people have had experiences to prove binaural technology at least somewhat true.
Someone mentioned astral projection here, and that I can say, definitely exists, 100%. Now, the theories behind astral projection range from, "it's just dreaming," to, "you're experiencing the 5th dimension," but obviously there is no way to prove these right or wrong.
Astral projection is definitely an experience in of itself, and myself being a frequent dreamer, I can definitely say that there is almost no similarities between dreaming and astral projection, other than the fact both experiences are hard to remember after waking up. Astral projection is also very hard to do, and takes a lot of practice. Even then, you'll probably experience dreams where you, "think," you are projecting, when you're really not. Believe me, if you manage to project, you WILL know it!
I've never been successful attempting to project while falling asleep. All the times I've been successful have been after waking up from a nap, while falling back asleep. Below are some interesting things I've experienced before.
- Intense Vibrational State: Ever experience an intense buildup of...everything, while falling asleep? That's exactly what the vibrational state is. Everything builds up in intensity. You hear an increasingly louder white noise (like being in a fan tunnel while the fan blows harder and harder), your eyes feel like they shut tighter and tighter, your teeth clench harder and harder until it feels like you're going to break your jaw, and the rest of your body begins to go numb as it continues to build.
- Extremely Life Like: Ever have that dream where you were 100% certain it was real? That's what the process of splitting feels like. Once the vibrational state builds to a certain level, you can "split" from your physical body. Too soon and you move your real body (usually waking up in the process), too late and you fall asleep into a dream. If you time it right though, you can perform the split, which (in all honesty) feels like you're rolling out of bed for real. My first projection I honestly thought I was walking around like an idiot with my eyes closed. That's how real it feels.
- Crazy World: Assuming you make it this far, you now have to get away from your body. I have no idea how to describe this, but the closer you are to your bed, the stronger the pull back to your body, which will wake you up. For this reason, if you successfully split, immediately go as far from your body as possible, and touch something (like a wall). Touching a wall and/or something physical helps ground you in the astral world, and at this point you can open your eyes to see the world yourself, which (in all honesty) closely resembles the real world, with minor differences.
- It Won't Last Long: Chances are you won't project, and if you ever do, chances are it won't be for very long. It's very easily to fall into a dream while projecting, but if you practice often, your astral experiences will last longer without waking up and/or falling into a dream.
No, this is not a troll post. I was originally fascinated by the concept of astral projection, and the above is the best way I can describe the experiences I've had (6 total). As said before, I'm not going to argue over the legitimacy of astral projection, but I will say it is definitely an experience in of itself, and not like dreaming in any way, shape, or form.
I don't practice projection anymore because I've already gotten a lot out of it, which really was just trying to figure out what it feels like, and whether or not it was like dreaming. I still enjoy talking about the experiences though.