I will make this short and sweet. Since the age of 16 I have been able to AP. Never by choice. I never chose to due to fear. Most of these experiences would be scary and would end with me being so terrified that I would be instantly sucked back into my physical body. For years I had no idea what was happening and usually wrote these off as very vivid dreams.
As they became more frequent during a very hard time in my life I sought out more information and discovered the astral world. I experimented a bit but was still very afraid. I would go through periods where it would happen for many months and then be absent for years. It seemed to happen more often during periods of strife.
Now, 17 years later, I am able to project almost any time (while in early waking/sleep). All I still feel fear and move around in a very clumsy manner. I went through a period where all of my "travels" were happy and almost liberating.
Now I'm in a period again where it happens with no control. Also, these experiences are terrifying and dark. I have also been having very dark dreams for the last few months.
I've read a few books on astral projection as well as "lurked" on a few boards. I would really just like to learn to control this or dismiss it entirely from my life.
So here is my question; are there others out there who have had a pattern similar over such a long period of time? Just a side note, my life is very stable and happy right now so I can't really write it off on being because of issues in my life. I have however, felt the need to discover more about the world around me past future present etc.