It is possible that these experiences are actually OBEs. Scientists have developed a few commercial devices that monitor the eyelids of a dreamer. When REM sleep is detected, the machine flashes a light or sends another signal to the dreamer. When the dreamer recognizes the signal, they can wake themselves to a fully conscious lucid dream. Studies have shown that OBEs do not occur during REM sleep.
Some people report accidentally leaving their body during meditation.
Others go into a state of meditation when trying to induce an OBE, but never leave their body. When I meditate, my mind becomes empty, and I go into a kind of trance that I can't explain. In this trance of meditation, I don't have any perception. I don't have dreams or hypnogogic images. It is as if the world has completely stopped, and my consciousness has been extinguished.