From your description, it sounds like you are successful in entering the trance state. This is the final goal for many types of meditations, and an amazing mental state in its own right. Many religions are based on reaching this state of mind, so congratulations on unlocking something so powerful.

Lucid dreamers (and APers) take it one step further, and enter a dream from this state. As Shift already said, you are in a hypnagogic state, right on the border of sleep. The final step of entering a dream can be the most difficult for some people, or very easy and natural for others.

It seems everyone has their own little tricks to enter the dream, just as everyone has their own tricks for meditating. Check out Clairity's guide for a good description of some things to try:
http://www.dreamviews.com/community/...415#post746415
You also want to be sure to do this meditaton after a few hours of sleep, so you will transfer right into a REM dream.


If you want more information from a lucid dreaming perspective, read around about Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming (WILD), Sleep Paralysis (SP), or Hypnagogia (HI). The vibrations, visuals, sounds, and body distortions are all commonly reported.

It is amazing to see how the experience is so similar no matter how you approach it. Out of Body Experiences, deep trance meditations, or Wake Initiated Lucid dreaming. It is great to be human