Lorelei: The kind of things they say on other forums is one of the reasons we exist. It is far too easy and very much intellectually lazy to dismiss someone else's reality out of hand. We aren't letting that happen here. But, back to the eperiences...
So far, other than the experiences you and I have had are of different topics, the only other variable I see so far is that I could be convinced that anything odd that I ever experience while trying to sleep was a dream. My dreams are often vivid and realistic but I usually don't see them as anything but dreams. The few things I have experienced that may not have been dreams seem more real but I can't swear they aren't dreams. I don't mind that. I hope you find some answers that work for you as well.