With training you can induce OBE´s to occur during meditation. Experience an OBE during this state leaves you with full control and consciouness of what´s happening. In theory everyone is capable of having a conscious astral travel but in practice there´s a barrier that help most people from it - fear. Due to a lot of misconceptions, ideas like one can die during a session because one leaves the body behind or that there are evil beings waiting for us in the astral plane are still common.

Fear for the unknown and the idea that one will not be in control during an OBE are the main problems. There are no golden solutions for this problem. You have to overcome your own fears to do this.

There are a lot of reasons  to consciously attempt an OBE. To visit places that otherwise would be impossible to physically go, to seek knowledge from the astral world, for divination or merely experimental purposes.

One of the most common questions i´m asked about astral  travel is "what if my physical body is disturbed while i´m having an OBE?" That happened to me several times and what happens is your astral being returns to the physical body (sometimes in high speed) immediately and you "wake up".

There are a lot of books about this subject some good others not so good. I recommend you to go to your bookstore check them out and choose one that appeals to you (one with practical exercises not only theory).

Bon voyage :) !