I'm not sure I see the benefits of Astral Projection. I'm a beginning lucid dreamer myself, had maybe 20 of them thus far (just starting to reach the higher levels of clarity), and I can imagine tons of uses for lucid dreaming, not the least of which being entertainment.
The only thing I can imagine in favour of going Astral is exploration. I don't suppose you're socializing with the entities there, unless you can invite your spirit friends over. As such, I can't, personally, see much reason to tackle it. Plus, exploration in a potentially hazardous environment isn't exactly something I'm willing to try right now, not until I get myself into a constant state of high vibration at least.
Am I missing something? Is there anything more to it than exploration?
[Edit:] Having just read your blog entry on the basics of AP, I no longer need a reply.
Astral Projection: The Basics Explained