Hiya! So I've been lucid 5 or 6 times thus far, and I just had a lucid dream last night. I think lucid dreaming is awesome and I want to do more of it, but my problem is that whenever I become lucid I suddenly become frantic. I used to think it was because I was afraid I had a short amount of time, and that is part of it, but I don't really know what it is. I just feel like I have to decide what to do NOW and I can't be still.

In the dream I had last night, I saw someone I know who passed away about a year ago (it's becoming a dreamsign for me) and for the first time this made me realize I was dreaming. I don't remember the dream that well, but I do remember that it was quite vivid, more so than some of my other lucid dreams. I remember that it was sort of hard to believe I was dreaming, even though I knew I was without doing any reality checks. Anyway so I remember frantically moving over really close to a wall and when I was there I realized I should examine the wall to increase my lucidity--I remember seeing what looked like ages of dust and cobwebs on the wall.

Then, like 5 seconds later, still rushing, I decided for some reason that I wanted to go to Hogwarts. Not even giving myself enough time to figure out how I would get there I just started going, and I remember that I had to traverse what would best be described as very dark sand dunes, and I knew Hogwarts was at the end. I was going very fast but never seemed to get closer and at this point I think either the dream disintegrated or I lost my lucidity.



So yeah, basically I need some advice on how to not feel so frantic when I realize I'm having a lucid dream. And specifically, I need some directions on what exactly to do at that point. Like from the moment I realize it, what next? Move around slowly in a circle and look at my surroundings? Look at the sky? Look at my hands? Whistle?

And any ideas for a good first successful lucid dream would be appreciated--I used to always try looking for doors to imagine places behind them and open them and be there, but this just wound up with me spending the whole dream looking for tiny doors I couldn't fit through.