I am Dreaming. Remain Calm. I am Dreaming...

It occurred to me tonight while in the shower, that the dream state may be much more than a simple playground for the subconscious. In my study of ancient wisdom texts, it is stressed over and over again the importance of the imagination, the importance of the ability to create with the mind alone.

Could it be that the dream state is a school for the spiritual aspirant? It seems that 90% of my dreams take place in some type of school-like environment. I've always thought it was just because I love to learn new things, but maybe it's more than that. I've had lucid dreams before, and it seems that one of three things happens:

1. I become excited upon realization that I can do whatever I please, and I instantly wake up.
2. I become excited, and before I realize what is happening I fly into the air - then wake up.
3. I become excited, but attempt to calm myself, and have the ability to change the course of the dream before being overcome with excitement and waking up.

What if I concentrated on remaining calm only, and avoided the impulse to live out some fantasy?

Last night/this morning I became aware that I was dreaming, but only partially. Some part of my mind knew that I could change the surroundings, so I tried and was minimally successful. In fact, I struggled to gain control, but I intuitively knew how it "felt" to change things. I didn't "say" it in my mind ("this can change into this...") but I imagined that it were different, expecting the dream to conform, which it usually does. In this instance it didn't due to self-doubt.

I think what I need to do, is train myself to 1. recognize that I am dreaming, then, 2. to remind myself to stay calm so I can remain in the dream state and gain incremental control over the surroundings. If I can do this, hopefully, I can gain enough self-control to probe my dream-world for information about myself/reality. In essence, I can gain direct access to my subconscious mind, in order to learn more about myself.

From now on, when I am going to sleep, I will repeat to myself: I will recognize that I am dreaming. I will remain calm. I will remember it upon waking.