I get where you are coming from, because I've followed a similar path. I'm not a spiritual person either; having frequent nightmares as a child led me to learn

I get where you are coming from, because I've followed a similar path. I'm not a spiritual person either; having frequent nightmares as a child led me to learning how to recognize the dreaming state and exert control over the dreamscape. I had learned how to do most of the exercises that Alan Wallace talks about in his book all on my own before I ever heard of dream yoga or Buddhism, so following through didn't require any faith or belief. I can't speak of how to deal with fearing this state of mind itself because for me it's always been a tool to escape the scary situations I had unwittingly conjured during my non-lucid dreaming. Once you recognize that everything in your dreamscape is a manifestation of your emotional estate and your expectations, you unlock the ability to manipulate it at will. When you recognize that the evil person in your dream is nothing but a representation of your fear you are able to turn it into a non-threatening experience through self-compassion. You can literally go talk to them and say you feel sorry that they are scared and reassure them that they are safe with you, and they will turn into your friend. Because you are literally talking to yourself. I do recommend practicing kindness and understanding in your every day life, as it carries over to your dream experiences once it has become a habit. Buddhists may describe this in more spiritual terms, but I see it in a mundane way. Maybe they are right, I don't really care. It works.