Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam: Put your hand in the box. I hold at your neck the gom jabbar. This one kills only animals.
Paul Atreides: Are you suggesting a duke's son is an animal?
Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam: Let us say I suggest you may be human. Your awareness may be powerful enough to control your instincts. Your instinct will be to remove your hand from the box. If you do so, you die.
(Dune)

This quote from the movie Dune highlights a major consideration in the internal arts: composure.
Composure enables a person to handle stress and crisis.

We are not interested in triggering our fight or flight response.
It may have certain advantages but it can also be a serious impediment.

The aim is to remain calm, composed and present...