Practice · the foundation
The Silent Sit
Part 1 asks for fifteen to thirty minutes of physical stillness, daily, for a week. Almost nobody manages that in week one — so start smaller than you think you should.
Sit still. Breathe. Return when the mind wanders.
That is the whole exercise, and Haanel set it in Part 1: fifteen to thirty minutes, same seat, body perfectly still. Thoughts are allowed — you are training the body to obey first. Five minutes you actually do beats the fifteen you keep postponing.
If sitting with your eyes closed brings up intrusive thoughts, flashbacks or dread, keep your eyes open and lower your gaze — or stop and use the grounding steps. A practice that makes you worse is not a practice you owe anyone.
After the sit
Write one line in the journal about what the mind did. Over weeks, that page becomes evidence — the kind of evidence a demoralised person actually needs, because it is your own handwriting rather than somebody's claim.