The word "默念" is formed by combining the character "默", meaning silent or quietly, which historically incorporates "黑" for black and "犬" for dog but functions here to denote silence, with the character "念", meaning to think or recite, composed of "今" for now and "心" for heart to convey mental activity. In this compound, "默" directly modifies "念" to specify that the action of thinking or reciting is performed internally without sound.