There is a lack of an appropriate word in the English language to denote the voluntary action of generating an internal feeling within oneself independently of external stimuli. This becomes a particular problem when we are forced to revert to words like “imagine” or “visualize” almost exclusively to describe or convey meditative exercises. Even feeling-type meditative exercises are inaptly spoken of in these terms. These words have their own connotations, that of seeing or projecting an object, an activity, or the result of a process in the mind’s eye. That’s good as far as it goes and can be a legitimate means of inquiry on its own terms in its realm, but by itself, it implicitly limits how we think about approaching meditation, suggesting it is restricted to the seen world (whether external or internal) and that the mind is the only avenue of approach to meditation. It also suggests and further reifies the subject/object split in consciousness – there is the object imagined, and there is the imaginer; the projected and the projector.

I’d like to suggest a new word to address this shortcoming in the language. That word is:

Sentigender (verb) – meaning the action of voluntarily generating an interior feeling or sensation. Alternatively, Sensgender, carrying the same meaning.

The word comes from two roots, senti– (or variant sens-) meaning feeling, sensation, or awareness (as in sentience or sense), and -gender, meaning to generate (as in engender).

The etymology and definitions of parent words using these word roots from Wiktionary is as follows:

Sentience – Noun.

Etymology
From sentient, from Latin sentiēns, present participle of sentiō (“feel, sense”). Alternatively, sens– meaning perception or sensation, etymology partly borrowed from Latin sensus (“sense, sensation, feeling, meaning”), also from sentiō (“feel, perceive”).

Noun
sentience (usually uncountable, plural sentiences)

Definition

• The state or quality of being sentient; possession of consciousness or sensory awareness.

Source: Wiktionary

Engender – Verb (may be either transitive or intransitive)

Etymology
From Middle French engendrer, from Latin ingenerāre, from in- + generāre (“to generate”).

engender (third-person singular simple present engenders, present participle engendering, simple past and past participle engendered)

Definitions

• (obsolete, transitive) To beget (of a man); to bear or conceive (of a woman). [14th–19th c.]
• (transitive) To give existence to, to produce (living creatures). [from 14th c.]
• (transitive) To bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create. [from 14th c.]
• (intransitive) To assume form; to come into existence; to be caused or produced.
• (obsolete, intransitive) To copulate, to have sex. [15th–19th c.]

Synonyms

(to bring into existence): beget, conjure, create, produce, make, craft, manufacture, invent, assemble, generate

Source: Wiktionary

Together, these word roots can combine to create a new verb, one that is capable of filling this rather critical gap in English. It gives us a means to speak of meditative exercises and actions that is not restricted to visualizations of the mind’s eye. In doing so, it does not further reify the subject/object split in human consciousness; instead it invites us into a participatory experience where we are encouraged to exercise our feeling capacities and use these as the basis of explorations of consciousness without the possibility of misunderstanding. A prime example of an exercise where it would be appropriate to apply this new word (sentigender) or its variant (sensgender) would be the Heart Calisthenics.

Language is important, and using the right terms to convey precisely the intended meaning is critical in spiritual exploration. While the analytic mind cannot take us there on its own, it can certainly hinder the approach if its tools are not sharp, discriminating, and carefully employed. I will return to this topic using either sensgender or sentigender as the basis of further posts on meditative exercises in the future.