Beautiful Japanese Word of the Day #5
言霊 (Kotodama)
言 (Koto) from the word Kotoba (言葉) means words
霊 (Rei) means spirit
And together they make Kotodama (言霊). Sometimes you might see Kotodama spelled as 言魂 (魂 meaning soul). Words that come out of a person’s mouth; these words have magical powers. This was a common belief back in Japan.
Writer's note: Perhaps sutras and other religious rituals come from this idea that the words you speak have a strong power within them. Many Japanese people believe in saying your dreams or goals out loud because they’ll eventually come true if you do. In retrospect, saying "I'm dumb" every day in middle school was a bad idea I guess... Too late now.