Ananism: The Art of Singular Energy Immersion

The phenomenon of ananism represents a vivid manifestation of extreme individualization, in which all inner energy is focused on a single, isolated practice. Similar to chess—which, by combining mental concentration and specific energetic investments, brings together a whole spectrum of resources—ananism transforms activity into a profound inner experience devoid of collective dynamics.

When examining human activity through the lens of energy ontology, one can note that every mode of action is imbued with a complex mixture of heterogeneous and diversely directed energies that together form a unique energetic profile of the individual. While team sports and collective processes pool energy to achieve common goals, ananism is a complete surrender to oneself, where a person immerses in isolated activity by disconnecting from the external world and conventional socialization.

Thus, the phenomenon of ananism can be interpreted as the extreme concentration of personal energy, whereby both emotional and cognitive resources are entirely invested in one particular area of activity. This is not simply a rejection of collective interaction, but a conscious drive to deeply immerse oneself in one’s personal realm, enabling the discovery of new facets of the inner world and a re-interpretation of one’s own activity.

If chess is considered a sport, then how can the phenomenon of ananism be understood in the context of other physical activities?

Ananism can be seen as an expression of extreme individualization and concentration of inner energies in a single type of activity. Much like chess (if recognized as a sport) employs not only mental but also specific energetic resources, ananism represents a process in which energy is entirely “invested” in one, often isolated, act.

When considering human activity from the perspective of energy anthropology, it becomes clear that various modes of activity are characterized by a dynamic amalgamation of diverse energies. For instance, one analysis notes:
"One of the distinctions in such discourse is an energy ontology that describes, alongside the usual phenomena of material reality, other 'non-liquidable' events... the central concept becomes the 'energetic profile' of the human being—a changing, dynamic aggregation of all his heterogeneous and diversely directed energies." (source: link )

In this context, the phenomenon of ananism takes on the meaning of an extreme concentration of personal energy, whereby activity is not aimed at integration into collective or social forms (as seen in team sports), but is transformed into a unilateral internal practice. Further support for this view comes from the observation that certain practices require complete immersion and, consequently, a disconnection from customary external activities:
"...by devoting himself to it, a person 'withdraws from the world,' disconnecting from all conventional external activities." (source: link )

Thus, if chess is considered a sport based on its specific energetic contributions and organized activity, then the phenomenon of ananism can be interpreted as a parallel, yet highly individualized, form of activity. Here, energy is entirely directed toward internal experience, making this type of activity analogous to an isolated, self-sufficient process, distinct from collective, externally oriented forms of activity.