Why we get lost in thought

Why is it so easy to get lost in thoughts? This and so much more was covered during a lovely chat with Connor Beaton on the ‪@ManTalks‬ podcast. Check the link in bio for the full episode!

[@fronx1984]

I've recently been trying to get more clarity on this topic and, at least in my experience of thought, there seem to be more aspects to it than just words and images.
For example, when considering mathematical constructs, I often have the feeling that there is a spatial component to it, very similar actually to the way our minds construct the (essentially simulated) perception of 3-dimensional space from a range of sensory inputs that are not 3-dimensional. (Part of what contributes to our visual perception are saccades, those jumpy eye movements that keep changing the 2D content associated with each eye. And yet, in the reconstruction of how all of those individual images add up to a unified space, they are automatically arranged such that they provide evidence to a 3D environment that we perceive, not just as an idea or a loosely held interpretation, but with a sense of immediacy.) As far as I can tell (and distinguish), the way concepts are layed out in my mind feels the same way, spatial, not just visual.
Sometimes I can also detect an aspect that has the feel of a force pushing or pulling. E.g. when instantiating the concept of 'yes', it feels to me like I am being pulled towards something, or I am pulling something towards me. With 'no' it feels like the opposite: a repelling force. The 'no' force can also be felt at the edges of definitional boundaries. E.g. if I ask you to think of a triangle, you might imagine one concrete triangle as a placeholder at first. But if you explore the whole range of triangleness, you might notice a repelling force preventing you from opening up the angles too wide. As they get close to 180 degrees, there is a resistance keeping them away from crossing the boundary that would make it not a triangle.
I'd be very curious to hear if you can confirm the above. I don't hear many people talking about the phenomenology of thought. It's much more common to single out thought as an aspect of conscious activity that we grow up being conditioned to overindulge in and identify with. As a result of that counter-movement, the felt dimension of thought is often left out of deeper investigation. What gives thoughts the power to move us as much as they do?