Mixing metaphors for fun and profit

Ask anybody, even yourself right now: When you are not *thinking* - there are no words coming out of your mouth, or onto your keyboard, or banging around inside your head so that you can *hear* them (which means you are NOT watching TV, listening to the radio, reading a book or email - just sitting there, not *thinking* about anything) what's going ON in there?

Do you immediately reply something like, feeling, or sensing, or whatever is left of you, in there, when you are not thinking? What word would you here use?

Fact is, there IS no time when you are not thinking, except thinking is the wrong word here, it's a huge mixed metaphor.

That is, the metaphor, "thinking" is used by 99% of the planet to describe as best they can their inner mental chattering, daydreaming, etc. But they've totally mixed up their metaphors.

That is, there is a word that much more precisely describes what is going on in there, and if people would only start USING that word, instead of the wrong word (thinking), they'd discover a new reality. What word would you then use?

But, sitting around thinking about what that *other* word is, or waiting for someone to actually tell you the word, is precisely like opening your mouth and waiting for a roast pigeon to fly in it.

Good searching, er, uh, thinking... yeah that's the ticket.