Smoke Ring
Only today did I find an online video that beautifully illustrates how a thermal works.
Its a video of smoke rings ascending from the volcano Mt Etna in Italy.
Technically, these smoke rings from a volcano are thermals. However, I hope no one ever tries flying in these extremely toxic smoke rings.
No, the video is for education only. However, if you carefully watch the flow of the smoke around the edges, you can more easily understand where to fly to stay in an invisible thermal.
The general rule for soaring is — turn towards the wing that is getting pushed up.
This keeps you in the thermal, which is almost always trying to spit you out. (1)
Notes: Yes I realize sometimes pilots have been caught in thunderheads, sucked up ten thousand feet or more and literally froze to death, but those kinds of violent conditions are so rare extremely few of us will ever encounter them.