Abstractions of life events serve as a mnemonic to trigger the warehouse of empirical studies that make up our life. As such, these abstractions provide the key to recombining personal experience into new abstract theories.
Ideas get stored in long term memory separately. It takes the recalling of ideas into short term memory to draw the conscious connections between element to form integrated theories.
Once a sufficient amount of study and life analysis has been performed, often the best source of ideas is our own mind. Before and after researching other sources, introspection and brainstorming can provide the best sources of ideas. It is an essential tool for integrating and drawing interconnections between ideas.