association of ideas

In her choreographic explorations, she is led by the free association of ideas rather than by Odissi’s familiar stories — many drawn from the 12th-century “Gita Govinda,” which recounts the love between Radha and Krishna.

I suppose it is some association of ideas that makes those dead places in a journey.

“Exactly. A tall, middle-aged woman with red hair—in fact, the exact opposite in every respect of Miss Debenham, so much so as to be quite remarkable. But then she had to invent a name quickly, and there it was that the unconscious association of ideas gave her away. She said Miss Freebody, you remember.”

This does come back to Locke again, and Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, which is about the association of ideas.

By association of ideas, he sees the teacup, the kitchen, the cook, the garden and, as he says, eventually the whole town of Combray comes out of his cup of tea.