ASHLAND – If women can identify the negative thought patterns and damaging beliefs that hold them back, they can begin to break those barriers and transform their lives.
That’s the idea behind Breaking My Boundaries, a women’s empowerment conference coming to Ashland this September.
“I actually attended this conference almost two years ago, and it was the best conference I’ve ever attended,” said Lori Au, a counselor at Ashland County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. “I felt so empowered when I left that conference, and I wanted to share that feeling with other women in the community I work in.
“I believe in this conference changing lives so much that I really wanted to bring it to Ashland County,” Au said.
Au worked with the conference leaders as well as leaders of ACCADA and other local sponsors to make her vision a reality.
Now that the conference is booked, she’s working to spread the word and hoping for a packed house for the event. Spaces are available for up to 100 women, and participants can come from within or outside Ashland County.
Borrowing from a testimonial on the conference website, Au describes the conference as “not a boring lecture or a get your phone out and text kind of conference.”
“It was very interactive. It was motivational, and very empowering,” she said. “Every woman, from the executive to the mom on welfare, can come together in one room to find there’s this thing we have in common and to bond with and support each other.”
The conference features an energetic emcee, outstanding speakers and powerful exercises, Au said.
In one of the activities at the 2017 conference, one woman who was designated as “the dreamer” sat in a chair and thought of a dream. Another woman sat across from the first and encouraged her, providing positive feedback to support her as she worked toward the dream. But then, women on either side of the dreamer told her negative things and listed reasons why she couldn’t succeed in her dream.
“It was really powerful because what we found was, the women that were trying to say negative things had a hard time saying them, but the dreamer was struggling to hear the positive things,” Au said. “It really demonstrated how those negative voices do control and hold us back.”
In another exercise, each woman was given a black canvas and a piece of white chalk with which to write all the negative things people have said them that had stuck with them over the years.
Later in the day, the women use wet cloths to wipe off the negativity. They then used paints to create new pictures and words on the canvases, reinforcing the things they had learned throughout the day.
Au took six ACCADA clients to the conference that year, and all six were blown away.
For one introverted client, Au recalls, the conference was a complete life-changer.
Though the conference can be beneficial for women who have struggled with addiction, Au believes it’s truly for everyone.
“I really try to emphasize that this is not just for our clients,” she said. “Most women that I know have had some kind of abuse, whether it was domestic violence, sexual violence, verbal abuse or emotional abuse. Those things tend to hold us back… Often, we hold ourselves back. That’s part of who we are today, but it doesn’t have to control our futures.”
The event will be 8:30 to 4 p.m. Sept 21 at Holiday Inn Express in Ashland, OH. Registration begins at 8 a.m.
Tickets are $50, or two for $75 and are available at www.breakingmyboundaries.com.
ACCADA, Ashland County Community Foundation and the Ashland County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Tunnell are sponsoring the conference to help keep costs low, but scholarships are available for women who would like to attend but cannot afford tickets.
To be considered for a scholarship, women can send an email to loriau@zoominternet.net explaining why they want to attend the conference and describing the situation that prevents them from being able to afford the admission fee.
Businesses, organizations or individuals interested in sponsoring the event can do so by visiting www.breakingmyboundaries.com/2018-sponsorship-programs/ or contacting ACCADA at (419) 289-7675.
