Ingrid,
No, the techniques in AFL are not mystical or manipulative. They're actually quite practical and beneficial overall, geared toward the western mindset of goal-planning and communication, but with the added ingredient of opening up awareness to OTC guidance. The "web-ad" for AFL is much more hyped-up and colorful than the actual course, whether for good or bad, but I notice that to be true about all advertising efforts. Bait-and-switch exists everywhere in this world
The communication skills taught in AFL are not manipulative at all. Just the opposite, they teach you to genuinely focus on what the other person really wants, and by doing so, he will naturally give you what you want. It's just the application of the Golden Rule, or, as clever marketers have reinvented it, "The Law of Attraction."
As you no doubt have gathered from reading my earlier posts, I'm very left-brained critical and analytical about every idea that passes my way, and I'm more than willing to give it a try, but also willing to shred it to pieces in the process. Perhaps that is why AFL has fundamentally not "worked" with resounding success for me as it has others in this forum.
Paul Scheele did make an interesting challenge at the beginning of the AFL program. He challenged the listener (in so many words), "Would you be willing to go through the course and have it do nothing at all for you?" Well, he said that if you weren't willing for that to happen, that may be the very reason why it won't work for you. But that if you were willing, then the doors to abundance may be ready to swing wide open. (I'm paraphrasing heavily, here, as I've forgotten the actual words.)
Anyway, I did learn a lot from the course, and I did appreciate the spirit from which it was presented. No doubt, I've gotten in the way of my own manifestation of material things, but in my mind, I've rationalized that perhaps it is because I'm not meant to have these things in the first place. LIke you said, there is another perspective on abundance, and it comes from the absence of material desire. I'm not saying that perspective has to be the right one for everyone, but perhaps for some, it is the only way. After all, if the Universe makes it easy for me to detach myself from this realm, I should be very, very grateful, because very few get to enjoy this esteemed blessing!
Anyway, I would encourage you to get AFL and give it a "test-ride". You will definitely learn something in the process, as it is quite a professional production.
I wish you the very best in your own path toward abundance! 
