Americana Leadership College

A Quick Overview

I was raised as a member of the "Americana Leadership College," (ALC) created by Francisco Coll. This group is also known as the "Inner Peace Movement" (IPM), which is now a part of ALC. I am no longer a member of the group, although there is no formal membership in the first place. I am now an Atheist, Skeptic, and Humanist. I hope that information on the group I was once a part of will be helpful to others, particularly those that are considering joining ALC.

The following description of the group comes from the cover of the book "Man and the Universe" by Francisco Coll; the book which describes the basic beliefs of the group:

The Americana Leadership College, Inc., Ltd., Pty. was founded in 1967. It is one of the first colleges in the world that will help you clarify your spiritual life... It is a college of experience." 

ALC has no accreditation that I know of. There are no professors with credentials earned from reputable institutions. This is a New Age religion with a number of unorthodox beliefs. Here is a short, non-exhaustive list of topics that I witnessed being discussed in the program:

• Guardian Angels
• Prophecy
• Ghosts
• Possession by ghosts
• souls
• "Astral Traveling"
• Channeling
• Balance of "Thinking" and "Feeling"
• Karma
• Energy flow
• Alternative healing

The members of ALC genuinely believe these are real phenomenon, although not everyone believes wholeheartedly in all of them. Skepticism is not encouraged, and instead everyone is encouraged to "keep an open mind." Members are taught to believe what their "guidance" (guardian angels) tells them is correct. I will cover this in my next post, as I believe that this approach defines the group more that any other aspect.

In further posts, I will explore the thinking that I witnessed as a member. I hope to examine the thoughts and "revelations" provided to the members of these groups with a critical eye, without bashing the individual members.