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The Bloom Growth Booster program allows you to set up your own spiritual exercise program. You can read about the advantages of using a program like Bloom on the page called Values and Purposes of Spiritual Exercise.
Registration
The first step is registration, which is a simple process. Only a minimal amount of information is needed.
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User name and password ensures that your records will be kept totally private. Only you (and anyone you personally ask to give you feedback on a specific item) will ever see any part of your program or journal entries.
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E-mail address enables Bloom to contact you with daily reminders of your program items and with optional notifications concerning feedback messages you've received.
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User type allows Bloom to show you only what you need to see, according to your purposes.
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Time zone makes sure the dates and times Bloom adds to your journal entries and messages are accurate, no matter where in the world you live.
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Choosing a user type
When registering, you must choose a user type. Don't worry too much about this decision: You may change your user type at any time. You can go to the Bloom User Options area by clicking the User Options tab above the banner.
Choosing a user type involves deciding if you will use Bloom for your own spiritual exercise, or only to give feedback to your friends who are Bloom users. Also, if you plan to create your own spiritual exercise program, you must specify if you will want feedback on your spiritual practices from friends or from a spiritual mentor, or if you will use the program independently. We suggest you read the page called Feedback Options for assistance with this decision, and to learn more about how feedback is exchanged in Bloom. (The Feedback Options page also explains the prerequisites for having an LLF mentor.)
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Immediately after completing and submitting the registration form, you will receive an e-mail containing a link which will complete your registration when you follow it.
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Setting up a program
If you register as a practitioner, Bloom will walk you through setting up your own personal spiritual exercise program. Reading How to Choose/Create Items is a good way to start planning what you would like to do in your program. Your first program will go into effect immediately, so you can start your practice right away. You can also modify your program at any time. Changes to your program go into effect the day after you make them.
Once your program is set up, Bloom will send you an e-mail each day listing items you have for that day. (You can request your reminders be sent a day in advance, if you prefer. Indicate your preference on the "User Type" page in the User Options area of Bloom.) If no items are scheduled, your e-mail will remind you that you have the day off. You can also print your current program at any time. There are links for that purpose on the Welcome Back page (where you first arrive after you log in each time), on you User Home page, and on the navigation palette for the Practice Records area of Bloom.
Records of your spiritual practices
In the Practice Records area of Bloom you can mark items done, rate your performance with a score (from 1 to 5) if you wish, and write journal entries about your practices. You may mark items done and write journal entries about items for up to six days after you did them; simply click on the appropriate day's tab to record your experiences for any given day.
We suggest you read Why Keep a Spiritual Journal to appreciate the important advantages of this aspect of spiritual practice. Practitioners who have elected to use feedback can also request feedback for any journal entry (either when it is first written, or any time in the future). In the Practice Records area you can also read and edit past journal entries, review feedback messages you have sent and received, unsend feedback messages not yet read by the recipient, and correspond with buddies and mentors about feedback they gave you.
Bloom Mail
Bloom Mail offers another way for Bloom users to communicate with each other, apart from giving and receiving feedback.
Bloom Mail allows Bloom users to exchange messages with any other Bloom user at any time. The recipient does not need to be your buddy, your mentor, or your student, and the subject does not need to be a specific journal entry. You only have to know your recipient's Bloom user name, so you can type it in the recipient field, exactly as he or she types it when logging into Bloom.
To use Bloom Mail, just click the "Bloom Mail" tab above the banner on any page, and follow the on-screen instructions. You will be informed of new Bloom Mail messages when you log into Bloom each time, and whenever you return to your User Home page. To receive e-mail notifications of new Bloom Mail messages, mark the appropriate option on the Feedback Preferences page in the User Options area.
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