Meet the CBD Founders With a Serious Spiritual Side

Cannabidiol (CBD) has dramatically increased the amount of people willing to use a little cannabis to address health outside of conventional pharmaceuticals. Suffice to say CBD products are now being used to ease the effects of everything from eczema to anxiety. It’s popping up in everything from scalp scrubs from celebrity adjacent brands, to aesthetically on point soda cans. But a countermovement has spawned out of this first wave of plant-based remedy and holistic, positive vibes is its game.

We spoke with Colorado based Adriaan Zimmerman and Ret Taylor, co-founders of Ned, about the various ways that CBD products need to be wielded as more than just a single isolate in typical commercial formulations.

Their company produces the full spectrum CBD oil that people are increasingly after. That means it’s not isolated from other cannabidiols and terpenes found in cannabis (including trace amounts of THC but not enough to get you high). But interestingly, Ned’s tinctures and butters are also infused with sound therapy, a deep connection to nature, and organic sun-grown practices as a given.

Ned uses soundbathing and positive word therapy techniques (a.k.a whispering soothing or empowering phrases) while bottling their products in an effort steep them in energies said to induce healing, positive, and for some, spiritual experiences.

"At the time of bottling, we hold a little ceremony," says Taylor. "With binaural beats playing in the background, Adriaan and I take a few moments each to give our oil our good energy, to feed it with love and gratitude and to send it into the world as our gift. We surround the oil with the written words 'love' and 'gratitude' and speak them to the oil when it is in its bulk form. It's a simple processes and its not as woo woo as it might sound, but its one more thing we do to create the absolute highest quality product we can."

And while some baseline research suggests that sound-based therapeutic techniques can help with pain in people with fibromyalgia, there’s no scientific evidence for Ned’s approach—just pure belief in the positive power of vibrations intention.

Ned Hemp Infused Body Butter, $52

What works on people is one thing, but plants (like cannabis) love sound and vibrations and studies show that it may even increase their resistance to pests and diseases.

Ret Taylor learned about these alternative healing concept from his younger sister, a healer. He says, “I first heard about sound therapy, binaural beats, and frequencies from my beautiful sage of a sister and spirit guide, Kat Taylor. Kat lives in the mountains in a little town near Aspen and is deeply in tune with the mind-body-spirit connection and the rhythms of nature.

"She is the founder of Kailo Wellness, which creates extremely high quality and high energy essential oils and body butters all geared toward the chakras. She has been a big inspiration for Ned and even worked with us on our own N°1 Body Butter scent formulation.”

Ned’s other founder, Adriaan Zimmerman, also says that these energy techniques are what makes their CBD different than other full spectrum products, and that customers can tell without being explicitly told. “To be honest, we don't necessarily feel a huge need to communicate them,” he says. “We truly believe that whether the customer knows about them or not, our energetic infusions will shape a better and more impactful product. Ned 1500mg Full Spectrum Hemp Oil, $158

"It's not something we feel compelled to explicitly market or promote so we simply leave the messaging as 'easter eggs' on our website and packaging should our customers find them of interest. Like with many elements of Ned's growth as a company, word-of-mouth has been the primary messenger for our energetic infusions.”

Soundbathing can be one of those things that seems nonsense until you find yourself doing it IRL and leave feeling all kinds of calm and uplifted. Many of us have heard a gong or similar sound at the end of a yoga class or religious ceremony, but until someone has “played” a brass or crystal bowl into your ear canal and you witness first hand just how grounding it can feel, it's hard to describe.

And when science can eventually pinpoint the why of sound baths and cannabinoids, Ned’s team will feel vindicated in being on the frontlines of these methods and their potential to help people.