Spa Man.(The Talk of the Town)(Steve Case and his Miraval spa)

The most convoluted philosophical thinking outside of academe was taking place recently at the Global Spa Summit at the Waldorf-Astoria, with the purpose of fostering "thought leadership" in the forty-billion-dollar-a-year spa industry. One of the keynote speakers was Steve Case, the co-founder of America Online. He now owns a spa in Arizona called Miraval, whose motto is "Life in Balance." At Miraval, one can indulge in a wild-lime scalp rejuvenator ($65), a marine contouring body wrap ($165), and seven kinds of Oriental bodywork.

In his address, Case said, "Four years ago, I was pushed out of my comfort zone by the revelation of how to transform industries in need of change." He was wearing Dockers and a blue shirt open at the collar, and he seemed to be in an excellent zone as he continued, "It was a profound moment. I found balanced living. We are the modern healers. I don't just want to feel better. I want to be better." (Gerald Levin, who was Case's counterpart at Time Inc., during its merger with A.O.L., has also made a second career of self-improvement, running a holistic mental-health institute in Los Angeles.)

Case went on, "Remember when the man who started Nike was selling his sneakers from the back of a truck?" He paused. "I want that unique collaboration between real estate and spas. Destination spas! Wellness must go beyond just the facial and the massage. We are building what I call 'the Nike of Wellness.' " When he finished, the participants applauded, though some looked puzzled.

"He said nothing new," a short, sturdy delegate named Tatyana Meshkova said. "He pontificated. I am thirteen years in Moscow beauty business. I distribute the most chic formulations, all over Russia, to Belarus, even Latvia." Another Russian delegate agreed. "I do not care about sneakers," she said. "And facials are important for our market!"

While delegates headed off to panels such as "What the Investment Sector Wants the Spa Industry to Know," Case hung back. He wanted to make it clear that Miraval is more than a spa. "In fact, we don't really use the term 'spa,' " he said. "It ...