When – usually after several years of practice – we have learned not to be carried away by thoughts, we can loosen our concentration on the breath and include in our sphere of awareness every internal and external perception: noises, sensations, thoughts… In practice, we will be able to notice everything without allowing ourselves to be distracted by anything. Our mind will (in principle) be calm and quiet.
As a practitioner, I'd say that meditation increases one's physical and physiological functions. The calm mind brought by one's steady breathing brings clarity to your state of mind, right on the present. With such intensity, focus are attained and maintained for one to execute any task at hand. Some call it the zone, I simply like to remind myself that it is the present moment.
