The purpose of remembering the breath is to put one in contact with their Self, that which is doing the breathing of the body.  While one is living most of the time is spent with the mind focused on what is outside the body through the five senses.  Always analysing and experiencing, seeking completely outside of oneself, reacting with what is seen, heard, touched, tasted or smelled like an animal.  Yet a human has the capacity to experience the Self at the same time that it is experiencing  what is outside the physical body through remembering the breath.

When one comes in contact with a new car immediately the mind creates feelings, emotions, needs and thoughts about the vehicle, the thing seen.  Instantly the seer who is experiencing the minds creation finds themselves outside that true Self and sitting in the car behind the wheel.  Life is a complete ride of external conditioned behaviour from one thing to another thing.  This can become an emotional and thought roller coaster until one comes back to the Self.

Yet in the Self one is experiencing only that and is not participating in life on the outside, living in a cave so to speak.  There may be peace and no thoughts but the moment one opens the eyes they are back behind the wheel of the beautiful new car.  One is either the seer or the seen bouncing back and forth like a yo-yo.  No matter the peace, the bliss, the joy or happiness one has it is easily removed by the mind.

When one is making decisions in life from a mind constantly looking as a seer and not including that Self which is seeing one can easily become beat up by the mind with all sorts of need behaviour and right and wrong decision making resulting in the loss of peace.

How to balance the two formal aspects is where one can find tranquillity in the midst of the mind storm of thoughts.  For this balance, one needs breath recognition while both being the seer and that who is seeing simultaneously in the immediate moment.  At that moment there is no joy and there is no suffering there is only this, freedom and indifference from both aspects of duality.

Should one take up the simple practice of breath awareness as they go through life at the same time as they are seeing this material world they are living in, they will find themselves in that which creates this world, and there will be freedom from the storm.  Some call this state enlightenment as it exists now at the same time as the storm, yet once through this breath practice, one can be in two places at once and in that moment be free.