It seems incongruous with meditation to me that I can do it whilst, for example, cooking.
And it would be fitting, I think, if meditation worked best when done somewhere quiet, and better yet, when done in your own home, say. Something like that.
Incongruous, in a way, but I absolutely love being able to cook(and such) and meditate. And in real life, I find actions like that to be very meditative so it makes sense to me.
Oh?! I didn't realize you could cook. I know moving or using chat, makes you lose your concentration. It does make sense to not be able to do another action. I disagree about having to do it somewhere quiet though because that would make it difficult to use it when you're out and about or mining, since you might often be somewhere busy.
Yes, it makes it harder. The game shouldn't pander to us, it should be obstacles that we have to think and plan our way around. Otherwise you have a game where there's a button marked "go up a level". Actually, there are some flash games that do exactly that :)
The interface shouldn't get in our way, so some conveniences I agree with and love, like being able to make more spices from within making a recipe.