Congratulations on your continuing use of gold light. You are also very spiritually aware of what's going on around you.
If you are having difficulty imagining being surrounded by gold you can do a couple of things. First just imagine your 7th chakra - the one on the top of your head, being filled with gold light. You can also add a gold balloon over your head as well. What this does is it fills your reality with gold with the flow of your cosmic energy which enters your reality through the 7th chakra. The balloon can also allow an added flow of gold all around you, like a column of gold surrounding you.
As you practice your meditations you are making growth and changes as spirit. This eventually manifests on a body level as well with things that our body may like, or things our body may resist. Remember - be careful of what you pray for because you might just get it! Be aware that not everyone either in or out of body is happy with growth and change and particularly in this time of 2012 there are a lot of entities trying to stop people from using gold energy and trying to stop the raising of the energy on the planet of which you are a part of by using gold. How to deal with those who interfere? There are spiritual techniques but keeping in simple all you have to do is tell the to f**k off! Get angry with them. As spirit there are no ethics so when you "curse and swear" as spirit you are not violating any laws of the planet. Remember too that just because a spirit without a body asks you to do something does not mean they are either a white hat or a black hat - they are in various states of being just like all of us with bodies. Some you'd like to associate with. Some not. Also realize that you as spirit in your space in your body are more powerful in this reality than any spirit without a body. You also are allowed to use any means possible to protect your space - from the outer edge of your aura inward, through any means you have at hand. It is your God given right to do so. One other thing. The bright entities without bodies (angels) who are at gold or higher, will not invade your space. If you wish to receive assistance from any of these entities you have to ask them for help. (Each of us though has at least one guardian angel that does assist us. I know, I have several or I wouldn't be alive today.)
I don't know what type of meditation you practice but mine is based on grounding. The creation of a grounding connection from your first chakra at the base of your spine down through the earth to the center of the planet. This connection is a flow where you can dump anything you don't wish to hang onto - other people's energies, old concepts that no longer apply, etc. If you go to this link: http://www.widdershins.org/vol3iss6/y9710.htm you will find instructions for the grounding that I use. (This link is posted in the first post in the Grounding forum on CZ. The other links don't seem to work as they are quite old.) I suggest that you not get caught up in the physical props they often refer to on that forum for grounding because you don't need them as long as you are grounded as spirit. You can be grounded 24/7 and I've been grounded at 40,000 feet in the air so simply recognize that you as spirit are capable of many things, including grounding and being in your body.
Am not sure if I can answer all of your questions but will give you some information about things that I've learned.
My first experiences with things "off the beaten path" was with hypnosis. I learned both hypnosis and self hypnosis many years ago from a chiropractor while going to school. It helped a bit, then it no longer worked for me. My wife at the time was a homemaker taking care of our two boys which meant a big laundry and lots of ironing. The ironing stacked up one time and she complained about doing it so I asked if she'd like me to hypnotize her so she could enjoy it. She agreed. I came home a day or two later and all the ironing was finished and she was looking for even more. Long story short - it didn't take long for her to once again hate ironing and me in particular for "tricking" her into doing it. I didn't trick her. It was her own free will that she allowed me to control. That's what happens during hypnosis. You give up your space to someone else and they overtly control you with - or against, your true wishes. In all my experience with hypnosis I've found that everything that had been done on that level I've had to go back and undo and readjust with my own energy. My point is that when you ask for advice from anyone in or out of body you are invalidating that you have your own information inside of yourself. You really do. It resides with the part of God that is within each one of us and all we have to do is to get in touch with that aspect of ourselves and communicate with the God within. You can have a two way communication with the God within when your are grounded, centered, and within your own space. That communication with God will provide responses with your own voice. If it is any other voice, it is not you, it is not your God and is trying to interfere with that communication. I was told these things when I first began to learn the type of meditation that I now use and I didn't believe any of it but I continued to meditate using those techniques because it worked (still does) for me and I didn't have to run to a practitioner, hypnotic or otherwise, to get rid of problems and receive answers.
Regarding your method of meditation. Any method that works for you provides you spiritual growth and change and that's what we are here on the Planet to do. Lying down the way you do is a method I've used and continue to use at times for full body relaxation, but not for meditation. It is a great way to relax every muscle in your body when I just wish to bum out. When I want to meditate though I can still relax my muscles but I do it in a sitting position (not cross-legged) in the Pharaoh position, hands up and on my lap which allows the flow of all of my energies without interruption. Regarding distractions. Concentrating is a body energy. It requires effort. What I and others do is to "focus" on being present and in the present moment. A focus is in my mind just a little different than concentration. A focus of being in the moment is where you as spirit can heal yourself and make changes. There are many books and practitioners out there who talk about the present moment but few if any that I've read even give a hint about you as spirit. By being focused, grounded, and in the moment sounds and other distractions do not disrupt your meditation. It is through this practice that you will also become aware of your chakras and energy system.
Here's a couple of links to the type of meditation that I practice and while in this state I also communicate with my own personal concept of God. That's important. Everyone has a different concept of God and your concept is just as valid as anyone else's concept. It's a very personal and unique energy and it is your energy.
http://newconnexion.net/articles/index.cfm/2010/05/Practical_Meditation_for_R...
http://www.the-auras-expert.com/aura-meditation.html
Lastly, look for techniques that teach you to focus on you which will lead you to God. For me - with lots of experience in this area, I suggest you avoid like the plague anyone who tells you what God is or tells you what you should do. You already know all of that completely within yourself.