The idea that reality, as we perceive it, is an illusion it is not new and dates back to the ancient Hindu concept of Maya and before. All of material “reality’ is an illusion. Even if you approach matter from a quantum point of view, what we see is a combination of our perceptual equipment and the interactions of atomic particles/waves that are altered by the very act of being observed.
In the hologram theory, a three-dimensional image is encoded in a two-dimensional surface, such as in the hologram on a credit card. In this case, the entire universe is encoded. And that does bring up the question of predestination.
In the world of the spirit, there is no linear time as humans measure it. It is all one big simultaneity. As such, what has already happened, what is happening, and what will happen co-exist. We just can’t “see’ this, due to limitations of the mind as a perceptual tool. So in that sense, yes, everything is pre-destined.
On the other hand, because it is a universe of infinite possibility, mutability, change, and flow, you can change the pre-existing pattern through exercising free will. The universe is not a stale, static, pre-formed thing. It is continually expanding and growing field of energy and information. With intention coming from your heart, you can impact your life by understanding the natural pattern of growth and expansion that is a key law of the Universe.
Therefore, you are not the prisoner of a life in which you have no say.
Free will is part of the miraculous lives we live in our creative interaction with universal forces. It is the way we partner with the universe.