Wizard writes, "The question of whether, or not, we have Free Will, is pivotal in the assesment of the nature of what our connection to the universe is."
Prefound thinking, Wizard!
I would be interested in hearing your views on another twist of that thought: Misuse of our Free Will gift is responsible for our seeming lack of connection to the universe.
Well back in our evolution, a bad choice was made to go it alone, essentially declaring independence from our Creator. As a consequence, our world (among others) was isolated from inter-universe communication circuits. This quarantine was necessary to allow us to work out the consequences of our free will decision without impacting universal order.
The planet now seems in chaos as we struggle forward nearing the end of our lesson, but some intervention and communication by higher level beings has been permitted. Their desire for our survival will likely be our saving grace.