But apart from human awareness (the solisist in me says MY awareness), none of those experiences can be shown to exist, outside the mind of the person who experiences them!

We DO know that people can feel things that don't exist. There's everything from optical illusions onwards that shows that. And I'm sure we all have known people whose experiences we regard as hallucinations; we call them mad, stoned, disturbed or dreaming. So we can predict that people will have all sorts of experiences that don't happen.

There are no verified examples of telepathy, which is a pity as it could be very useful.

As for understanding and awareness, there's every evidence that it has evolved inside the animal nervous system. I'd recommend Dennett to you on this, as he's very readable. "Consciousness Explained" and "Freedom Evolves" are among the best.